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The following is my recommendation for feeding, breeding and maintaining donkeys.  It is a recommendation only and should not be considered professional advice.  Author is not a veterinarian and accepts no responsibility for any ill effects that could occur as a result of following this guide. It is always recommended to consult your local veterinarian or an equine specialist (preferably one with knowledge of donkeys).  ~ jar ~

Handling -  You have this adorable baby donkey foal and it's your duty to love and snuggle it!  No problem!  But there is a right and a wrong way.  Envision this baby as a clean slate and what ever you teach/write on it's slate will be with him/her for the rest of it's life.  Heavy responsibility and I believe it should be viewed as such.  There is nothing wrong with loving and enjoying that precious foal package, but do so with some simple things in mind. Some simple rules:  When you go to catch baby -  be sure and finish what you start.  Calmly walk it down (don't chase).  Once caught, give it a scratch and hug and when it's relaxed immediately let it go.  I even try and be the one that walks away rather than letting the foal get in the habit of leaving first.  This sets up an early ethic to not be difficult to catch later on in life.

The best trainer your foal has is it's mother.  Be sure your jennet's temperament is all that is desirable and that she is confident and easy to handle.  Her attitude and beliefs will be taught to her offspring - photo by J. Rachau

  When you have foal in arms - try and release the foal when it's relaxed and not struggling. This simply sets up the foal to give and be responsive as it grows.  It learns to relax to pressure and will be more responsive to training later on.  Baby will learn to lead, tie up and be an overall good donkey citizen later on because it didn't learn that fighting things earned it's freedom, relaxing and giving does. This also works for picking up feet as well.  Set the foot back down when baby is relaxed. Generally I'm giving scritches and scratches at the same time so handling feet becomes a positive experience - at the sign of the first 'give' I have put the cute little foot back on the ground immediately.   These are very simple guidelines, but they teach so much and are so easy to do. 

Books:  The following is a list of much recommended books that are a great asset to handling foals and also for health and other behavior problems, both of these are horse books, but have much technical information and basic common sense and knowledge that transcends species handling.  Also check out My Library for other Longear related books.
 

• Blessed are the Broodmares by M. Phyllis Lose, VMD

• Foal to Five Years by Cherry Hill

Halter breaking baby, I've found the easiest way is to lead mom around and have baby follow.  You want it to be fun, short easy lessons.  Works better to have one person leading mom, and other being the baby wrangler.  At first the goal is to just go and follow the baby following mom and everyone is going in the same direction.  Then you start asking for "heeling" behavior, slowly with gentleness.  Don't ask for perfection from a baby. Keep if fun.  Don't ever leave halters on babies unless they are under direct supervision - deaths have sadly happened to foals that were unfortunate enough to be left with halters on.

Trailer ride:  If mamma donk is a comfortable traveler or if you are hauling mom off to be rebred, it will give baby a chance to be initiated in to the mysteries of trailer rides.  Now is a great time to do this as little foals at moms side are eager to stay with her.  If mom is calm and it's no big deal, so it will be with the foal.  Take advantage of that.

Gelding your baby jack: Check with your veterinarian, but you can geld your young jacks while they are still nursing on mother.  For me, this is the easiest method, as they are young and heal quickly.  They get plenty of exercise following mom around so there is little swelling or worries.  It's better that they have the stress of surgery well before weaning rather than just afterward.

Feeding the foal:  What you are feeding baby is important of course to it's growth and health.  A donkey foal is nibbling on it's mothers hay by at least the third day after birth usually, and will continue to eat more and more seriously the older it gets.  So mom should be on a high quality grass hay, and should be getting some extra grain and vitamin supplements to share with junior.

Weaning baby:  I hate this part.  Weaning babies is so hard on the caretaker not to mention the parties involved!  I do not believe in weaning babies until they are six months of age.  For me, any younger unless due to emergency reasons is criminal.  Baby needs the time with mother to socialize and become a confident well rounded donkey citizen.  Mom teaches that baby more about manners than any person ever could dream of doing. To hear of these young foals weaning at three months of age is in every way repugnant to me.  It is all to do with money - no consideration as to what is best for the donkey.  That may come across as too harsh, but that is how I feel.

I go for the slow method of weaning rather than cold turkey.  It seems to work better for me and appears to be less  stressful for all involved.  About two weeks prior to the final separation, I put baby in an adjacent pen at night.  Mother and baby can see, smell, touch each other, but no nursing.  The foal usually keeps eating with gusto at night with no problem and no worry because mum is still right there .  In the morning they are turned back out together.  By the end of two weeks, the dam's udder is set up to start shutting down, and baby has realized that life without milk is possible.  After the two weeks are up, I then put each in a different field and it's done.  Mom is usually glad to be rid of the little nuisance finally, her udder is not as painfully swollen and sore and shuts down quicker.  Baby honks at mom once in a while, but keeps eating and running and playing with friends in the other field.  I like this method because, for me, there is no heavy duty baby tantrums, no weight loss and little stress.

Contracted Tendons:  Once baby is weaned the total responsibility of the foals nutritional needs falls upon the owner.  The worst crime a caretaker can do is overfeed that baby.  Donkeys (or any equine for that matter) are not set up to process rich feed.  In growing foals, grain overdosing causes imbalances in the growing cycle, the bones grow faster than the tendons can keep up and suddenly you have a contracted weanling - totally man made!  No amount of grain is going to make that foal grow bigger or better.  It will only make it grow FASTER, much to the suffering of the foal. It's genetic programming dictates what it's adult size will be, not the amount of  grain stuffed into it.  Feed junior grass hay and some grain (less than a pound a day) and balanced vitamin supplements, check with veterinarian regarding best worming schedule for your situation. Remember a donkey foal, no matter the size is naturally lean, almost bony (they are not nor ever will be stocky quarter horse foals!).  If the neck has a small roll on the crest, then baby is getting the nutrition it needs, any more can cause contracted tendons, or the additional weight can damage growing joints.

If you do have what you think is contracted tendons in your donkey foal, be sure, before you make that surgical appointment to consult with a veterinarian/equine specialist that KNOWS donkeys.  Surgery might not be necessary.  I'm not discounting your local farrier or veterinarians knowledge, but most are trained on horses, and donkeys are NOT longeared horses. They are a different species with different angles and physique.  It might be worth your time and money to get the straight facts.

Vaccinations:  Baby foal should receive it's vaccines at 4 months of age (or what your veterinarian recommends) and it's booster series one month later.  This sets the foal up to have it's vaccines completed and a good immune response started before the stress of weaning is at hand.

Worming:  The foal should be wormed monthly until weaning (or if eating mom's grain, it could receive it's daily wormer with her) then begun on a regular worming program recommended by your veterinarian for your housing and herd situation. I personally use Strongid-C daily and oral Ivermection in Spring and Fall.

Hoof trimming:  Hoof trims by a professional farrier should begin no later than one month of age.   And should continue at least every 8 weeks there after.  Touch up with rasp can be done once a week if warranted for corrective trimming.

Puberty: Your baby jennet will usually start her first heat between 8 and 12 months.  A young jennet running with jacks or even her own sire could become pregnant as early as 14 months.  You don't want babies having babies.  And those boys --young intact jacks, especially the smaller mini fella's can become potent at an early age you don't want him breeding his own dam so get him away from breedable stock by 6 months of age.

Remember: A donkey grows slowly, even slower than a horse foal. They mentally as well as physically should not be pushed for perfection nor for hard stressful work until they are old enough to handle it.  Keep their lessons as much like play as possible to keep them open and receptive to new things and enjoying working with you for the rest of their lives.