# I Say A Donkey is Best BOR



## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

They are quite,don't eat much at all and don't need a lot of water and are sure footed .Even better they don't run away from you if they get spooked.And will not allow a stranger to ride or control them without a fight.
When my donkey got spooked at the rodeo she ran to me and put her head in my chest and just breyed. i was in the middle of a field with only a blade of grass to hide behind and thought she would run over me coming at me so fast,but she did'nt even bump me,just circled my body and cried.
She would hide behind a tree and peek at me ,haha if he got mad. Never stubburn,she just liked to think about it awhile.


----------



## Ezmerelda (Oct 17, 2010)

I hear they're good watch animals, too.

And, they're more suitable for farm work (pulling plows, wagons, and other misc. farm equipment) in the south than oxen.

But, maybe that's mules? :scratch What is the difference between donkeys and mules, anyway? Aside from parentage, of course. Is it just that mules are bigger? And sterile?

I dream of having over 100 acres with the perfect blend of forest, pond, pasture and growing area...and doing it all with a mule team instead of tractors.

:crossfinger:


----------



## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

Ezmerelda said:


> I hear they're good watch animals, too.
> 
> And, they're more suitable for farm work (pulling plows, wagons, and other misc. farm equipment) in the south than oxen.
> 
> ...


 I really miss my Rosie,we had to give her away .She would not let anything come in the pasture.She was very smart too. 
Mules have a lot of horse in them,so they tend to be more independant. Mammath donkeys are also very large . Jennys are the most protective and best guard donks,imo 'guess its the mother in them'.
They eat very little,can go without water longer than other animals. You should really not give grain to a donkey.
If hubby was'nt disabled we'd kept her .


----------



## LilRedHen (Aug 28, 2011)

Ezmerelda said:


> But, maybe that's mules? :scratch What is the difference between donkeys and mules, anyway? Aside from parentage, of course. Is it just that mules are bigger? And sterile?:crossfinger:


Mules are a hybrid cross of a male donkey (jack) and a female horse (mare). They are sterile, but male mules must be gelded to keep them calmer. Henny mules are a cross between a female donkey (jenny) and a male horse. Henny mules ane usually smaller than the more popular cross. Mules are generally more sure footed than horses and will not over eat and founder themselves. In my area of the South, before tractors, mules were considered more valuable than horses on the farm.

Although I don't keep up with it anymore, there used to be a once a year mule sale in Dixon, Tennessee that the Amish from Pennsylvania would attend to purchase mules.


----------



## kejmack (May 17, 2011)

I have two donkeys. They are trained to drive and to carry a pack. Donkeys are extremely smart. If we have to bug out on foot, the plan is to have the donkeys carry the supplies. The best part is that they love to work. They love having a job and will get into trouble if they are bored. Donkeys are awesome.


----------



## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

LilRedHen said:


> Mules are a hybrid cross of a male donkey (jack) and a female horse (mare). They are sterile, but male mules must be gelded to keep them calmer. Henny mules are a cross between a female donkey (jenny) and a male horse. Henny mules ane usually smaller than the more popular cross. Mules are generally more sure footed than horses and will not over eat and founder themselves. In my area of the South, before tractors, mules were considered more valuable than horses on the farm.
> 
> Although I don't keep up with it anymore, there used to be a once a year mule sale in Dixon, Tennessee that the Amish from Pennsylvania would attend to purchase mules.


 Some show mules are beautiful.We went to a mule and donkey show up in Chatsworth Ga.,saw two of the most beautiful pair of mules I've ever seen ,Molly and Polly.
Mules are not as smart as donkeys but some sure are pretty and very hard workers .
We got our Rosie when she was just a little fuzzy haired 4 mo.old .
Our horse always faced the front of the trailor,where our donk always liked to see where she had been and faced the back.
Donks will eat horse mains and tails though.Our horse had one of the most beautiful tails he was poetry in motion when he ran,well Rosie took care of that. At a horse show somebody made the mistake of putting some donks in with their show horses,next morning not a tail in the bunch .


----------



## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

kejmack said:


> I have two donkeys. They are trained to drive and to carry a pack. Donkeys are extremely smart. If we have to bug out on foot, the plan is to have the donkeys carry the supplies. The best part is that they love to work. They love having a job and will get into trouble if they are bored. Donkeys are awesome.


 Rosie is several miles from here guarding cows hubby likes to go by abnd visit,I don't it hurts too much.
Theres no better sound than waking to breying.


----------



## TheAnt (Jun 7, 2011)

Meerkat, I have heard great things about donkeys and if I was in a position to have one I would! Great post! :congrat:


----------



## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

TheAnt said:


> Meerkat, I have heard great things about donkeys and if I was in a position to have one I would! Great post! :congrat:


 Yea I love donks,and your welcome.
A donkey will use every bit of their food because their digestive systems absorbs it so well. Thats why they can live in desert areas where there is not much to graze on .
I saw a picture of a poor donk up in the air from the wagon being so full ,guess where it was ?
My Rosie was a sycilian donkey.But when we were kids mama bought us 3 donkeys from Sears and Robuck Catalog shipped into train station from Mexico . What a ride ! They knew which trees to go between to peel you off their backs . Mine was named Katy and she watched us open the gate and learned how to pul up the rod through the latch then turn and ick it open. I walked miles teasing them with bread to get them back home. When the ears touched the neck it was time to give them a piece .
Soon as we could I got another donk, named Rosie ,named after the mule in the 1938 movie'The Great Waltz' while riding threw the forest Sstrauss wrote the song'Tales of the Vienna Woods ,great movie.


----------



## VUnder (Sep 1, 2011)

Donkeys are extremely smart. Mules have short attention spans, so take that into consideration when training. Whatever habit they learn, they will never forget, so make sure it is good habits. One man here had a pair that he could hitch to the wagon and put a list on the seat and send them to the store. When they arrived, the storekeeper loaded the wagon with the listed items, smacked them on the rump, and they came back home. I have seen people log with them, and it is awesome to watch how they know the next move and get in position without you having to tell them what to do. I have had a horse that you could ride into a large herd of cattle and pick one cow to get after, and drop the reins, he would chase that cow until you stopped him. People don't spend enough time working with their animals anymore to know them and what they are capable of. My old neighbor, dead now, said he and his dad plowed with the same mule for 46 years. I have seen some in their forties. A horse here just died that was 37. I imagine that beasts of burden and the know how to operate them will be in high demand in the near future.


----------



## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

VUnder said:


> Donkeys are extremely smart. Mules have short attention spans, so take that into consideration when training. Whatever habit they learn, they will never forget, so make sure it is good habits. One man here had a pair that he could hitch to the wagon and put a list on the seat and send them to the store. When they arrived, the storekeeper loaded the wagon with the listed items, smacked them on the rump, and they came back home. I have seen people log with them, and it is awesome to watch how they know the next move and get in position without you having to tell them what to do. I have had a horse that you could ride into a large herd of cattle and pick one cow to get after, and drop the reins, he would chase that cow until you stopped him. People don't spend enough time working with their animals anymore to know them and what they are capable of. My old neighbor, dead now, said he and his dad plowed with the same mule for 46 years. I have seen some in their forties. A horse here just died that was 37. I imagine that beasts of burden and the know how to operate them will be in high demand in the near future.


 They sure are . We loved hauling ass but hated dealing with ass holes .
I was just at the old site ..
Love Longears!
One of the little furry colts looked like mine when we got her.
I use to really enjoy the magazine ever other month .Entertaining stories and articles on care . 
One was about the mules used in war and another about them in mines[ a horse would not go into a mine,this is one time the horse may have been smarter than the mules.]
I had to trim Rosies hooves myself because most don't know how to trim a donk . So my ferrier showed me how before we moved here . You can't trim them like a horse it will throw them off balance and injure them. Or they would cut too short .


----------



## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

Donkeys will faint if caught in a bad situation they can't get out of. A pack of dogs [nver sn or heard a donk before]came at Rosie and I was holding on to her halter and since she could'nt run she just fainted! I thought she was dead.after a few minutes she got up and vet told me she fainted .
I spoiled Rosie and she bit me ,turned 5 colors before it healed.Next tiem she bit me in the stomach,so I grabbed her by the fuzzy head and bit the heck out of her on the nose ,she never bit me again. You have to let them know whos boss.They can kick faster than you can bat an eye too,put a hoof right through you. Katy never tried to kick or bite so guess Rosie had an attitude so I had to adjust it for her.


----------



## VUnder (Sep 1, 2011)

Another thing about donkeys. Spend some time with them and pick a quiet one. Some of them can't bray very loud at all. I had one here that could be heard for a good five miles. I actually went that far away and I could hear him. Might not be good to have something that loud giving your location away if you are trying to slip away quietly. We have a half dozen down at the farm, and some of them try to bray, but nothing comes out.


----------



## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

VUnder said:


> Another thing about donkeys. Spend some time with them and pick a quiet one. Some of them can't bray very loud at all. I had one here that could be heard for a good five miles. I actually went that far away and I could hear him. Might not be good to have something that loud giving your location away if you are trying to slip away quietly. We have a half dozen down at the farm, and some of them try to bray, but nothing comes out.


 I liked hearing them brey so did the neighbors but soem ay not like it.
Also donkey doo is the best fertilizer,their digestive systems kill all weed and other seeds while horse manure willnot kill seeds,thas why our horse kept planting watermellons every year . My first garden here was double dug and on the bottom foot I put in donkey doo from the field Ihad piled up the year before.Everything grew very well,my peanuts were the largest I'd ever seen and delicious right off the plant .


----------



## TheAnt (Jun 7, 2011)

Meerkat said:


> I liked hearing them brey so did the neighbors but soem ay not like it.
> Also donkey doo is the best fertilizer,their digestive systems kill all weed and other seeds while horse manure willnot kill seeds,thas why our horse kept planting watermellons every year . My first garden here was double dug and on the bottom foot I put in donkey doo from the field Ihad piled up the year before.Everything grew very well,my peanuts were the largest I'd ever seen and delicious right off the plant .


You guys make me jealous! I would love a donkey but cant have one where I live. As for peanuts... I think Ill stick to the chocolate covered ones...


----------



## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

TheAnt said:


> You guys make me jealous! I would love a donkey but cant have one where I live. As for peanuts... I think Ill stick to the chocolate covered ones...


 I no longer have a donk,wish I did .My Rosie was given away .
She wil be 15 Nov15th.She was 7 whenwe gave her away.


----------

