Donkeys

Wikipeda totally rocks.

But how much burden can they handle?

they can easily carry 20% to 30% of their own body weight and can also be used as a farming and dairy animal.

How many breaks would a wise driver take during a day of travel to rest them?

Not sure about work load, but : is difficult to force or frighten a donkey into doing something it sees as contrary to its own best interest, as opposed to horses who are much more willing to, for example, go along a path with unsafe footing

Overfed donkeys can suffer from a disease called laminitis. Unlike horse fur, donkey fur is not waterproof, and so they must have shelter when it rains.


How's their stamina and temper, and are they difficult to control?

Their sociable disposition and fondness for human companionship allowed the miners to lead their donkeys without ropes. They simply followed behind their master.

And . . . well . . . what do I need to know about donkeys to portray them fairly correctly? BTW, the idea is that they're quite well-bred and strong for their species.[/QUOTE]

We had donkeys the whole time I was growing up. They take dust baths. They can be very affectionate, but also very stubborn. We used to have to take them across the creek to the back pasture (and we were apparently too stupid to build a little bridge) so we would pull them across -- one donkey, five grown men on a rope and two pushing. They can bite, and I hope you have heard one bray because it is really hard to describe. They are magnificent watch dogs in a herd, can be very protective, like to eat bread, and can carry a lot of weight, although I cannot tell you percentage wise in proportion to their body. Their hooves can get very long and need to be trimmed -- they don't like to have that done. Their coats are very fluffy, and contrary to rumor, they do not kneel down at midnight on Christmas Eve. If I can help any more, let me know.

The "Horse Sense" thread might help:

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25643

I ask a lot of questions in there about mules, but I believe there are some comments on donkeys, too.

Good luck!

Rode one as a child. It was a hoot. You're on the right track, except the 20%+ figure relates to packing,not pulling. Pulling a decent cart on a decent road, they can pull several times their own weight. Have your handlers give them breaks when they find good grass and good water.

Donkeys.

Lovely long long ears to gently stroke but don't catch or scratch them with the bridle. Nice fluffy coat to run your fingers through. Usually black from the knee down and nice donkey brown above. Pretty markings and the dark dorsal line. They usually are gentle and good natured. Our jenny pulled a little dog cart. She was good with children but and this is the BUT they can be so stubborn. If a donkey decides not to go somewhere that's it.

Never had real problems with Jenny the jenny, but the jack brought to impregnate her would not walk into her field. No bribe worked. He dug in his toes and brayed and kicked. I remember after what seemed like hours that Jenny was led out and down the lane then back past him and he finally followed her in.

http://www.lovelongears.com/about_donkeys2.html

Donkeys - short on speed, long on just plodding along. If the caravan's drivers are walking alongside the carts, the donkeys can walk the feet off the humans. They can gallop, but they don't do it for long.

They'd need watering and grazing, a quart or so of grain if they are doing hard work to give them extra carbs.

They come in different breeds and sizes, from the big Spanish ones (horse size) to the smaller "burros" of the American west. Aside from the normal donkey mousy brown, trhe link above gives some of the other colors.

Temperament ranges from mellow to mean, cooperative to totally adamant against doing something. They'll respond well to good treatment.

pdr said:

Lovely long long ears to gently stroke but don't catch or scratch them with the bridle. Nice fluffy coat to run your fingers through. Usually black from the knee down and nice donkey brown above. Pretty markings and the dark dorsal line. They usually are gentle and good natured. Our jenny pulled a little dog cart. She was good with children but and this is the BUT they can be so stubborn. If a donkey decides not to go somewhere that's it.

Never had real problems with Jenny the jenny, but the jack brought to impregnate her would not walk into her field. No bribe worked. He dug in his toes and brayed and kicked. I remember after what seemed like hours that Jenny was led out and down the lane then back past him and he finally followed her in.

Click to expand...

Josie and Tina loved to have their ears rubbed!!!

Our burro (a donkey with markings that look like a cross when viewed from above, hence the preferred beast of burden for Christian missionaries) was wild for the first couple years of her life. We got her through the wild donkey rescue program when the president ok'd their wholesale slaughter by ranchers in the southwest. She is a wonderful sentry for the sheep and will lead them away from predators, only attacking if cornered. In the spring she sheds her fluffy brown coat and gets a sleek short coat. As long as there are plenty of rocks around she will chip off overgrowth of her hooves. We haven't had to trim her hooves since the first time we got her about 7 years ago. She shows affection by nipping you on the calf. I'm sure it's gentle to her, and only causes bruising, but if she's mad at something, she can kick and break bones real fast. She can aim a single hoof too. We had a boar who was a bit overzealous about wanting to try to mount her. He'd run and jump and of course only succeed in annoying her. She'd then turn her head around, raise one foot and zap him right between the eyes. He'd run off squealing for a few minutes and then the cycle would repeat until she was out of heat and he lost interest. She will eat just about everything. The children gave her pepperoni pizza, but her favorite treat is the trimmings and tops of pineapple and then after that, any fruit or fruit tree leaves. They browse as well as graze. When she brays for supper time treats, you can easily hear her from a half mile away. Her sounds travel better than the dogs, sheep or pigs. the above is certainly right about dustbaths. Seeing her roll on her back is rather amusing.

Historically, wagon trains with burros through grassland could make 20 miles per day when they took time to let them graze.

ours were seldom out of the pasture, but, like the horses, if we were using them and were out overnight, they were tied up. My husband, on the other hand, used to trail guide through the Rocky Mountains in Banff. They always used pack horses and mules, and they never tied them up at night, although there were some, depending on attitude, that they hobbled at night. He says the animals were usually too tired and generally would never wander far.

efreysson said:

Thanks for the helpful tips, everyone. One last thing: Do donkeys need to be tied up for the night, to keep them from wandering off? Because if not I'll need to rewrite a fairly important scene.

Click to expand...

Some do, some don't.

They are herd animals, so they tend to stay with the group, but my uncle had a couple of pack donkeys that would head for home as soon as they were unpacked. He tied them, because they would pick up half the pack train of follower donkeys when they left.

Tying or at least hobbling them makes it easier to get going in the morning because you don't have to chase a well-rested donkey around the meadow.

Also, if there are bandits or predators, you want to tie the animals to keep them from stampeding and scattering to where they can be killed or stolen more easily.

Tsu Dho Nimh said:

Tying or at least hobbling them makes it easier to get going in the morning because you don't have to chase a well-rested donkey around the meadow.

.

Click to expand...

That sounds like experience talking.

Another thing about donkeys is their ears. They are very emotive. It's fun to watch them rotate the ears around, sometimes just one, sometime both.