How to Choose a Donkey

How to choose a donkey worries many people who use it for heavy duty work. They always look for economical means to carry maximum work, where a donkey proves to be of immense help.

Donkeys are mostly tiny miniatures that are available in various types. Only the Spanish Donkeys are an exception that are large and are over 12 hands. You can conduct a good research to check the availability of a variety of donkeys. Later, these can be accessed as per the utility and characteristics.

There are all sorts of donkeys from tiny miniatures (which cost the earth) to the large Spanish Donkeys which are over 12 hands. As with horses the best way to buy a good donkey is to take with you someone who understands what he is doing. What constitutes a good donkey is really common sense. Donkeys are great characters but they are not as thick and stupid as they look. What is frequently referred to as a donkey's obstinacy is in fact intelligence, when the animal cannot see the point in a particularly point-less exercise that his owner is trying to inflict upon him.

Tips on How to Choose a Donkey:

• Examine the entire history of a donkey if you are going to buy it for domestic purpose
• It is very important to know whether the donkey is dutiful or not
• It is advised to get a person who has got previous experience in donkey buying to accompany you
• It takes common sense to judge a good breed of donkey as it possesses good traits. It stubbornness is mistaken as bad quality but actually it is its intellect not to perform further work that his owner is trying to impose upon him
• It is okay to keep a jenny i.e. a female or a gelding for a pet, as they have consistent temperament as compared to a male jack. But do so, only if you have prior experience to handle them
• Your relationship as the owner and the way you treat your pet donkey decides the long term association with it.

Many people like to keep donkeys as pets because of their friendly nature. It is easy to train them with proper instructions as this animal responds well. These animals prove to be realistic and faithful companions for life that are ready to learn new things.

How to Keep a Donkey as a Pet:

Mostly, you can select two types of donkeys: a domestic donkey or a wild one. Farmers and breeders provide a domestic donkey, while a wild donkey can be accessed from registered organizations like Bureau of Land Management. Donkeys have been used to keep away coyotes and wolves and to guard animals like flocks of sheep and cattle. As soon as you decide to get a pet donkey, make arrangements to provide a nice shelter to protect it in bad weather.

Normally, a donkey has a good memory similar to an elephant. It remembers any kind of ill treatment received and the person who ill-treated it. Thus, it is very important to treat a donkey with compassion and reverence. Sometimes, you can brush the mule with a broom until it gets accustomed to touch. This helps to form a bond with it and you can get closer to build a cooperative relationship.

Never feed sweet food and grain to donkeys as they make the animal ill and lame. Instead, you can provide thistles, pigweed and simple hay.

Constantly attend to the pet donkey's hooves and trim it time-to-time by means of a farrier for every six to eight weeks. Regularly clean the donkey to prevent worms and frequently visit a veterinarian to set up a de-worming program. Moreover, keep the donkey's living area free from dung and dirt free to cut down the dangerous parasites.