Lifestock Guardians???.......donkey questions?

[GoatRancher11]

Hello to all my fellow goat ranchers,

I have several questions about donkeys as livestock guardians. We are putting our goats on our family farm and we do not actually live there. They will have plenty to eat, drink, etc. BUT we will not be able to feed a dog daily so we can't get a dog as a livestock guardian at this time. And I hate that too b/c I love dogs. I have three as pets right now!

Anyway, as for the donkeys, should I get one, two, three, etc.? Should I get a male and a female so that I can breed them later and spread some out on other farms? If I have 18 goats, is one enough in the first year? If I have a male donkey should he be fixed (gilded I think is the word?) so that he is not aggressive towards the goats.

I'll be starting out in the Spring with my young doelings so should I get a young donkey to start off with and grow them up together?

I'm not interested in a registered donkey. How much would a regular non-registered donkey cost?

Oodles of questions from a beginner.........................

Thanks folks!

 

[elevan]

Hopefully someone with Donkey experience will post soon for you. (that's not me - I use a llama)

It's my understanding that for a guardian you want 1 so that they bond to the animals that they are guarding and not those of their own kind in the pasture.

Folks use intact males, fixed males and females as guardians...but not all donkeys (or llamas) make good guardians.

Good luck in your quest.

 

[julieq]

We had a miniature donkey years ago on our ranch. Since she was in a separate stall from the goats, I have no idea how many you'd need in a herd situation on pasture (probably depends on the predator population in your area also).

But one night we heard her bellowing loudly and ran to the barn to see what was going on. About the time we got to the barn we heard a bear crashing through the brush down below the barn, apparently hassling our beef cattle. Our two Aussies turned right around and high tailed it back to the house! So, I can tell you that as far as an 'early warning system' donkeys are great!

 

[ksalvagno]

You would NOT want an intact male. He will try to breed the goats and his hormones will get in the way of being a truly good guard. You would probably have to do a lot of research and find the right breeder that would be very honest with you. I have a guard llama but I'm sure that donkeys are the same as llamas that not all donkeys make good guards. Also you would need a donkey that gets along with goats. I know with llamas, some people use up to 3 llamas to protect a herd of goats or sheep depending on the size of the herd but I'm not sure about donkeys.

 

[goodhors]

You might want to wander some of the catagories under sheep and Horses. There have been a number of threads on donkey guardians. One was this one,

http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=6890

As already stated, not ALL donkeys make good guardians. The most likely ones are the femalels. A bad donkey will kill the sheep and goats and it happens FAST. Smaller animals bugging them, fighting over food and grain, can set the donkey off.

Donkey must be kept out of the feed, they need to stay thin and trim for best health, able to chase dogs, coyotes for you. They gain excess weight EASILY and will get hoof problems from it. Lush fields are BAD for donkeys who are raised to survive on rocks and weeds while doing work too. Hooves need regular attention, not once a year. They do not wear down on soft ground, so may need a Farrier to trim hooves down so donkey is not crippled up. They should have shelter from wet, their hair may hold water in the cold, chill them in our northern states.

There are enough FREE donkeys that you do NOT want to be breeding them. Donkeys lead hard lives in most cases, get passed along regularly. Untrained, unhandled donkeys are the worst to have about. Even free, no one wants them. Ungelded donkeys are DANGEROUS because the hormones want them breeding, worse than stallions at times. Trust me, you DO NOT want a jack with all his parts. DO CHECK any prospects to make SURE the testicles are GONE. I know a couple folks who thought their donkey was a gelding until he met the mares, DID NOT check to KNOW if advertising was true! Seller only had him, so hormones didn't get activated there. They had ALSO bought him as a gelding, never checked either!!

So you want to consider hard before getting into donkeys, they are not just "pets", but would be expected to work for you. They are big enough, FAST enough with teeth and hooves to be DANGEROUS animals. Could be nice, but not always. YOU need to do your part beforehand, learn about donkeys, be informed, a good owner, to keep the donkey in good condition, healthy while you have them.

 

[cindyg]

I have no answers but am interested to see what experienced goaters do. I am thinking of doing the same thing, getting goats but not keeping them right on my house property, they would be a half mile away in the back 40. Do llamas make good guard animals, never heard of that before, how does it work, how do they know they are supposed to guard the goats? Hope to see lots of advice here.

 

[elevan]

I have no answers but am interested to see what experienced goaters do. I am thinking of doing the same thing, getting goats but not keeping them right on my house property, they would be a half mile away in the back 40. Do llamas make good guard animals, never heard of that before, how does it work, how do they know they are supposed to guard the goats? Hope to see lots of advice here.

Llamas can make good guards. It does depend a lot on what your predators are. And not all llamas make good guards. You need to look for a breeder that knows what makes a good guard or tests their animals as guards.