One of the roles of the Vet Projects Department is to provide feeding advice to donkey owners and keepers. We have had a busy few weeks with lots of calls coming through from owners of donkeys wanting to know how to feed their donkeys appropriately at this time of year. It is often during these months that elderly donkeys may struggle to maintain weight and need supplementary feeding. In general feeding donkeys that are fit and healthy with good teeth is extremely easy. Donkeys are amazing at obtaining as much from their food as possible, they have evolved to live in semi arid environments where the quality of food available is very poor and subsequently are masters at eating and digesting tough, fibrous plants.
In the UK the most common problems that we come across are donkeys that are overweight or elderly donkeys that are struggling to eat hay and straw and need these 'long fibres' replacing with something more manageable. So first of all what should you feed a healthy donkey with good teeth? (remember that your donkey's teeth should be checked by a qualified professional at least once per year). Healthy donkeys thrive on a basic diet of good quality feeding straw (barley is best) with a little hay and very restricted grazing. This diet allows the donkey to satisfy his natural appetite without putting on weight. In my experience the addition of supplements is unnecessary unless specifically recommended by a vet. Overweight donkeys are more prone to life threatening diseases such as hyperlipaemia and laminitis so it is important to prevent your donkey becoming overweight before it happens – you can diet donkeys but it is very difficult and must be done with care, seek advice if unsure!
This week I spoke to the owner of Fudge an elderly donkey with very poor teeth. The equine dentist had been out to see him and made him as comfortable as possible but unfortunately old age was catching up with him and he had lost a number of teeth. After chatting to his owner we decided that Fudge was no longer able to manage his straw and hay. We decided we would have to provide Fudge with what we call a 'Haynet in a Bucket'. This involves providing Fudge with a chopped fibre product that he doesn't have to chew too much and that will not cause problems such as impaction colic. In the short term I also advised that Fudge should be fed some high fibre nuts and unmolassed sugar beet to help him put a little bit of weight on safely. All of the feed types that we recommend for donkeys are safe for laminitics (if you're not sure look on the bag, if it's safe it will say) and are high in fibre. We do not advise that donkey owners feed cereal based products (cubes or mixes) as these can increase the risk of the donkey developing laminitis and gastric ulcers unless fed very carefully. Donkeys do very well on these natural fibre feeds, here at the Donkey Sanctuary we feed all of our animals on this basis.
There is lots of information available on our website with factsheets on General Feeding and Feeding Elderly Donkeys. If you would like any further advice please do contact us.
I would very much appreciate a comment from you on the following ; our two donkeys are in excellent health and they have plenty of acreage to graze on we also feed hay at night. However when we keep them in their stables at night or during wet weather, they chew the chipboard which lines the stables. Do you have any ideas or suggestions as to any product I could put (or paint) on the chipboard to stop the damage? I have tried mustard and also chilli paste which my previous dog never liked and I thought would deter them but no luck!
Danny and Daisy are 5 years old and came from the same place we purchased them together, they are delightful and happy in their home, this chewing is the only problem we have with them.
Your assistance would be most welcome.
Kind regards
KNR
Thank you for your enquiry about donkeys chewing the chipboard in your stables; this is unfortunately a very common problem. Donkeys evolved in semi-arid environments where plants are often very tough and fibrous, because of this donkeys will ‘browse’ as well as graze meaning that they view things like wood and hedgerows as food items! Donkeys in this country will often chew wood as a way of increasing the level of fibre in their diet and it should not be confused with crib biting, a vice that is common in horses. Unfortunately most anti-chew products will not deter your donkeys as they view the chipboard as something tasty and are unlikely to be put off by a thin covering of mustard or chili. The best way to deter your donkeys is to give them lots of fibre to eat, you do not mention if you give your donkeys straw to eat? Here at the Sanctuary we recommend that the majority of a young, fit, healthy donkey’s diet should be made up of good quality feeding straw (barley is best), in fact if fed on hay and grass alone it is almost inevitable that donkeys will not be able to satisfy their natural appetite without putting on excess weight. Another way of deterring your donkeys from eating the chipboard would be to give them logs (birch, ash, hazel, willow and fruit trees) to chew on, donkeys enjoy stripping the bark and chewing the woody parts. During our study looking at enrichment for donkeys at The Donkey Sanctuary we found that this was an excellent way of stimulating their minds and bodies and gave them the opportunity to satisfy their natural urge to browse.
I do hope these ideas are helpful, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any further queries.
Best wishes,
Faith