need a donkey to protect cows from dogs..any suggestions..have 1 neighbor close..has young male, should i castrate him

[RNW]

need a donkey to protect cows from dogs..any suggestions..have 1 neighbor close..has young male, should i castrate him if i buy him... thanks for any info...have dogs at house but cattle is half mile away mostly

 

[Ebenezer]

Get an adult jenny that has had a colt. Skip the jack idea.

 

[A.J.]

if you buy that jack have him gelded. I tried a jack one time to keep coyotes out, and the dang thing almost killed several calves. He would pick the little ones up and sling them and try to stomp them. He grew wheels real quick. Some say a single Jenny does ok with cattle, but if you get more than one they will tend to just hang out with each other and not watch the cattle.

 

[Warren Allison]

What kind of cows do you have? And where are you located?

 

[mickroos65]

need a donkey to protect cows from dogs..any suggestions..have 1 neighbor close..has young male, should i castrate him if i buy him... thanks for any info...have dogs at house but cattle is half mile away mostly

Do you know who the dogs belong to? If so talk to the owners. My 3030 does a good job keeping dogs away.

 

[Hogfarmer10]

I run gelded donkeys with some of mine. No problems whatsoever. I've also always heard to use either geldings or jennies. Never jacks.

 

[Caustic Burno]

need a donkey to protect cows from dogs..any suggestions..have 1 neighbor close..has young male, should i castrate him if i buy him... thanks for any info...have dogs at house but cattle is half mile away mostly

Donkey's are cheap and not all donkeys will guard.
For 20-40 bucks I would buy a Jenny versus messing with casterating a Jack.
If she doesn't guard haul her back to the salebarn and get another one.
I prefer a Jenny as I have never had a problem with one and calves.

 

[BFE]

We have a Jenny. She's calm as can be and doesn't necessarily hang with the cows but if a canine comes in sight or scent she loses her mind. I would recommend a female.

We've had geldings too with no issues but I always like females better, be it equine or dogs.

 

[Named'em Tamed'em]

My Jenny is the sweetest Donk ever, never bothers the cows, loves people but will stomp a strange dog into the ground in a heartbeat.

 

[RNW]

What kind of cows do you have? And where are you located?

mostly angus/brangus i live in Tula, MS...north mississippi

 

[tex452]

if you buy that jack have him gelded. I tried a jack one time to keep coyotes out, and the dang thing almost killed several calves. He would pick the little ones up and sling them and try to stomp them. He grew wheels real quick. Some say a single Jenny does ok with cattle, but if you get more than one they will tend to just hang out with each other and not watch the cattle.

My dad had one do the same thing.
We had a Welch mare years ago that would not allow a dog or coyote on the place.
Our own dog dove in the tank with the mare right behind him , they swam the tank, the dog headed up the hill towards the house neighing like crazy.
It was hilarious.

 

[Travlr]

the dog headed up the hill towards the house neighing like crazy.
It was hilarious.

And the pony was barking at his heels?

 

[farmerjan]

We run a jenny with the sheep and had donkeys with the cattle at several places... Yes, if the young male is the only option closeby, get him cut/castrated....
You ought to be able to find a dog hating cow somewhere in the Brahma/brangus/ cattle community..

And we shoot any that are harassing livestock... if we know where it belongs, we will call the sheriff/ animal control... they will give the dog owner a warning and inform them of the laws PROTECTING livestock owners and allowing them to shoot any dog that is chasing/bothering livestock....

 

[RNW]

My dad had one do the same thing.
We had a Welch mare years ago that would not allow a dog or coyote on the place.
Our own dog dove in the tank with the mare right behind him , they swam the tank, the dog headed up the hill towards the house neighing like crazy.
It was hilarious.

thanks for the info ...i wonder if a mare horse would do as good as a jenny

 

[RNW]

My Jenny is the sweetest Donk ever, never bothers the cows, loves people but will stomp a strange dog into the ground in a heartbeat.

thanks, i wonder if a mare horse would do as well. seems like mostly Jennys that i hear about

 

[RNW]

Donkey's are cheap and not all donkeys will guard.
For 20-40 bucks I would buy a Jenny versus messing with casterating a Jack.
If she doesn't guard haul her back to the salebarn and get another one.
I prefer a Jenny as I have never had a problem with one and calves.

thanks, i wounder if a mare horse would do as well, i only hear about Jennys

 

[Travlr]

thanks for the info ...i wonder if a mare horse would do as good as a jenny

Individual animals vary A LOT... I had a couple of heifers at different times, unrelated, that would chase down a dog if they could and kill it. But the average for any species is what makes them worth considering. I don't think people would be suggesting burros if they weren't most likely to be the best... in the average. I think someone mentioned getting a jenny that had already foaled. I'd bet that a female with prior experience protecting her offspring would be most likely to work.

My thoughts on a mare is that horses are too large and fast to have much fear of dogs. And their fight/flight response is geared more toward flight than fight. I've also seen horses that would harass calves and even bite their tails off. Not likely, and maybe donkeys do once in a while too. Individuals vary.

 

[RNW]

Get an adult jenny that has had a colt. Skip the jack idea.

i wonder if a mare horse would do the job. i only hear about Jennys

 

[Caustic Burno]

thanks, i wounder if a mare horse would do as well, i only hear about Jennys

The difference there is a horse consumes two to three cows feed a day.
Donkey is a much more efficient browser that prefers some undesirable growth in the pastures.

 

[tex452]

And the pony was barking at his heels?

I said that wrong lol