Look what I bought at the Amish Sale on Saturday. :-)
We've been wanting a Donkey for awhile.
What for, you ask?
Why does everyone insist on asking me that? I have 141 acres. I have 4 teens to help with animal chores. I have pastures. I have a lot of hay. I often have animals because I like the way they look in the pastures. Think of them as lawn mowers.
But the donkey can be useful as a livestock guardian, to help keep the coyotes away.
Donkey has already taught Jet, the farm dog, who is boss - kicking him right out of this pasture. That is nice, Jet scares Alfred, so Donkey keeps Jet away. (Jet is also necessary to alert us when the coyotes, or annoying people, are too close)
And our Pastor's wife has been wanting one for the Christmas program for years.
And this one is soooooo friendly and sweet. That's another reason we have some of the animals - simply for our friends children to visit and pet them. Eventually I'll have grandchildren who will be amused by them too.
He gets along well with the goats, calves, and alpaca. We aren't completely sure which pen he will live in, for now they are all sharing one pen waiting on the new fencing project to be done.
Learning About Donkeys
A great site with all sorts of information, from the cost of keeping a Donkey, to a donkey webcam:
A donkey can be expected to live about 40 years.
Another site with lots of info:
Donkeys are pregnant for a full year, and can be bred at a VERY young age.. so it's important to keep the girls separate until they are 3 years of age.
More on Donkeys
They eat grass and hay and can have some grain, but they put on weight easily so grain is really not necessary at all, it may actually be best for them NOT to have any grain at all, depending on the grass and hay content.
They do need their hooves trimmed occasionally - but usually not too often in climates like ours here in PA.
Lots more info here:
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