According to the Donkey Sanctuary, the best diet for mini donkeys is straw. I thought since it was a European site they might call hay straw. But no, they mean bedding straw. Barley straw if you can find it. Mini donkey owners…what say you?! Is this the best diet??
Edited to add: Secondary question: If you keep horses and mini donkeys together…how do you feed them two different diets? Only way is to separate them? I was hoping to avoid that…
Donkeys evolved in tough climates, and tough lives. “Quality” hay as we understand it was not available to donkey owners. The little workhorses had to survive on what they could get in areas where there is not much rainfall, and where there is competition from sheep and goats, etc. They put on weight very easily and get heavy crests and rumps - I’ve seen them with the crest falling almost completely over - from the over kindness of their owners.
I feed the refusals from first cut hay from my sheep to my donks. So basically straw.
Donkeys are easy to overcondition. Straw is nice because it gives them something to do and a way to keep warm without being nutritionally dense. Paired with a mineral block my donkeys (one standard one mini) are healthy.
They on the other hand, want you to think they are starving and need alfalfa and grain at all times!!!
Yes, straw would be ok.
Feeding straw seems to be more common here in Europe, the same with haylage.
My easy keeper eats straw and hay in the winter. The straw gives him something to do, but isn’t too “rich” for him. Just as there is with hay, quality of straw can vary.
Note that all straw is NOT shiny wheat straw. I really don’t think wheat straw alone, is a sufficient diet. Things change dramatically with feeding barley straw, oat straw/oat hay, or other grain straws. They might be sufficient depending on when in growth it got cut and baled. Avoid dusty stuff, mottled stems as feed sources. Poor first cutting grass hay, might work if limited in quantity. My big horses stay in excellent condition on good first cutting grass hay, so it would have to be severely limited to use for donkeys. Not all " first cutting " hay is equal.
Sorry, you will need to seperate for feeding or the donkeys will blimp out. Be VERY careful allowing free grazing too, sugars and unlimited intake are bad for donkeys. Yard grass is even higher in sugars, so 15 minutes at a time is ENOUGH grazing time. It is amazing how easy donkeys can be overfed.
I was going to comment about straw; not that I am any expert at using it for feed. Stemmy/coarse grass hay is not really the same as “straw”, and different straw is from different grains. I am not sure it’s very useful to talk about “straw” without more detail; just as if we say “hay” it might mean orchard grass, timothy, coastal, etc., or even to describe alfalfa. It probably would be useful to know the nutritional content before choosing one. That shiny yellow stuff is all I see around here - for bedding or for decoration. I have never heard that it was edible.
Ahh yes there are different types. When I mean straw I mean ryegrass that was once planted as a cover crop and now still pops up in my hayfields.
I don’t have any experience with other straws but around here most straw is a perennial rye.
Amazing how the word straw, can have so many different meanings!! We have to be very precise in what we write as information to help another person.
Yes! This is the basis of my confusion!
The straw around me is for bedding. Shiny yellow stuff. Have NEVER heard of any animal eating it until my donkey research.
My reason for wondering is because I’m looking to adopt a pair of overweight mini donkeys and have one I’m boarding for a traveling friend who was mildly overweight upon arrival. The donkey I have currently is fed orchardgrass hay from slow feed nets on a dry lot. She hasn’t gained any weight since being with me but not sure I can say she’s lost a significant amount of weight. I was not planning to allow her into the pasture this spring.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
