Goats And donkeys together

[AmberLops]

Thank you so much!

No problem! Hope you enjoy this forum! It's a great place to be...There are tons of great people on here that'll help you with pretty much anything

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

Miss @Tennessee Farm girl,

Welcome to BYH! I can't add anything to what the others haven't already said. I just wanted to mention a couple of the folks on the forum who reside not too far from you. One is Miss @AmberLops, whom you met above. She recently joined the forum. Her journal is located at Aberlops Rabbitry Journal. Another is Mr. @Mike CHS. He raises sheep and cows. His journal is located at Teresa & Mike CHS - Our journal. You are welcome to start your own journal there, or you can start and post one numerous existing or new threads, like Miss @Baymule does.

Senile Texas Aggie

 

[cats_incredulous]

True -- everything depends on the individual animal. A donkey can kill a goat very quickly and viciously. They can also be unconcerned with them. Goats can get along and can be annoying. It's the nature of both animals.


I will give you some thoughts. One, do not put them all together at once. They need to introduce to one another first. This is always best for any and all meetings, with supervision and several short, then longer visits and/or on a fenceline.

What are the ages and sex of the donks? Have they been around other animals? Ages, sex & breed of goats? Much of the suggestions will depend on these factors. If any are males, are they intact?

Then, you talk about "feeding time". Both of these animal types are NOT designed for a lot of grain. They are both foragers. So, minimal grains but 24/7 hay or pasture is the best. In nature, both of these are designed to browse the "less than high quality" grasses and forbs. Neither goats nor donkeys should be overweight.

The exception to more weight would be a true meat goat and the exception to more grains would be a heavy milking doe. These are situations that are beyond the everyday pasture animal...a specialty animal. These breeds are developed to do their "job" and the nutrition is far more intense than your ones with less demands.

I have had mini donks that would not bother anything, others would kill a rabbit, cat, whatever. I have EVEN had one who was pastured with a herd of goats and killed a young one that had slipped under a fence from an adjacent pasture! It wasn't HER goat and therefore, a predator/intruder. The protection drive is there. Although most of my mini donks were pretty docile with those they "knew" in their field but, a fox, possum, skunk...it was in big trouble.

So, while you can have a harmonious group, it must be developed and watched. I will say that IF the donkeys are quite young, like recently weaned, and the goats are several months old, you will more than likely have an easier time of blending them. Kids will often play well with other kids.

There are other donkey & goat owners. It ma take a day or so for response. Many of us work and don't get to the computer until evenings. Hang tight, more will come on & give great input.

By the way, welcome to BYH! Where pictures are anticipated.... …. and we are all friendly to one another. Much knowledge and support here.

Hello,

In having read what you wrote and taking that into my consideration of getting the following animals:

A donkey, a couple goats, a few turkeys, an Anatolian Shepard, and a Rhea bird or 2, it seems that getting animals when they are young is best as it does seem to make the most sense - kids play with kids. Although, from what I gathered, the donkey seems to be the wild card and if my sole purpose for the donkey is live stock protection, I might better served with the dog and the Rhea. I have about 1.5 acres of fenced area that I currently have cages/ fenced areas for my chickens and rabbits, but was planning on just letting the turkeys, dog, goats and rhea bird roam free, but have "enclosed" housing for each of them so that they have shelter from the elements when needed. Was curious as to what you thought about this and the free range aspect. Thanks!

 

[Mini Horses]

I'd say you are correct to take the donkey out of the picture with limited space. Where I am now, my biggest predator load normally is the occasional possum and/or fox. Both of which target the fowl. But I coop my chickens at night....skunks take eggs not chickens and will dig in to get them! A Toli will generally bark those type predator off!

 

[cats_incredulous]

I'd say you are correct to take the donkey out of the picture with limited space. Where I am now, my biggest predator load normally is the occasional possum and/or fox. Both of which target the fowl. But I coop my chickens at night....skunks take eggs not chickens and will dig in to get them! A Toli will generally bark those type predator off!

Unfortunately, we have pretty much everything - bear, fox, mountain lion, bobcat, hawks, raccoon, I even saw a long house like cat I couldn't identify. I can only imagine what else. Supposedly, the state reintroduced wolves back into the environment. So yeah... I'll have an 8ft deer fence in a couple weeks that should help greatly, but certainly no predator proof barrier.

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

Mr. @cats_incredulous, sir,

Have you considered putting electric fence around your property to discourage the bigger predators from coming in, such as bears? Here is a YouTube video of what one guy did to protect his pigs from black bears, and I bet you could do something like this for 1 1/2 acre plot.

Senile Texas Aggie

 

[cats_incredulous]

Mr. @cats_incredulous, sir,

Have you considered putting electric fence around your property to discourage the bigger predators from coming in, such as bears? Here is a YouTube video of what one guy did to protect his pigs from black bears, and I bet you could do something like this for 1 1/2 acre plot.

Senile Texas Aggie

Actually, I did, this morning after talking to the company who I'm buying the deer fence from. I had thought about it last night and then with the goats he recommended the inside as they will or can chew through the plastic material on the deer fence despite being quite durable. I had spoken to Tractor Supply afterwards and it's rather dirt cheap considering the cost of any standard fence. I'm going to double string the outside and the inside. Thanks for the tip and the video! Now I'm thinking 2 strands isn't enough.

 

[Baymule]

Hello,

In having read what you wrote and taking that into my consideration of getting the following animals:

A donkey, a couple goats, a few turkeys, an Anatolian Shepard, and a Rhea bird or 2, it seems that getting animals when they are young is best as it does seem to make the most sense - kids play with kids. Although, from what I gathered, the donkey seems to be the wild card and if my sole purpose for the donkey is live stock protection, I might better served with the dog and the Rhea. I have about 1.5 acres of fenced area that I currently have cages/ fenced areas for my chickens and rabbits, but was planning on just letting the turkeys, dog, goats and rhea bird roam free, but have "enclosed" housing for each of them so that they have shelter from the elements when needed. Was curious as to what you thought about this and the free range aspect. Thanks!

Skip the donkey. Remember, a donkey is a prey animal too. When push comes to shove, that donkey is going to RUN and predator take the hindmost. You have apex predators that would like a tasty donkey.

I'm curious about the Rhea, what are they useful for and why do you want them?

What breed of turkeys? Heritage turkeys will fly up in the trees to roost and fly off your property. Broad breasted are generally terminal, raised up to size, then slaughtered.

 

[cats_incredulous]

Yeah, I think after further input and thinking more about what I have going on and will have going on the donkey is off the list.

In part, I wanted a bird or birds just to have more diversity on my land. But as for their uses, they could be used for leather, their feathers for our dog bedding or other, eggs, and I hear their meat is lean and healthy. I still need to do more research though. One person stated that they would recommend an Emu over a rhea. But overall, the bird would be a later edition after I got the dog and goats but trying to think about my vision now so that I can try to have the proper set up as well building an environment that is both safe and healthy for each animal.

I didn't give much thought to the type of turkey yet, but given your input probably the broad breasted. I'm rather green so just having these conversations allows me to start getting pointed in the right direction. Thanks for your input.

 

[Baymule]

I'm rather green so just having these conversations allows me to start getting pointed in the right direction. Thanks for your input.

That's what we are here for. Ask all the questions you like, read past posts in the forum and you will be better off for it. I was a member here for 5 years before we moved to our farm and I could have sheep. During that time, I studied the forums, asked questions and learned a ton of good stuff.