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[Marie McHarry <mmcharry AT gmail.com>]

On Thu, May 21, 2009 at 1:33 PM, EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net> wrote:
> Ok, so my neighbor has given me an old special donkey issue of the
> magazine Equus Caballus, and now I want a donkey.  I actually might be
> able to talk my friend out of her 28 year old Jack.  I just love Jack.
> I love the way he brays when he is excited about eating or to say hello.

That's what I love about my two geldings. They let me know that they need 
love.


>  He is intact, yet gentle to people and only aggressive to horses if
> picked on.  I recall that Marie, I think, has donkeys.  I read that they
> can live 40 years or more.

My father used to say that no one has ever seen a dead donkey, but
they do -- after a lengthy sojourn on Earth -- actually die. The
donkeys we had as children are both gone now.

I am thinking that I would like to keep Jack
> with a herd of sheep, and maybe later with goats.

He may be gentle, but I would never keep an uncut jack with baby sheep
or goats. I keep my gelded boys away from new babies. Male donkeys
tend to stomp small things to death, which is why they make such good
guardians in coyote country: most of them hate dogs in a serious way.

Some people in Mason County have two mammoth jennies that guard their
herd of Boers. One jenny stays with a doe when she's kidding, and the
other stays with the herd. Coyotes are even thicker there than here,
but they have no predation problems. The jack has a pen of his own:
he's people friendly, but he's not trustworthy with small stock.

I know they are good
> guard animals, good companions, and good pack animals, etc.  I've been
> reading about their nutritional needs, which I was amazed to learn how
> different they are from horses.

Mine have grown fat on crummy pasture, and they can't be allowed into
the barn when I'm feeding alfalfa because it would founder them beyond
hope. Fortunately, it's relatively easy to keep them out, and they
have their own little shed.

> I want to know as much as possible about donkeys from those who have
> owned them, especially the 'bad' stuff....

My main concern would be not putting him with baby goats or sheep.
Some jacks will also assault adults. We had a sweet (balls-less)
little Sicilian who went to a new home (a good one where he had lots
of little kids to love on him and ride him) the day Jim found him
dragging one our best goats around by the neck.


> If I were to acquire Jack, what could I reasonably expect to teach him
> at his age?

Donkeys cannot be trained but they can be persuaded if you are
patient. You have to be careful not to insult them because they
remember all abuse and insults and get even when you don't expect it.
And, you have to have a farrier who likes donkeys. I have one, and
he's a very patient man. It may take all morning to talk the two boys
into their hoof trims, but he doesn't worry about time. I dread the
day that he retires, but I hear there's a woman who is good too. We
had a guy, who turned out to be an asshole, come for our sweet old
girl, Ruthie. After that she hated all men except my husband... they
really never forget.

He's never worked, but he has been ridden.  Mostly, he has
> been a pasture ornament during his life.  My friend has owned him or
> known him for about 10 or more years I think.  He's in good health.
> He was thought to be sterile but lo and behold he did sire a mule just
> before my friend took possession of him.

I'm betting they thought he was sterile because he's so sweet. Jacks
tend to be cranky and, frequently, lethal. Really. I've seen two who I
raised from babies turn into monsters when their hormones kicked in.

Marie, shamelessly in love with jackasses