Spending time with animals can change your mood!

The dark, wet and chilly days of winter can put a damper on anyone's mood and such was the case the other day.  I was feeling tired and not interested in my work and sitting in front of the computer was giving me a headache.

Bundling up in coat, scarf, gloves and boots, I forced myself to go outside and visit the donkeys and then decided to head out for a walk along the road with Siog.  She was keen to go, so after settling Deenah and Dorica in the barn paddock area with some hay, Siog and I headed down the driveway.

We were gone for about an hour and the experience was such a powerful mood and energy changer that I felt I had to write about it.  I came back enlivened and uplifted.  What had appeared gray and dull from inside the house looking out, became sparkling, crisp and fresh when outside. 

Taken July, 2011 by Mitsue Nagase

Siog and I wandered down a dirt road, jogged a bit together, headed up a trail through moss and ferns and checked the mailbox before coming home.  She was a terrific companion.

Dental work for Donkeys is so important!

If you're like me, any thought of the dentist is enough to enable my best procrastination methods!  However when it comes to my donkeys, it's important to stay on top of their needs in this department.  Teeth, hooves and gut health are critical to avoid the very worst problems.

Deenah has healthy but extremely worn teeth.  When I first met her and looked in her mouth I thought perhaps she was fed a diet of sticks for a long time!  All donkeys will develop hooks and sharp points as their teeth wear and change.  In both young and old donkeys, things can change relatively quickly as caps fall out or teeth loosen.

Deenah has been choking lately.  She'd eat a leaf of salal, or even an apple core and something would go wrong.  She'd become very quiet at first and I could tell  that something was caught in her throat just by the way she was holding her mouth, as though she wanted to spit something out.  Sometimes she'd become mildly agitated, walk around, put her ears back - but any food offered was refused.

Staying by her side, I'd wait for her to start salivating, trying to work the offending thing up and out.  Copious amounts of saliva would ooze forth and then she'd cough.  The saliva is a good thing but this could be dangerous, as she could aspirate.  I'd try to wait it out, often with my finger poised about the vet's phone number. 

If the vet was called, she would sedate the donkey, then insert a nasal-gastric tube and pour in a mixture of water and mineral oil to flush matter out.  This is the same procedure used for colic and not very pleasant although it could save a life.  Every time Deenah chokes, I wonder if I should call the vet out but my intuition so far has been to stay with her, time the episode and see if Dee can work it out herself.

So far she has but after four such episodes, a vet call seemed appropriate to try to discover the cause.
The vet came yesterday and immediately spotted the problem, thank goodness!  Deenah's front incisors were not meeting properly, causing her lower jaw to protrude a bit sideways and her chewing action was compromised.  I had noticed that she seemed to be moving food in her mouth to a place more comfortable for her the chew.

Deenah also has a wave mouth - upper and lower teeth sitting in a wave-like pattern.  The vet has been trying to correct this gradually to give her more of an even chewing surface. After a whole hour of rasping and filing, the vet felt she had corrected the problem and the ordeal was over for Deenah who was so amazing through it all.

Two things I have found so helpful are:

1.  a bowl of soaked hay cubes or soy hulls or soy/beet pulp mash is a lovely offering for a sore mouth

2.  Paste Banamine (Flunixin) is an oral anti-inflammatory pain reliever.  A small dose (in Deenah's case 1 cc.) immediately after the dental work works wonders in helping to prevent discomfort.  Note* Current thinking is that equine owners should NOT inject liquid Banamine inter-muscularly as it could result in a dangerous abscess!  Although not to be used for a prolonged period, I have kept Deenah on a small dose of paste Banamine today and will use it again tomorrow if necessary.

For further reading, click here:
Donkey Dental Info from the UK Donkey Sanctuary

Slow feeder hay nets for donkeys - findings.

I've been using my new slow feeder hay nets for a couple of weeks now.  I have 3 from Purely Ponies and 3 from N.A.G. Bags.  All of these bags have 1" holes.  (see previous posts)

I also have 3 Nibble Nets that I've been using for quite a while, one attached in each stall, each with 2" holes created with sturdy webbing, not netting, and a solid backing.

I've been very cautious about the hay nets as they have not been recommended (by the UK Donkey Sanctuary) and could be dangerous.  Consequently I use only the Nibble Nets overnight and put the net bags away for daytime use.

In reading about how to use hay nets, it is recommended that they be full all the time but I have found this to be too much hay for donkeys.  So here's my current feeding regime (always subject to change!)

7 AM - I feed loose hay in troughs in the barn.  The 3 donkeys are separated into stalls so they can eat slowly and peacefully and each can receive whatever supplements I am offering in some soaked soy hulls.
I choose not to use the hay nets first thing in the morning.

While the donkeys are eating, I might stuff some feed bags with barley straw or else I come out mid-morning and offer them straw - either on the ground if the weather is dry or in hay bags (the kind with the big centre hole)  I hang the bags fairly low in the breezeway - that way any wasted straw becomes part of their bedding.

Noonish - now I toss out a N.A.G bag with about 1/2 a flake of coarse hay for each donkey.  I tie the ends tightly and work the cord back inside the bags and then throw them on the ground (in the sunshine if there is any!) like pillows.  The donkeys spend a happy 1 - 2 hours pulling strands out, heads down.

I make sure they also have barley straw available in the afternoon.

Dusk (whatever time that occurs) - now I hang the 3 hay nets from Purely Ponies, each with about 1/2 flake of hay.  If it's not raining, I hang the nets from a piece of sisal baling twine attached to a fence rail in the paddock.  I hang the bags low so the donkeys eat with their heads down. If by any chance a donkey gets caught up somehow, the sisal twine will break, freeing the net from the fence.  But so far, no one has created a hole in the mesh large enough to get a foot or head stuck, thank goodness!

9-10 PM - last feed of the day and now I use the Nibble Nets in the stalls for hay and the hay bags in the breezeway for overnight barley straw. I have been so concerned that the donkeys have something to last them all night but it seems the best I can do is make sure the straw is ample enough, even as bedding, that they will eat it if they really need something.

Herd dynamics

I've had donkeys for 10 years now and during that time, we've offered a home to a variety of ages, sizes and genders.  This has me thinking about how the donkeys have related to each other and what factors contribute to creating the right dynamics.  Of course the donkeys themselves will ultimately determine how they get along, but I realize now that since I'm limited by the size of my land and barn space, I am creating an intentional herd so to speak, and if I'm going to look for a donkey to adopt, I might want to consider some options that I hadn't thought about when I first started.

Dorica & Siog at Play

First of all - age is important to think about.  Donkeys, like other animals, are best socialized by their own kind. What I mean by this is that mother donkeys are the best teachers for their young.  They teach their foals how to behave by body language signals using their ears, mouth, hooves etc.  Although we humans need to teach them about appropriate donkey-human interaction, I think it's important that they get a lot of information from their mothers and other herd members.  I had an orphaned foal who had been raised for his first year on a bottle.  He thought nipping, rearing and kicking were just fine.  He also thought he was a person.

My first two donkeys were young and on their own.  The jenny was 2 years old and the gelding, just 13 months.  Now I see that this was like having two toddlers alone in the house with no one older and wiser to guide them.  I think they were a bit lost.  The gelding spent a lot of his time hanging onto the the jenny's neck and she, although bewildered, didn't have the experience to discipline or instruct him.  They both needed an older protector.

When donkey Annie tragically died, Dorica was completely bereft.  I went searching for another donkey and found Deenah.  Without realizing it at the time, bringing home an older mature "auntie" for Dorica was the very best thing I could have done!  Deenah took Dorrie under her experienced wing (hoof?) and Dorica's confidence grew.  Many people starting out with donkeys will choose two youngsters to bring home.  I'm not saying this can't work out, but in my experience, an older animal can be of great benefit.

Gender is another factor.  Male donkeys are really different than the jennys.  A young male, whether gelded or not can have a lot of restless energy.  He needs someone to rough house with who shares his enthusiasm and male temperament.

Ringo was 6 years old when he came here.  He was also the biggest donkey and consequently he hassled the two jennys.  When he wanted to play, Deenah, being old, ignored him.  Dorica tried at first to play but being a mini, ended up getting hurt, so when big strong Ringo got playful, she'd go and hide in the barn!

When Ringo left, Deenah and Dorica were here together. Then Siog arrived. At three years old, she brought out the very best in Dorrie!  Although Deenah and Dorrie are pals, Dee is just too old to romp around and so Dorica would stand quietly by her side.  Enter Siog the youngster and watch the minis play together!

Now this is a great little herd of jennys.  Dorica has her auntie Dee to offer security but also has little Siog to romp with and groom.  Siog has her older mates but at least one who is young enough to play with her.
Deenah is the matriarch and watches over the others but is also closely bonded to Dorica.

My only consideration now is whether three donkeys creates the right dynamic. I would dearly love to add just one more!  With four, the donkeys could pair up and I could take them out in pairs if need be.  So if I were to add a fourth donkey, what would I look for?

Knowing what I know now, I would add either another mini or a small Standard female.  And considering age, I would probably choose someone in between Siog, now 4 and Dorica, who is 13.
I want to ensure that the youngsters have playmates, but also that there is an older, experienced female.

Given that I want to walk, trek and pack them, I'd also look for a healthy donkey with good bones, good hooves and a gentle disposition.  If I had more land, I'd adopt any donkey needing a good home!