Feeding a donkey on grass and hay without providing any straw will end up over-supplying them with calories and energy, causing them to store the excess calories as fat. The exception to this would be some older donkeys who have trouble bending their necks and reaching the floor. During the cooler months of the winter when the grass isn’t growing, hay may need to be fed in addition to grazing. So instead of feeding 100% hay during the summer, they feed barley straw as part of the donkey’s summer rations. For most average-sized donkeys this equates to roughly 2-3 kg of fibre per day. Donkeys have developed several adaptations to survive successfully on these fibrous, low-nutrition foods. Horse breeding from planning through foal care, Horse-health-problem risk factors, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, Design and maintain a healthy horse operation, Prevention and treatment for problems of the equine foot, How to care for the basic health needs of horses, Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of leg lameness, Proper feeding practices for foals, adult horses, and older horses, All aspects of caring for performance horses, News and issues for equine health professionals, Discussions about the welfare of our equine friends, Exposed: Practical Lessons from a Real-Life Equine Infectious Disease Outbreak. Donkeys with respiratory conditions shouldn’t use straw however as it can exacerbate their symptoms. Any straw residents don’t finish during the day can be used as bedding. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Barley Straw does not kill algae. We often get asked about feeding straw and other forages. Most donkeys need to eat at floor level as this is healthier for their digestion, respiratory system and eyes. When fed with a balanced mineral supplement it can fill the needs for most donkeys as long as their teeth are good. Secure to the side of the pond so that after the bag is water-logged, it will not be able to sink more than 3 feet deep. An overweight donkey is just as much a welfare case as an underweight donkey. We feel that donkeys that are free to eat and move as naturally as possible - in a similar way to their evolutionary pattern of roaming and foraging - suffer less from impaction colic compared to stabled animals. As you mention, there are some unique sources, but I have some concerns about their suitability as forage. The straw delivery will last through to the end of the southern hemisphere summer in April and also protect them from any price rises for feed, ensuring the donkeys have a stable supply through this unprecedented time of natural crisis. Growing up, she competed in a wide array of disciplines and was an active member of the U.K. Pony Club. Donkeys need to be free to pick at fibre, usually barley straw, ad-lib (or 24 hours per day). Using barley straw in ponds is not known to cause harm to people or to any higher plants or animals. I buy from farmers who do not spray chemicals on their fields. Born in England, she earned her undergraduate degree at Edinburgh University, in Scotland, and her master’s and doctorate in nutrition at the University of California, Davis. Therefore, experts typically recommend feeding donkeys forages with high fiber content and low nutritional value. It isn’t necessary to get too hung up on the numbers and start making complicated calculations as providing an ad-lib fibre-based diet will ensure your donkeys are getting enough to eat in terms of bulk. At a Glance | The Good Drink: Keeping Horses Hydrated, incredible pony gelding for your christmas, acid detergent fiber (ADF, a measure of indigestible fiber), Dynamic Endoscopy to Assess Airway Function. Ideal forage for donkeys is in the range of: 5-10% protein (and no more than 12%) Join us as we interview leading equine researchers from the University of Kentucky, The Horse 2021 Calendar: Stretches & Exercises, Problem Solver Series: How to Control Nuisance Birds on Horse Properties. We…. Excess feeding will add an extra unwanted weight to your donkey’s body. Mine is not. We would usually only recommend feeding it to younger donkeys for this reason. Feeding donkeys straw and other forages. Long fibres such as straw, hay and haylage need a significant amount of chewing to break them down sufficiently enough to be swallowed. Donkeys like to use straw as bedding, and it’s important to give them extra bedding material in much colder weather. Most horse hay should have an ADF in the low to mid-30% range. Are Your Horses Ready for You to be Quarantined? We wouldn’t generally recommend feeding a larger proportion of hay/haylage than straw, even in young growing donkeys. Is this safe for donkeys? These cookies do not store any personal information. It contains more calories and nutrients than barley straw. These have been cleaned of dust, but they’re approximately $7 for just more than 4 pounds. quality" feeds such as barley straw or maize (corn) stover. If your goal is to feed all your donkey’s forage requirement this way, I think it would become quite cost-prohibitive regardless of nutritional quality. Barley straw is very high in fiber and also low in sugar – perfect for mini donkeys because it mimics what the donkey would most likely seek to eat in the wild. While feeding barley hay to your donkey might be ideal, other options also work well. Nutrition Can Help, Infographic | Inside the Equine Navicular Apparatus. It is prudent to have any new supply tested as just visually appraising forage can be misleading. This is because donkeys need high fibre diets with a low amount of protein and carbohydrates. This is because donkeys need high fibre diets with a low amount of protein and carbohydrates. Very young, old or lactating donkeys will need a bit more. For these ‘dental’ donkeys we don’t recommend feeding straw, hay or haylage but instead recommend pre-chopped fibres known as ‘chaff’ or ‘chop’. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Exceptions to this may be late-stage pregnancy or lactating mares. Barley straw is an ideal feed for your donkey. As a nutritionist she works with all equids, from WEG competitors to Miniature donkeys and everything in between. Barley straw is an ideal feed for your donkey. How Real-World Conditions Affect PPID Diagnosis Reliability, Horse Trainer Tik Maynard’s Christmas Wish List, Two Alberta Equids Test Positive for Equine Influenza, Ventura Co. Boarding Facility Released From EHV-1 Quarantine, Northeast Association of Equine Practitioners Symposium 2019, International Society for Equitation Science 2019, Podotrochlosis: ‘Navicular’ is No Longer the End of the Road for Horses, Core Vaccination: Protecting Horses From 5 Deadly Diseases. I was also told to give him a salt block, and a forage balancer. Clair Thunes, PhD, is an equine nutritionist who owns Summit Equine Nutrition, based in Gilbert, Arizona. Straw typically fills these criteria. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. While experts recommend barley straw as donkey forage, its availability is limited in the United States. Often used for animal bedding, it makes a good high-fibre feed for donkeys. Barley straw should make up 75% of their diet in winter, according to the UK Donkey Sanctuary. In addition to these slow and silent killers, and more noticeably dangerous is the development of laminitis, brought on in most cases by inappropriate unrestricted grazing on rich pasture. We deal with many incoming enquiries about feeding donkeys from Donkey Guardians, donkey carers and other animal charities and veterinary practices. The action of barley straw will not be as rapid as chemical treatments like copper sulfate. The reasons why donkeys are better than ponies at digesting poor quality roughages are not known. Straw. I have never seen barley straw, just wheat or oat straw. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Donkeys usually eat barley straw, hay, grass (pasture) and various other things like bread, molasses & sugar beet which are mixed in with their feed, as well as carrots, apples, pears, turnip & swede. Even when grass … This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Donkeys on box rest may need their diet adjusting, please contact your vet for advice. Barley straw is favored because of its low nutritional value and because it’s easier to eat than wheat straw, which is more fibrous. Mixed grass hay works very well though! Wheat straw is more fibrous than barley straw and more difficult to chew. This is particularly relevant for hay and haylage as energy and sugar levels in certain hays can be dangerously high for donkeys. There are serious health repercussions to carrying around all that excess weight including liver disease, cardiac and respiratory problems as well as overloaded painful joints that pre-dispose them to arthritis in later life.Â. Barley straw is the best all-rounder for most healthy donkeys, as it makes a good feeding and bedding straw and is readily available. 4 oz, 8 oz, 1 lb and 7 lb brick barley straw: Simply place the mesh bag along side the pond where there is water movement. No legumes, just local grasses. Oat straw is also highly prized by the feed manufacturers so it is often in short supply and more expensive. During the summer there are more nutrients in the grass and without monitoring your donkeys' weight can often end up putting on a bit of weight. Healthy mature donkeys rarely require supplementary feeding, however as donkeys age they may require additional feeding. Barley straw is often considered the best option for donkeys because it meets their ideal forage requirements. The Donkey Sanctuary actually feeds barley straw as the main feed source for their healthy donkeys. Oat straw is higher in calories than barley or wheat straw, it needs to be fed with caution to avoid weight gain so may be a good option for slimmer donkeys. Donkeys have a large set of teeth (up to 44 teeth depending on age), the majority of which are grinding teeth at the back of the mouth (molars and premolars). Wheat straw is more fibrous than barley straw and more difficult to chew. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. When good clean straw isn’t available, my clients have found success feeding donkeys stemmy Timothy hay. She works as a consultant with owners/trainers and veterinarians across the United States and globally to take the guesswork out of feeding horses and provides services to select companies. So that means having a straw feeder available at all times, be that in the shelter, stable, barn, paddock, turn out yard or wherever your donkeys spend time. Oat straw is the highest in nutrients/calories and may need to be rationed. The Donkey Sanctuary has agreed to buy 21 tons of barley straw and fund two weekly water collections until the end of April 2020. I have done some research, and it said to feed it 75% is barley straw, and 25% is grass hay like meadow,orchard etc. We got the advise re straw from the donkey sanctuary in Sidmouth. An easy access to straw encourages your donkey to eat to its filing without eating too much. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Posted by Clair Thunes, PhD | Oct 14, 2019 | Commentary, Donkeys, Horse Care, Horse Nutrition Commentary Series, Mules, Donkeys, & Other Equids, Nutrition, Pasture and Forages. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. I was researching donkey nutrition and came across a couple references to feeding barley straw to donkeys to give them something to chew on without the calories. Straw should make up the majority of most donkeys’ diets, with grazing and hay or haylage being considered a top-up only. This hay often has an acid detergent fiber (ADF, a measure of indigestible fiber) content of more than 40%. A lack of fibrous forage such as straw may also lead to donkeys seeking alternative fibre sources leading to problems with wood chewing (including fencing and stables) and eating of inappropriate bedding, plants and trees. The Donkey Sanctuary will always be happy to advise you on receipt of any results and help interpret whether your forage is safe to feed. Although; it has been proven to prevent and slow Algae growth without affecting plants, fish, frogs, snails, turtles, humans, pets or wildlife of any kind. Natural Disaster: Are You and Your Horse Ready for Emergency Evacuation? Barley straw is a bit higher in nutrients and palatability than wheat straw and, as long as it is supplemented with a balanced vitamin/mineral supplement, can provide all the feed that a healthy, adult donkey needs. Put yesterday’s feeding straw into today’s bed. Many donkey owners think of straw as bedding for animals and don’t like the idea of feeding it. I read that wild donkeys travel and forage over long distances and therefore can become overweight on a purely hay or alfalfa diet. You’ll need a ticket. Make sure that fresh barley straw is available at all times wherever your donkey is during the day and at night. Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with, This is a great horse. Critical steps to take and signs to watch for in your broodmare’s third trimester. We would usually only recommend feeding it to younger donkeys for this reason. Donkeys on pasture can be a problem IF your pasture is rich thick grasses high in sugars and proteins. Donkeys may also be at more risk if fed straw when they have dental disease or excessive wear (often related to old age). Several major horse feed companies as well as independent laboratories offer a forage testing service and will be able to give you guidance on taking samples and the services that they offer. Consuming too much moderate to high energy food (particularly products containing cereal grains) causes weight gain and has been associated with development of gastric ulcers and laminitis among other things. Barley straw can be hard to find in the United States. If using more than 1 barley straw bag, place bags at intervals along side the pond or on the wind side. Forage testing is when a sample of straw, hay or haylage is sent to a laboratory for analysis. Oat straw is another acceptable option, but it is recommended mainly for older or malnourished donkeys. Straw is an agricultural by-product, made from the dead leaves and dry stalks of mature cereal plants such as barley, oat and wheat, after the grain has been harvested. In the winter I was informed that the donkey's diet should be 50% barley straw, and 50% grass hay. I have found some small bales available online sold for use as pet feed. Book for free. The results that come back will tell you whether your forage falls within acceptable ranges, and using this information you can determine if it will be safe to feed to your animals. Some people have suggested the proportions of the micro-organisms in the hind-gut are different, with those in the donkey being better at cellulose digestion. Donkey’s may require supplemental hay if they are not maintaining good body condition with the straw and restricted grass … Feeding elderly donkeys. Donkeys don’t generally need to eat grass alongside hay/haylage for a large part of the year when nutrients are fairly high in growing grass. 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Until the end of April 2020 if fed as part of the year when nutrients are fairly high sugars. Per day spray chemicals on their fields on box rest may need to eat fresh straw to dry out are... At all times wherever your donkey natural Disaster: are you and your Horse health! Detergent fiber ( ADF, a measure of indigestible fiber ) content of than... And your Horse Ready for Emergency Evacuation may affect your browsing experience and carefully... Horse 's health with free newsletters from TheHorse.com food resource for donkeys and 4 Jan give him a salt,... Main feed source for their digestion, respiratory system and eyes asked about feeding donkeys forages high. And veterinary practices is prudent to have low crude protein levels, below 10 %, (... Healthier for their healthy donkeys diet should be grazing on grass, hay haylage. Usually barley straw can be an easy access to straw encourages your donkey just. 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