Do donkeys/mules thrive well left unattended?
 

At my BO place, I have 100 acres of land - an island. I could do with a bit of help hauling wood from the woods - land is maybe 50/50 rough grassland and dense forest.
Problem is, whereas I am there every few weeks during the summer - I rarely go up during the 3-4 months of cold weather.
Knowing nothing about mules - can they survive and stay healthy on their own? I'm thinking a pair, to keep each other company. They come free, as otherwise they just get slaughtered once they are too big for "the kids to ride round the field on".
I do have a close farmer buddy who could check on them once in a while, but I'm not going to do it unles I know that they can live happy, healthy lives on the island - they wouldn't be tethered or contained.
There was an old donkey on the island, and as soon as it heard the boat coming in it would appear at the house for it's feed of molasses and oats - normally within the hour! So I'm not concerned about "losing" them in the forest.
Seems like a nice slow alternative to an ATV or bigger machine...

Re: Do donkeys/mules thrive well left unattended?
 

They would need feed and some basic shelter. The shelter is simple. just something to break the wind in the winter. If this isn't a completely barren island, then you already have that covered.

If this island had adequate vegetation, then you can just leave them there year-round as long as they have something cured on the stem to eat. Supplemental feed would be nice, but not required. A salt source is required.

If there is not enough naturally occuring winter feed, you would need to import hay. Some sort of feeder would help to reduce waste. If you really want to be able to leave them alone for a long time, you could build some type of feeder that would hold a winter's supply of hay and the mules can push the feedrack in as they rech for more.

If the basics of food and windbreak are met, I think they would be happier and healthier on the island than in a barn.

Re: Do donkeys/mules thrive well left unattended?
 

What a great BO place...

I would say that as long as they have a buddy and your neighbor to check on them every couple of days -- particularly to ensure that they have fresh water, something nutritious to eat, and access to shade in the summer, shelter from bad weather, etc. - they should be fine.

You would want to ensure that they get adequate nutrition if you are going to use them as work animals -- eating scrub probably won't cut it for that aspect. You'll also want to ensure that their hooves are in good shape -- might have to have a farrier come out to trim hooves every now and again.

The biggest potential drawback I see is how you will be able to train them to a harness and to pull if you're never there, but if you have Amish neighbors, you might be able to hire them to train them for you.

Re: Do donkeys/mules thrive well left unattended?
 

Get a machine that runs on gasoline.

Re: Do donkeys/mules thrive well left unattended?
 

There's an open barn there, which they can use for shelter if they need, and fresh water - well, it's a pretty clean lake!
It's not scrubland, the entire island used to be forested - then around half of it was logged and seeded with grasses, plenty of wild berries, I could live off it myself if needed!
My farmer buddy won't be there every few days or so at all - maybe once every 3 or 4 weeks - would that be sufficient? He does his own horses hooves, so could manage that, and as they won't be walking anywhere abrasive, am I right in thinking they shouldn't need shoed?
They'll be doing a minimal amount of work for the minute - a weekend here and there of hauling wood, and when they are doing that I'll make sure to bring good, high calorie food for them.
They are pretty easy to train from what I gather - it's the old "carrot on a stick" thing, and they'll be grown donkeys, not the type that go buck mad and decide to kick you in the chest for no reason. And of course treats go a long way to earning loyalty!
Just checking if this would be OK - I don't want to keep them at all if they are going to be unhealthy or unhappy.

Re: Do donkeys/mules thrive well left unattended?
 

I already have 9 of those (and that's just the cars - my piston count is stupidly high!), there are no roads of any sort on the island, and an ATV costs a lot more than a pair of free donkeys. And a donkey can haul a lot more than an ATV with a log arch.

Re: Do donkeys/mules thrive well left unattended?
 

You said there is/was a feral donkey there already.... that pretty well answers your question. A couple mules with free access to a barn full of hay will be quite happy in your absence.

Re: Do donkeys/mules thrive well left unattended?
 

MY BO island has herds of wild donkeys. They do fine. But it is an arid, desert island populated with cacti and lizards.

Here are two wild ones I came across one day.

Re: Do donkeys/mules thrive well left unattended?
 

They will be fine. Go for it.

Re: Do donkeys/mules thrive well left unattended?
 

Drill and Fill would be lost without his wife.

Re: Do donkeys/mules thrive well left unattended?
 

I will volunteer for winter duty as long as it is a Jenny....:36_1_63:

Re: Do donkeys/mules thrive well left unattended?
 

That sounds great. One thing - they won't have access to "a barn full of hay" - it's an empty barn except for a few old boats. There is plenty of green grass year-round though. The only thing I worry about is if one steps in a rabbit hole, breaks a leg, etc - but I suppose that's nature?
And they can always swim off the island if they wish - I swam the old donkey off because it was getting too old and sick, it needed shot, and I didn't want the carcass rotting on the land. Tie it to the back of a rowboat (no outboards, hehe!), and it'll follow you into the water, swim the lake, climb out the other side as if it was second nature to them. Then it had a week of the finest food known to donkey-kind before being humanely dispatched with a shotgun. It was more of a pet than a worker, but so would these pair- it doesn't take a lot of work for a donkey to haul a lot of wood.

Re: Do donkeys/mules thrive well left unattended?
 

It would cost you a lot in flights... :D

Re: Do donkeys/mules thrive well left unattended?
 

Sounds like a wonderful place! Go for it...

Re: Do donkeys/mules thrive well left unattended?
 

Do you have anything to lose?

Just be real nice to them before and after,they are powerful animals.

Re: Do donkeys/mules thrive well left unattended?
 

What part of the world is that? Only wild burros I've ever seen are quite shy.

Re: Do donkeys/mules thrive well left unattended?
 

Southern carib, Netherlands Antilles. Lots of wild donkeys there and they love saltines.

Re: Do donkeys/mules thrive well left unattended?
 

I would think donkeys would do better than mules. I think they have a better/more efficient digestive system than mules. Tough animals. If this is up North where it gets cold, try and find donkeys with longer fur,wool. Need some of those Scottish Highland Donkeys. That might help them with the cold and damp.

Leave some sort of vitamin suppliment too.

Are there any preditors? Probably not, UK right??

You'll never know until you try it.

Not against the law is it? Leaving unattended domestic animals on their own??

SB

Re: Do donkeys/mules thrive well left unattended?
 

It's not up north, so a pretty reasonable climate. I can certainly leave a salt lick or whatever, would also give me somewhere to track them to should they decide to do a vanishing act in the forest!
I don't think there would be any law against it, and as the island is pretty hard to see from the mainland and not on the usual boating routes, I doubt any idiot is going to ring the RSPCA and report unattended donkeys. Thanks all for your input!

Re: Do donkeys/mules thrive well left unattended?
 

One donkey obtained, living in luxury on fallow grassland until I get down there next! Not going to swim them over until I get a pair, I want them to become friends, maybe learn to use an axe, and build themselves a nice cabin to live in...

Re: Do donkeys/mules thrive well left unattended?
 

Make sure they have shelter, water, feed, salt and mineral block---and someone to check on them every couple of days...nasty things can happen, you'd be surprised.

Please do not shoe them. Wasted money, and wasted hooves.

Donkeys/Mules have very very good hooves, they do not need to be shod. Hooves will be healthier without the shoeing. Abrasion is OK, mother nature intended it this way to naturally wear them down and toughen them up.

They DO need to be filed/trimmed on a regular basis, at least every 8 weeks, no later, don't push the trimming, this is where you'll get into trouble.

Be sure to worm them every 3 months, we use a paste that tastes like apples, Equimax. Worms are major source of colic, will kill your mules if they get it and no one around to help them.

Don't change their feed radically EVER, this causes, colic.

Always always make sure they have a source of water, again not enough water, colic.

Good hay/salt/mineral block and they will be fine.

Do not feed MOLDY hay or hay with bugs in it! EVER. SEND IT BACK.
You'll kill them.

DO NOT leave a halter on them in pasture, take it off.

Ok, that's for starters :)

Re: Do donkeys/mules thrive well left unattended?
 

The one is currently dining on knee-length grass, and rushes when the lake level drops a bit - another should be on the way within a month.
I'm going to give them another month to acclimatise to the local food, then swim them over. He loves the salt licks. :D