Donkey Radar

The first morning of the annual studio tour, everything was ready to welcome art loving visitors.  My studio was cleaned, art work beautifully displayed, signs up, even the outhouse shone!  That's when I noticed that Dorica wasn't herself.  I can tell in a nano-second!

She ate her breakfast but soon lay down and just seemed ... low.  And then she was off her hay, no doubt about it ...OMG!

My first diagnostic check is to put my ear to her hind gut, both sides.  I didn't hear much in the way of gurgling and that's not good.  I checked her teeth in case something in her mouth was causing pain ... nope, nothing obvious.

There are several different kinds of colic, "colic" being the name I call whatever condition puts a donkey off her feed.  Spasmotic colic should pass, walking can help, as can a touch of Banamine if necessary.  Eating some wettish grass (not too much) or a mash can help also.

Sand colic can happen if the donkey ingests too much sand if the pastures are very overgrazed, like mine are.  The sand accumulates in the gut and doesn't pass through the digestive system.  A prolonged does of psyillium in a mash given every other day can help flush the sand out, but I wouldn't embark on this without checking with a vet.  Sand can sometimes be heard in the gut if you use a stethoscope.  The vet may also want to do a nasal-gastric tube to flush out as much sand as possible and that means sedation ... all to be avoided unless absolutely  necessary, in my opinion!

But if it is an impaction, that's serious and not something I can deal with, without the help of a vet.  Pray that it's not the latter!  Exercise can make an impaction worse too, so walking is no help.

I proceeded with Dorrie as if it was a spasmotic colic and I guess it was, as she recovered, thank goodness!  I gave her 0.5 cc of paste Banamine and then a warm water enema, hoping to add some fluid to the "other end."

I brought her to my studio and let her eat some short grass so I could keep an eye on her but Dorrie will NOT pass manure when she's got a halter and lead rope on, so I had to return her to the paddock with the others after awhile.

Eventually, whatever it was, passed thank goodness, and she was back on hay and her own sweet self.  Crisis averted!   It's so important to have what I call "donkey radar" and noticed if your donkey is just not herself.  Given their stoic nature, their condition may be worse than you feared by the time you notice.  If I suspect anything at all, I watch, collect data and then think through my options for diagnosis and treatment.

Radar ... aka worry- wartitis!

Do you know the feeling in the pit of your stomach when you just  kind of "sense" that something may be wrong with one of your donkeys?  It's a funny gnawing feeling for me.

Well two days ago, I noticed that Dorica had one eye closed and tearing - probably she got poked by a twig from a salal branch or something in the woods.  No big deal - I applied some saline solution and the next morning it was improved.  Not entirely though and by evening, I decided to apply more saline - carefully, as you don't want to force anything into the eye that may be trying to come out.

Anyway, it wasn't that that was worrying me - I also noticed that she seemed a bit out of sorts - grumpy with the other donkeys and a bit sad.  Perhaps her eye was sore.  But even MORE worrisome is that she isn't drinking very much - typical of her but I couldn't manage to catch her pooping either!  Now Dorrie is very private about these matters - you've got to know your donks, they're all so very different in their habits.


Dorica had a dangerous impaction colic last winter so I watch her like a hawk.  I make sure water buckets are clean and plentiful.  I checked her gums ... hmmm ... a bit on the dry side?  Donkeys are so stoic - all kinds of things could be happening before you realize, so I've developed a kind of radar that seems to have its own internal warning system!  But can I trust it, or am I just a worrier?

I decided to take precautions and do a few things that can't hurt, even if I'm imaging a problem.  I gave her a warm water enema and a warm bran mash.  My vet loves bran mashes - I'm not so sure!  I've read stuff that suggests that it doesn't really work as a laxative after all, but maybe just the superstition that it will, helps! 

So I soaked up 1/2 cup wheat bran in warm water and added 1 or 2 tablespoons of plain applesauce.  At least it gets a little more liquid into her, plus her daily beet pulp/ soy mash at 4:30 should help too.  She's had that twice now and I think that's enough as I have seen her poop (relief!)

I also took her out for some grazing and gave her the choice of a few different kinds of plants.  She particularly loves a wild mint that grows nearby but also gobbled down sword fern, Oregon grape, huckleberry and or course grass!

This morning, Dorrie seems just fine so I decided not to do anything special.  That feeling in the pit of my stomach?  Well, it's still lurking a bit but I think I can talk it into submission ... for now!

OCBA Course Ends, Dorica eats a mushroom and has a birthday + planning for England!

Phew ! It's been a busy time!  So a quick blog post to check in ... the course I have been taking (very intense) in Operant Conditioning Behaviour Analysis is coming to an end this week.  We had submit our final video a few days ago - training a complex chain behaviour.

Rose can now go to the fence, pull a tea towel off, proceed to a set of bells and ring them and come back to me - all on ONE cue.  She's still a bit hesitant and it's my fault for rushing her through a bit.  I'll back up though and make everything fluent again.  Rose has been a joy to work with, although a very different personality from the others.  She is a thoughtful, calm girl and a delightful student!

Needless to say "when it rains it pours!" and that has been truly the case in all ways!  I had work in a 3-day multi-media performance, company for the weekend (clean house, buy food, cook meals, sightseeing) and it has literally been pouring, making it harder to train Rose and video our progress!

Because of the copious amounts of rain, mushrooms have popped up (who would think to look for mushrooms in almost-July?) and while I was chatting with a neighbour, Dorica snatched the cap off one that I didn't see and ate it .... yikes!

Dorrie has been a known gourmet, sometimes to her detriment - I decided to "dilute" any ill-effects of said mushroom and gave her some hay and then a walk around the neighbourhood for some huckleberry shrubs, Oregon grape, etc.  At last check, some 5 hours after consuming the mushroom cap, she seems fine.

Meanwhile, she had her 15th birthday on the summer solstice and I didn't even have time to take her picture.  Must do that though before she gets much older!

With everything else going on,  planning for our 2-week holiday to Britain in September is taking shape!
So many bits and pieces to research but it's all very exciting!

Morning Mash

When it comes to feeding donkeys, it seems I am always second-guessing my last decision!
This winter, I had decided not to feed a morning mash - my thinking was that "simpler is better!"
So, no pellets of anything, no processed feed, no GMO products, and nothing that isn't organic.

Then Dorrie had that nasty impaction colic and I "second-guessed" my decision!  And you know how if and when you've ever had food poisoning, somehow your intuition leads you to the culprit?  You just "know" it was the cheese, or the mayonnaise or ...  well, when Dorica coliced, I just "knew" it was the full bale of barley straw I had been putting out in a slow feeder bag, combined with low water intake.

Of course, I can't prove this, but my gut tells me that this was the problem.  Dorrie LOVES her food and perhaps the fact that she had competition from the other donkeys (she's not used to sharing) caused her to overeat. 

The slow feeder bag had 1.5" holes, as compared to their regular hay bags that have 1" holes and it's amazing how much bigger the spacing is!  Too easy to get mouthfuls of straw.  I didn't think they would gorge on straw but I think she did.  Her teeth do need floating and that's another concern, but they're not "bad" enough to cause her to colic, so says the vet.


So in the interests of providing more water in their diet, every donkey gets a morning mash.  You should hear the carrying on while I'm in the feed room getting it ready!  Here's what I do:

In the evening, I put 1/2 cup of soy bean hulls + 1/4 cup of beet pulp + a few Timothy Balance hay cubes in a container and bring it into the house where I add water - I have a line on the container that tells me how much - I guess it's at least 1 cup.  The more water the better but some donkeys don't like to eat a mash that's too sloppy, so you have to fiddle a bit.  I will usually add more warm water in the morning.

When I go out at first light, I take the soaked mash with me and divide it among 4 bowls. 

Then I add:
1 tsp. salt - either sea salt or coarse pink Himalayan salt
1 Tbsp. ground flax seeds - I keep a coffee grinder in the barn and grind every other day
Vitamins/ minerals - either Dr. Reed's pellets or Pure Form for Minis
any other "special needs" e.g Rose is getting a hoof supplement, Dorrie got probiotics for 2 weeks after her colic episode and sometimes I add psyllium if I see diarrhea

Wow!  That's hardly keeping it simple!  Plus, even though I have 2 heated buckets in the barn, I top up smaller buckets with fresh water and boiled water (until it's tepid) and it's been interesting to see that those are the buckets they choose right after eating.

I've just been able to get more Timothy hay pellets (straight hay) and more Timothy Balance cubes (hay + beet pulp + some minerals) so I'm going to switch and use this for the mash and no more soy bean hulls or beet pulp pellets.

So now I'm an advocate for a morning mash - as wet as they'll eat, with salt at the very least, to encourage them to drink more.

Impaction colic - Part 3

I'm going to write down everything I did for Dorica during the week it took her to recover from impaction colic.

She was quite dehydrated, so in addition to the tubing that the vet administered, I needed to find a way to get more water into her, as follows:

1. Syringing water into her mouth
Using a dosing syringe (like a mini turkey baster) I tried getting water in this way.  Dorrie hated it though.


2. Enemas
I found the perfect syringe with a plunger to use for this (a turkey baster would have worked well too, but as I don't eat turkey I didn't have one!)  Greasing the end with vaseline and using warm water, I inserted and Dorrie actually loved this procedure!  Not hard at all!


3. Mini walks to eat wet grass
Thank goodness the temperatures have been above freezing and there is no snow!  Several times a day, I'd take Dorica out to nibble on wet grass and she did this with great enthusiasm!  I was careful not to make her walk too far though - exercise is good, but she was clearly tired.


4. Manure checks
It was so obvious that her manure was not as it should be - rather small amounts and too dry.  Interesting to see how it changed as the impaction passed and she became hydrated.


5. Paste Banamine
I am so happy that Banamine (Flunixin) now comes in a paste that can easily be administered by mouth.
It used to be only available as an injectable liquid but dangerous to inject into the muscle.  Since few animal owners are skilled enough to administer an IV injection, this was always very worrisome.

I continued to give Dorica 1/2 cc of paste Banamine for several days.  The vet advised that if she was eating more that she was excreting, then toxins could enter her bloodstream. She said that the Banamine would not only help with pain but would also act as an anti-toxin.

I really noticed a difference in attitude and appetite about 1/2 hour after giving it!  Because 1/2 cc is such a tiny dose, I wanted to actually see it instead of using the plunger directly in her mouth.  It's hard to lock the knurled knob at 1/2 cc, so I put it on my finger first and then rubbed it on Dorrie's tongue.


6. Encouraging her to eat
When a donkey is off her feed, huge alarm bells go off for me!  There are so many dire complications that can ensue.  So even though I hate to change her diet, I feel it's more important for her to get some food down and I will bend over backwards to tempt her!

Dorrie was offered grass, as I said, but also some richer hay (small handfuls) left over from Rose & Heather's arrival, as well as small amounts of bran mash, soaked beet pulp + soy bean hulls, apple slices and apple sauce and her favorite huckleberry twigs.


7.  Fresh warm water
It can be such a challenge, encouraging an equine to drink during winter!  Even though I have 2 heated buckets in the barn, the thermostats inside the buckets don't seem to kick in unless it's really cold.  There's a temperature range during which the donkeys won't drink this cool water and the buckets won't heat up ... grrr ...!  If I had a million dollars, I have a plumbing system built to the barn from the pump house but as it is, I lug warm tap water every time I go out.  Keeping the barn buckets very clean is also important (and on my list for today!)

8.  Exercise
Motility is greatly enhanced through exercise.  But my donkeys anyway, just hate rain, wind and snow!  Today we are having both rain and wind and they are all in the barn breezeway.  I purchased rain sheets for them this year.  They don't like them much but at least I can encourage a brief walk if the downpour lets up!

I thinks that's it for now.  I will update this post if I remember anything else!

Dorrie's colic - Part 2

During the past several years, I have been extremely fortunate to have support and advice in all-things-donkey from Dr. Faith Burden through the UK Donkey Sanctuary.  Although my veterinarian is an equine specialist and really terrific, the differences in the metabolic and digestive requirements between donkeys and horses are quite unique and Dr. Burden has played a huge role in my knowledge and husbandry practices.

Through Dorica's colic episode, both my vet and Dr. Burden offered great advice, which I will write about now (and hope I haven't forgotten anything!)

Why does impaction colic happen?  Well, unfortunately no one can really see what's going on inside the many miles of digestive tract inside a donkey, so it's a best guess kind of thing. But two things to watch for are teeth and water intake.  If a donkey can't chew properly, things are going to get swallowed that haven't been broken down enough.

Also chewing creates saliva, a necessary component of digestion as it helps to buffer the hydrochloric acid produced by the stomach.  I think that's more about preventing ulcers than impaction colic but I guess it's all related.

It would be a good idea to have teeth checked and floated if necessary in the Fall so you head into winter with a good set of chompers!

Water, water everywhere! But nobody is drinking!!  This is a BIG problem as donkeys don't tend to drink much when the weather is cold.  I purchased 2 heated buckets a few years ago and thought I had the answer.  Everyone seemed to drink their fill, although not as much as during summer.  But this year, for some mysterious reason, the donkeys have not been drinking nearly enough.

I tried flavoring the water with diluted mint tea or apple juice but no one cared for that.   I clean the buckets regularly, I tried rain water instead of well water ...

So to remedy that, I have resorted to a morning mash.  I used to do this and then I stopped, thinking "simpler is better."  I hate the thought of feeding processed horse feed, most definitely GMO, usually too high in sugars and other unwanted ingredients.  So this winter, I didn not offer the morning mash .... until Dorica's colic, that is.

Now I feed:  1/2 cup or so to each donkey of a mix of soaked soy bean hull + beet pulp, (good water content but not too sloppy or they won't eat it ) + 1 tsp. salt + vitamin/ minerals (either Dr. Reeds' pellets or Pure Form Mini formula)  + 1 Tblsp ground flax seed (I keep a coffee grinder in the barn and grind every day) 

The morning mash is a good base if you need to add other stuff. Dorrie has been getting a probiotic all week and Rose was getting a hoof supplement (biotin, zinc, etc.) but I stopped. Sometimes I add apple slices.  When Dorica was ill, I added applesauce to hers. 

Exercise:  I do make sure that everyone gets out and moves around every day.  But how much is really up to them.  One technique I use is what I call "the hay trail."  I will grab a handful of hay and walk out to the furthest end of the property and start dropping small handfuls here and there.

The donkeys hate anything falling out of the sky - rain, snow flakes, especially wind!  So I bought rain sheets for everyone and though I'm not a huge fan of clothing, I will put these on and boot them out of the barn to stretch their legs during crappy weather.

I think this post is getting long -perhaps a Part 3?

Jan. 6th already? Dorrie's colic Part 1

What a crazy couple of weeks!  On Boxing Day, I noticed that Dorica wasn't herself.  She went a lay down during the day (not normal for her) and then she was just standing, while the others were grazing.  So I picked some of her very favorite huckleberry twigs and a bit of maple branch and she ate both.  She didn't seemed distressed but my "caution" light was on for sure.

That afternoon, Forrest came over for her weekly visit and Dorrie trotted around and ate her clicker training treats.  I was greatly relieved. At the end of the session though, we always give them their hay bags and when Dorrie refused hers, I got out my stethoscope and heard ... nothing!  BIG alarm bells now, so inside the house I went to phone the vet.

The vet lives an hours drive and a ferry ride away and it was already 5 PM.  She said it sounded like an impaction, which, unlike a spasmodic colic, gets worse with exercise, not better.  Oh NO!  So I made a bran mash and gave her 1 cc. of paste Banamine (Flunixin) and after an hour or so, Dorrie seemed much improved.

But I decided to sleep on the couch that night and go out to the barn every couple of hours to check.  It was a sleepless night!

By great fortune I had the vet booked to come the following morning as she had other clients on the island and I was anxious for her to meet Rose and Heather and check their teeth.  So we bumped up the appointment earlier.  Dorica was still off her feed.  The vet took her temp which was normal and listened to her heart rate, which was high.  She said Dorrie was dehydrated and confirmed an impaction.

Treatment:  at about 11 AM Dorrie was sedated and given some Flunixin and Buscopan (for pain and to help with muscle relaxation) and then a mini nasogastric tube was inserted and lots of warmish water with mineral oil pumped through.  The vet was able to "smell" the contents of Dorica's stomach through the tube and said it smelled fine, meaning nothing had begun to ferment or putrefy - thank goodness!

After coming out of the sedation (with no problems) Dorica began to nibble on some hay and grass and the vet left.  I took her out for wet grass mini meals throughout the day and gave another dose of paste Banamine but sadly but 5 PM, Dorrie really was no better.

The vet (bless her kind heart) came all the way back that evening and repeated the entire procedure!  She informed me that this was not uncommon at all and that it takes time for the fluids to actually help the impaction dislodge.

Dorrie was such a trooper but that night, she was in a lot of pain.  This was due to pumping so much water into her system which was already feeling bloated and distended.  All I could do was stay with her so with layers of warm clothes on, I stuck by her side for most of the night. By 4 AM she seemed more comfortable but I must say I was scared.

That was 10 days ago and Dorica is just fine now (I don't know what I'd do without her, so I shudder even at that horrible thought!)

In Part 2 of this long tale, I will write about everything I have learned about impaction colic and what I am doing now as a precaution.