I got a jennet for coyote protection and she does really well. She hates dogs.
When I bought her I made an 8 week old jersey weaned bottle steer her stall mate to get them to bond.
She loves him. They are inseperable.she thinks he is her calf. If any cattle cause chaos around the jersey calf she attacks everything near by and chases it off.
Fast forward three months and I just had my first calf of the season, a black baldy. The mom is a really good calf hider but when I fed them in the pasture it just happened to be the same time the newborn calf wanted milk.
The donkey spotted the new baldy calf and decided it was her calf. She wouldn't let it back to his mom. I immediately got on the four wheeler to cut the donkey out of the herd and into another pasture. The donkey wasn't having it and kept running to get to the baldy calf . Finally I got the donkey out of there and I put the jersey calf she started out with in a new pasture. I later put a couple longhorn steers that the jersey calf and donkey are buddies with in that pasture to, so they have a little herd.
The next day I went out to feed and the new baldy calf was out with his mom. The donkey saw this from across the fence and went ape ****. She started chasing the cattle I put in her pasture including her jersey calf. She wants to adopt the baldy calf so bad she started abusing her pasture friends.
The baldy calf has been staying hidden all day so the donkey went back to normal. My question is.....
If I let the donkey back out with the herd will she keep the baldy calf from nursing? I think it was just the initial excitement of seeing the calf for the first time that made the donkey want to adopt it but I don't want to risk it.
Are new calves smart enough to get to their mom when something is trying to keep them apart?
When I bought her I made an 8 week old jersey weaned bottle steer her stall mate to get them to bond.
She loves him. They are inseperable.she thinks he is her calf. If any cattle cause chaos around the jersey calf she attacks everything near by and chases it off.
Fast forward three months and I just had my first calf of the season, a black baldy. The mom is a really good calf hider but when I fed them in the pasture it just happened to be the same time the newborn calf wanted milk.
The donkey spotted the new baldy calf and decided it was her calf. She wouldn't let it back to his mom. I immediately got on the four wheeler to cut the donkey out of the herd and into another pasture. The donkey wasn't having it and kept running to get to the baldy calf . Finally I got the donkey out of there and I put the jersey calf she started out with in a new pasture. I later put a couple longhorn steers that the jersey calf and donkey are buddies with in that pasture to, so they have a little herd.
The next day I went out to feed and the new baldy calf was out with his mom. The donkey saw this from across the fence and went ape ****. She started chasing the cattle I put in her pasture including her jersey calf. She wants to adopt the baldy calf so bad she started abusing her pasture friends.
The baldy calf has been staying hidden all day so the donkey went back to normal. My question is.....
If I let the donkey back out with the herd will she keep the baldy calf from nursing? I think it was just the initial excitement of seeing the calf for the first time that made the donkey want to adopt it but I don't want to risk it.
Are new calves smart enough to get to their mom when something is trying to keep them apart?
