Why you SHOULDN’T own a Donkey… or should you?

All right, so what is it really like to own donkeys i'm gonna go over everything the good the bad the ugly And things i've learned over the last year of having these guys This is a jack. This is oliver. And this is a jenny. This is sunshine She's about two years old And he's about three And i've had them for about a year now, like I said So we'll go over everything and then stick around to the end because i'm gonna show you something I learned That really helped me out And first of all, why did I get donkeys? I wish I had a good reason besides I just wanted them They don't really uh, you know serve a purpose around here like other animals on the farm Besides just being a companion and a friend to love one. That's really all we got them for And as you can tell they are very friendly They love to be around me anytime i'm doing something whether i'm scooping poop or filling up their water cutting the grass Whatever it is. They're going to be around me. They follow me around They'll follow me up to the chicken coop they'll follow me back down to the barn wherever I go They go if they see me outside In the morning before coming up to them They are heeing and hawing for that attention because they know every day they get some attention from me And that's where I want to go. My next point actually is they are Daily work, right? You can see them coming up to me. They go where I go, but It really is daily work I come out here every single day even in the summertime winter time no matter what it is And it's work. So if you think that it is they are an easy animal Or you know someone you can kind of forget about for a little bit It's not really the case. First of all, i'm scooping poop every single day They poop in their barn and they poop out in the pasture But when they poop in the barn, I like to clean it up and get it out of the way for them So that's a daily chore and especially in the winter time i'm out here every day just because I have to throw them a hay bale right every day. They get a hay bale They share a hay bale usually about a hay bale a day is kind of what they get in the winter time You know, it's all covered with snow. They're not eating grass. So that's another chore with them every single day and besides just the chores You like to just come out and love on them and you can see how comfortable they are with me Because i'm out here every day with them and I spend time with them and I show them attention and I give them treats Whatever it is, right? They have personalities and They can hate you right if you ignore them you hurt them. They'll remember it They're not going to forget And they'll hold it against you. They'll hold a grudge. They're known for that So make sure you have the time for them if you are getting into donkey ownership And the next thing i'm going to talk about Is their poop, right? I said i'm cleaning poop every single day There's a lot of it and I said i've only had these guys for about a year now and I haven't exactly figured out what i'm doing with all their poop. I was composting it in the beginning That's all a nice compost pile under there. You might not believe me, but there is nice compost under there springs breaking So we're going to get this cleaned up soon but You're going to have a lot of poop figure out what you're going to do with it before you get them because I didn't so Think about the poop and think about what you're going to do with the poop Before you have all the poop because I have all the poop and now i've got to figure out what I have to do with it Now how much space do you need to have donkeys? I don't know if there's a correct answer to this or how much you need But I what I have is I have a one acre grassy paddock That they have access to at all times and then a five acre wooded pasture If they had this one acre paddock together, I think they'd be perfectly fine It's more than enough space for the two of them and anything on top of that I think it's just extra just a bonus for them. And then this right here is their five acre wooded pasture So they have hey, don't knock that over I'm using that This is their five acre wooded pasture and they love to just run around here I don't know if the camera does justice, but this is a hill that goes all the way up So they're always in the evening time, especially they kind of get the zoomies and you'll see them running up and down the hillside And another thing they are very curious. You can see her sniffing the camera Figuring out what that is And like I said, they're always following me around just liking to watch what i'm doing See what i'm doing and you can see Oliver over here Nibbling at my hand seeing what's in it. He's just curious, right? They use their mouth He's not being aggressive. He's not trying to bite me. He's not trying to hurt me He's just seeing what's there They don't have hands to grab things see what they are So they use their mouth And just like she is over there curious about the camera very very curious animals All right, then another thing you might not know a little kind of side note if the camera's shaking she's back there sniffing it but Their ears are very sensitive so I was always taught when you're putting their harness on them or a lead rope Whatever it is be very careful with their ears because if you bump their ears hurt their ears They are stubborn. Like I said before they hold a grudge So they'll know me for the person that hurt their ears And i'm their i'm their owner, right? I love them. They love me and I don't want to ever break that trust trust is another thing that You really have to build with them when I first got them. I'll tell you what they came out of a pasture They didn't even have like a covered barn They were just stuck in the rain. I was in a storm trying to get them into my trailer to take them home They didn't want anything to do with me, right? They hated me. I to say it lightly. They hated me And they wouldn't go near me anytime. I was around and they'd run away And i'm not gonna lie. It took a couple months to gain their trust, right? And like I said, i've had them for about a year now And it's to the point where they see me walk outside in the morning and they're hearing it all and waiting for my attention If i'm leaving the driveway, they're running across the fence line chasing my car as I leave so Trust is a hard thing to gain with them, but a very easy thing to break and lose So make sure you have the time to spend with them and To really show them that you care about them because like I said, they will remember everything that you do And if you do it wrong They'll hold a grudge All right. Now, what do they cost? so in terms of cost Really not a lot. I mean They eat the grass in the summertime and I say their biggest cost is going to be getting them hay in the wintertime Now where I live I pay about 7.25 for a bale of hay It's a 40 pound square bale and I could get the round bales for cheaper but Uh, it's a little more work. I think they're like 2 000 pounds. Now. Another thing I do want to mention is Having a place to store that hay. So this is what I do I have a loft up in the barn And oh You want to make sure You have a dry place to store your hay so This is what I have left over of the square bales I purchased I think 78 bales At the beginning of winter and this is what we're left with those are just for different projects around the property not using to feed them, but I have let's say one two three fourth. So it looks like I have about 11 bales left. I purchased almost 80 of them At the beginning of winter so You do the math At a 7.25 a bale. That's how much it cost me all winter to feed them It's going to be a trailer if you need to move them and I got our trailer I'll show you here in a minute for I think 500 bucks on facebook marketplace And it wasn't brand new. It's not perfect. You want to nibble on my fingers? I can go get you treats. Do you want that's my finger? I'll go get you treats. How about that? And then one more fee that I want to touch on Is their farrier fee, right? A farrier is somebody who comes and cleans their hooves. We're all out of cheerios, babe. I'm, sorry Your girlfriend's taking them all off the ground if you want to help But the farrier fee is someone who comes and clean cleans their hooves and cuts them and trims them You could do it yourself. Absolutely. You could learn how to do it. I chose to go with a farrier He's been doing it almost his whole life. He knows everything the ins and outs and It's nice to have somebody that knows all those things. I'm very new to this. So, you know, not something i'm ready to get into just yet But that farrier comes every six weeks And that costs about 150 dollars and in the middle of those six weeks About every week or so I go in and I just pick out their hooves. I just use something like this Go in pick out their hooves Scrub them out and what you're doing is just Picking out all the poop and the rocks and the mud and stuff They get stuck up in their hooves and taking all the bacteria and then that way they're not Getting, you know sick or thrush or any kind of disease within their hooves and that's also a thing. That is A chore for for you, right? So that's another thing to think about in terms of the chores Every week or so you're gonna have to clean out their hooves and i'll show you right here. I'll pop up a clip Sometimes they're not always the easiest to work with and One of those kicks they can kill you, right? I always mention That when i'm out here in the barn, i'm not in charge. They're in charge They make the rules if they don't want to do something nothing. They're not going to do it. They're stubborn so if you never heard the expression stubborn as a mule well, uh Mule is only half a donkey. So imagine how stubborn a donkey is Now another thing that's good to mention Is the vet costs? Like I said, i've had them for about a year now We haven't had to go to the vet yet with them, but we are going to be soon the next couple of months this girl right here Is going to get an ultrasound because she is pregnant. I'm Almost positive their gestation period is about 12 to 14 months and they don't need too much intervention with the vets or too much care in that regard But it is good just to get her in there get her seen and then that way, you know, the the baby's doing good Baby's healthy and then also big thing. There's not twins in there, right? As cool as twins would be and as exciting as I would be to have little twin donkeys It is super dangerous for her and the babies What was that? a little snort But it is very dangerous for multiple reasons their legs I was told is the main reason they have long lanky legs in the womb And it's very easy for them to get wrapped around each other So that's something you got to make sure you watch out for and then it also just makes you know The delivery way harder for her and way more stressful And then on top of that I will say in terms of the pregnancy If you want to get a jack and a jenny Then make sure you have a space to separate them because the jack all over here Is not allowed to be around the baby when it's born for several months He can get aggressive. He can get jealous and either harm the baby or Harm mom and those are two things. We don't want to happen So they stay separated for several months and you want to have what i'm going to do is the other side of my barn i'll make a Spot for mom and baby and then all of her can stay over here and then they'll have separate pastures to go into right? And i'll rotate them So they can enjoy both pastures And what is that vet trip going to cost? So I spoke to the vet And i'm not gonna have to pay for a travel fee. That's going to be your biggest thing, right? If you get a travel vet to come out and come to your home Depending on where you are location wise they quoted me at 275 just to Come to my house, right? So I said no, thank you. I'll come to you and then for her to get an ultrasound and just a checkup Looking at 120 to 150 So not super expensive, but you know if things go wrong it can add up So you want to make sure that you do have what it takes to take care of them at all times Isn't that right, huh? Isn't that right? Oh, that's my finger And here's a look at their space in their barn This is all they have for inside space You want to give them something that they can get out of the elements, right? Just a wind block something to get out of the rain out of the snow And this is what they have Now some people have different ideas on what they do for the bedding in here Like I said before I feed them hay so I don't have like a you know a hay trough Or anything like that for them. I just throw I think you have nose up in the camera right now I just throw them a bale in here and it spreads out makes bedding as well. Other people will do straw for bedding And then hay for feed But I don't really find it necessary to Have two different types You know of hay and straw There's no reason the the hay can't act as bedding and I keep it clean in here, right? You can see i'll show you So they like to poop in the same spot every time So over here, here's a spot that they poop And then along this wall, right? So they'll poop along there as well. And then I say that to say The rest of this space is pretty clean So there's no reason that the hay can't just sit on the ground in here and they can eat off the ground And they can act as bedding as well Another wonderful part about having donkeys is they make great livestock guardians Now this isn't necessarily the reason that I have them it will be eventually right now You know our chicken coop's on the other side. We don't have cattle yet But they will be livestock guardians in the future and what that means is predators like coyotes foxes Wolves, whatever you have in your area they are Naturally scared of donkeys and donkeys are very aggressive animals whenever they need to be And if it comes time to it, you know these guys they are gonna Do what it takes to get rid of the predators, you know The predators know that these guys have the ability to really hurt them So they naturally just stay away so If you know, that's another reason you're thinking about getting them i've heard great things about it I can't really speak to it on my part. But what I can say is Oliver here. So the people that I got them from They originally got their these donkeys because they wanted them as livestock guardians and oliver Did not get along with the cattle So he was kicking and hurting the cattle and those people that was their bread and butter. That's how they made their money. So They couldn't take care of him anymore. So that's where I came in and got a hold of them but not all Donkeys, I guess are going to be perfect with your livestock. So keep that in mind I do know they aren't really bothered by my birds too much. I have chickens and turkeys up there And the turkeys especially will follow me around and they've been in the coop Before i'll show you that here Turkey's in the donkey barn. What are you guys doing? You're hiding behind me Oh They're curious the donkeys really don't seem to care too much about the birds But apparently they're not too friendly with cattle. I do plan to get a a heifer and a bull next spring About a year from now, so we'll see how they do then maybe it's something we can You know kind of work together as a team Get you get oliver used to them If oliver doesn't get along with them, you know, they stay separated. We have separate pastures back there in the back You know keep that in mind. Not all donkeys are going to enjoy your livestock. So And this thing right here Can be a lifesaver So what I did is I essentially pavlov them I can set I'll set that down so it doesn't annoy you but what I did was Every time I give them snacks or treats I ring that bell. You got it. There you go. So I ring that bell for them And then that way they know That they're getting treats. And why did I do that? Because one time they actually escaped my pasture. They were way down by my pond just running free to the world And I rang that bell And then they came running back If you don't have a way of getting them home if they escape I mean If they're stubborn, you know, they can be very stubborn and If they don't want to move you're not going to move a 500 pound animal that can kill you with a kick Right. They don't want to move. They're not going to move So you have to have some way Of getting them where you need them to go and that's why I chose the bell I did the same thing with my chickens. Actually, they have a different bell so they don't get confused but If you ever need to get them back, you need to have something like that And then another one of their favorite treats are Cheerios That's it. That's all the Cheerios. That's the last of them now Should you get donkeys? Well, I'll say this I love them to death I never would get rid of them. I'll have them for the next 40 years or so You know assuming they live the The way extent of their life people say 25 to 30 40 and perfect captivity But if you want a low maintenance animal that's easy to deal with you don't have to do a lot. I'd say no these guys they require daily care and attention and Not only did they require it they want it as well, right? They feel the affection you can see how much they're around me how much they love me and just being around me If I wasn't out here a lot, they wouldn't do this Like I said, they were very hard to make friends with in the beginning. It took a few months You know to get here, but if you want something low maintenance and easy don't do it. But if you want a friend for life And you want a unique personality? I say yes, I think they are awesome animals. I love to be around them. They love to be around me And I think they're just adorable They don't serve a purpose. So I will say that They do nothing but cost me money But I knew that going into it, you know, it wasn't like I was getting them for You know a working animal right which you could you know, that's something I don't have any experience with But you know, you definitely could I would say just take the time think really hard about the decision before you do because Like I said, they are a lifelong commitment. They can live up to 40 years You just see how curious she is looking over there wondering what's going on with that camera All right, but I think that pretty much covers everything Is there something I missed or more questions that you have leave them down in the comments? I'd be more than happy to answer them I hope you were able to learn something with that maybe make a easier decision on what it's like to have these animals And know that if it's something for you or not Like I said, they are a you know a lifelong commitment I wish you the best if you do get some because I love them. I couldn't be happier They are the sweetest kindest animals, but if you did learn something or appreciate the video go ahead and leave a like Comment subscribe. I really appreciate it does help the channel grow And I will see you in the next one