(Way OT) Aggressive donkey

JimS · Aug 13, 2015

We care for a donkey that is becoming more and more aggressive and is obsessing over a goat.

This has never been a very nice animal but it has been manageable. Recently, she has begun to obsess over a small goat attacking very violently other animals that go near it. She is aggressive toward people too.

We had a cow, not long ago, who was also like this. The vet said she had likely developed cists on her ovaries and that this was common on old cows. He even noted that some dairies keep them around as they act like bulls and mount other cows in heat.

I have cowboyed a bit and been around some mean horses and cattle but this donkey has me genuinely scared.

Any ideas what may be ailing it?

Greg1959 · Aug 13, 2015

Sorry, but just shoot the donkey.

Not worth saving.

JimS · Aug 13, 2015

I tend to agree but it it is my employer's and my job is to take care of his animals.

Greg1959 · Aug 13, 2015

JimS- 16 ounce hammer and pop it pretty good....problem solved and you don't have any idea what happened,.

wink, wink.

JimS · Aug 13, 2015

Easier said than done. This thing is trying to kill us.

Years ago I shot a very old cow. It was a well placed shot at 30-40 feet with a 30/30 and it only stunned her and gave her a bad nose bled. After I killed her with a heart/lung shot I examined her skull. The round had not penetrated and had merely bounced off. I've seen this on wild hogs too.

Greg1959 · Aug 13, 2015

JimS- I'm sure you will find a way to dispatch this critter.

Good Luck and I wish you the best.

Part Time Pete · Aug 13, 2015

I board a little Jerusalem donkey for 9 months of the year, and he becomes very protective of my beef animals (supposedly they will protect against coyotes - hard to figure, when he's only 3' tall)
If you can't get rid of the donkey, maybe get rid of the goat (I hear they're good eating...), or maybe just separate them
Pete

da.bees · Aug 13, 2015

Not much telling what's got into her but I agree it has to stop. If it's your responsability to deal with it I suggest an e-collor,may be able to borrow or rent one from a dog or horse trainer. I have two that I purchased many years ago to train dogs but have found they work well on horses. Now before anyone gets on a high horse (no pun intended)I don't want to hear about it unless you have first hand experience. In case you havn't used an e-collor,may I suggest a method for this behavior. Put the contacts at or near poll,not in throat latch. To set the right level of stimilation start at lowest setting. Watch the animals ears while pushing stimilation button. The lowest setting that causes her to twitch an ear,stamp a foot or show other sign she is irritated by a bitting fly is correct. It will go better after first two or three session are over,she be isolated alone where she can't inner react with other animals. At first sign she is thinking of atacking push and hold stimulation until she turns away or otherwise shows she changed her mind. Training sessions can be as long as you can keep her under observation unless she strats showing signs of becoming extremly upset. Unless you are normally with her all the time,don't shout when stimulating. If she was misbehaving only while working in a team or while at feed you would shout 3 secounds before stemulating so that a shout was handy any time she mis-behaved. Noticable change can usually be seen after two brief sessions and cure usually doesn't require more than one or two sessions per day for three days. If she can be isolated between early sessions,it seems to make little differience when one or two days are skipped between sessions. Same as any case where misbehavior is the issue,it may require a tune up in a month,a year or never but I believe you will be amazed.

howdy1960 · Aug 13, 2015

da.bees, we were wondering if that would work with one of ours but she hasn't been up ti her old ways in a while. Glad to see it does.
Thanks, Norm

da.bees · Aug 13, 2015

I bet you arn't bothered with babysiting grand kids Greg. LOL

Greg1959 · Aug 13, 2015

da.bees- Not at all, they are welcome anytime...but, unlike donkeys, they know how to behave themselves.

da.bees · Aug 14, 2015

If I had known 30 years earlier how well proper training methods works I could have made good money buying horses and dogs which owners were unable to handle and/or thought were crazy. One I will always remember was a filly bought by a neighbor for his son to cut and rope off of. High dollar horse with a royal pedigree. Sent her to a local who was to give her a better head and neck set. He knock one of her eyes out with a bois-d-arc club. Only one eyed horse I know of that made a grand repitation as a ranch mount despite being blind in one eye. Buster Welch opined she was as smart and athletic as any he had ever seen and could have easily made the pros with two eyes. My greatest interest is English Pointers. I want to cuss a spell then lay down and bawl when I recall how many I've seen whipped,stomped and shot because high spirited was confused with crazy. Many have also been ruined by e-collars used as punishment.

FBH44 · Aug 14, 2015

I would ask the employer since this thing is getting real aggerssive, how much liability does he carry?

Traditional Farmer · Aug 14, 2015

Its just being a donkey.Find someone with a meat goat herd they'll buy it to protect their
goats from Coyotes and Foxes.I'd love to have it.

Ken Macfarlane · Aug 14, 2015

We have a guard alpaca that obsesses over the sheep at certain times of year, he killed one eventually trying to mount it, we didn't see that happen but caught him the next time. He was a handful trying to get him off of her, she had passed out and was convulsing and he'd take runs at me while I was dragging her out of the field.

Now we just separate them when he starts acting up.

Dick L · Aug 14, 2015

How much lunge time does she get? I don't know much about donkeys except they need to be handled different than horses in some ways. There is a lot of cross over training points but not all.

Some horses that do not get the handlers regular attention will become aggressive. Usually a few hours in a round pen on a lunge line over several days will correct the aggressive activity. Making them move in different directions until tired will bring back their respect for the handler and overall calm them down. Never beat a horse to discipline them. Repeatedly making them do the same thing until they understand what you are asking is discipline. I would guess the same would go for donkeys.

(Relearning respect)

Dick L · Aug 14, 2015

That is called training by fear rather than respect.

dhermesc · Aug 14, 2015

You are worried about the amount of respect your donkey is giving you?

hd6gtom · Aug 14, 2015

sell the goat?

rrman61 · Aug 14, 2015

Long range hotshot:12 gauge no.8 shot at 50 yards from behind works wonders.really works good on cows that jumped the fence to find a hole back thru it!was working cattle with dogs one day and two cows went into a shallow canal and would not come out until.....

JimS · Aug 14, 2015

She attacks other goats that get near her favorite goat. There is something wrong with her.

37chief · Aug 14, 2015

Can you remove the goat? We adopted a wild burro that had been rounded up from the desert. We didn't know it was pregnant. Soon as the baby was born the mother tried to kill it. The wife raised it from day one. The mother was a little wild all the time we had it, but never tried to back anyone into a corner. Stan

M. Doud · Aug 14, 2015

You are a idiot.

rrman61 · Aug 14, 2015

Don't you mean AN idiot ? And bye the way from a distance all it does is sting,of course be sure the animal is facing away.

Dick L · Aug 14, 2015

I am not sure how a disrespectful donkey reacts when being aggressive.
A horse that respects your authority when not from fear of reprisal is much safer. There are many levels of disrespect that a horse will show. A disrespectful horse will do mean things when they get a chance like bite, kick, rear and strike out, push on you as well as step on your foot. Out of my 14 horses I have now I do not have one that is disrespectful. I have bought horses that were and once they become mean it takes many hours to get them to give you respect and will revert back if not given the needed attention. Just years of observation along with a few bites, kicks and the scars to show. When trained with fear there is a worry if and when the fear wares off.

^D Horses like people, when you have their respect you have to do something they do not like to lose that respect. I would only guess donkeys are much the same.

Married2Allis · Aug 14, 2015

My girls have been taking riding lessons for years and we've known quite a few including mules and donkeys. Haven't met one yet with the same personality. There are some that you just don't turn your back on and some as loyal as a dog.

dhermesc · Aug 14, 2015

To be honest I don't care if its fear or respect that stops an animal from biting or kicking me as long as they don't bite or kick me. Like humans sometimes its one or the other and its up to their psychological make up to decide. Just like I don't care if its fear or respect that keeps a person from breaking into my house as long as they don't break into my house.

Brown Swiss · Aug 14, 2015

I have had cows with cyst ovaries, just nnalert them took care of the problem, but never aggressive toward people. As far as a donkey, we are talking about an animal that can be bought around here for little to nothing, get rid of it and get another one, NOT WORTH ANY ONE GETTING HURT OVER!

RodinNS · Aug 15, 2015

No idea what's wrong with it or if anything is wrong.... but I guarantee you; it's nothing the 12ga can't fix....

Rod

NoNewParts · Aug 15, 2015

remove that one goat temporarily.
If the donkey behaves, good, solved.
If it obsesses on something else....it has to go.
Tough world sometimes, but reality is reality.
If this was a dog, we wouldn't even be having this conversation...it would be gone.

also.....if your job is actually defined as the animal handler..remember this is 2015...that donkey hurts someone the owner and you as handler will be in deep doo.

(Way OT) Aggressive donkey

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