Guard Donkeys
The faithful sheepdog watching over his flock has been replaced in these parts by a long-eared, braying upstart.
A pair of sheep farmers in Butler County have found that donkeys make more attractive protectors than dogs.
Elizabeth and Ken Smith, 106 McGarvey Road, Fenelton, got their guard donkey, Geneva, three years ago at the same time they acquired their six sheep to use for wool and meat.
Smith and her husband, a software programmer, and their three sons — ages 9, 8 and 6 — raise chickens, bees and sheep on their farm.
Elizabeth said they were looking for an effective guard animal for their small flock of three Suffolk, a Leicester and a Romney sheep.
“We knew there were coyotes in the area and we knew they were the number one predators of lambs,” she said.
And, she added, there were dogs in the neighborhood, and while most were well-behaved and well-controlled, stray dogs had come up to the sheep fence.
“I started researching guard animals,” said Smith. “Llamas and alpacas you need to shear and dogs you need to feed.”
“I started reading sheep blogs, and I kept seeing donkeys in the pasture with the sheep. You wonder why.”
“Then I saw a picture of a donkey kicking a mountain lion to death out West,” she said.
Soon after they acquired the sheep, the Smiths bought Geneva, a midsize donkey, bigger than a pony but smaller than a horse.Smith said they found Geneva on Craigslist and bought her from a Waynesburg farmer.“We were specifically looking for a jenny (female donkey) a year old or younger,” said Smith. “They bond a lot easier with the sheep.”Penelope, a breed of donkey known as a Mammoth, arrived at the El Cascejan Farm, 988 Bull Creek Road in Butler Township in 2004 and fit right in with the 11 sheep Jan Hortert and her husband, Lou, raise along with 17 horses.“The sheep are just lawnmowers. That's all we use them for. They keep the ground cleared, keep the fields clear,” said Jan Hortert.The flock, made up Chevoits and an especially friendly Black Lincoln named Pennzoil, stays out in the pasture winter and summer.Penelope the donkey “hangs out with the sheep” in the seven-acre pasture, said Jan.“I think they get along very well. They don't fight,” she added.And Penelope grazes right along with the sheep eliminating the need for special food that a dog might require.Both Smith and the Horterts said their donkeys are fairly maintenance free.“A farrier has to come every now and then to make sure her hooves are fine, that they are clean and not causing her problems,” said Smith.
Penelope wasn't acquired as a guard animal. Celeste Hortert, 25 of Butler, the Horterts' daughter, said she bought the then-3-year-old donkey at the Belknap livestock auction in Armstrong County for breeding but hasn't done so yet.“Donkeys have been known to kill cougars and coyotes out west,” said Celeste. “They don't like dogs. They have a stand and fight rather than a run and flight instict.”And Penelope would make a formidable foe, measuring as she does 15 hands or 60 inches high. She's big enough for Celeste to trail ride.“She's a Mammoth donkey,” Celeste said. “They don't breed them anymore. They don't need huge mules anymore now that they have tractors.”Dr. Lori Love of the Moraine Grove Veterinary Clinic, 637 New Castle Road, said she's heard of people using donkeys, even llamas, to protect flocks of sheep and goats“Llamas and donkeys are used to keep the coyotes away,” said Love. “Llamas tend to be a little aggressive. Anyone coming around llamas, they might charge them. Donkeys are the same way.”Celeste Hortert said she's not surprised Penelope has taken up with the sheep flock.“Horses are group-oriented animals. A donkey doesn't care as much. They are not as group-oriented as horses are,” Celeste Hortert said.
Geneva, though smaller, has proven her worth as a protector, Smith said.“She has chased our cat out of the pasture several times,” said Smith and she's killed a groundhog that appeared in the sheep pasture.She also was ready to kick a newborn lamb until she was “introduced” to it, Smith said.“We had to pick up the lamb, physically bring it to her, let her smell it and make sure she saw us put it down with the mother,” Smith said.Geneva runs a tight 2.5 acres, Smith said. The donkey has herded the sheep away from hay piled near the fence when a walker and his dog approached.“It's basically up to Geneva where the sheep goes,” Smith said.“They just have this inclination to protect,” she said. “I don't know who first noticed that. Once you've seen them around sheep, you know that's what they do.”Geneva is strictly a guardian for the small sheep flock, Smith said.“She has not been halter trained. She probably wouldn't know what to do if you put a leash on her,” she said.Still, Smith said Geneva is friendly and not at all stand-offish around people. The children pet her and hang on her neck, she said.“She and my son, Sawyer, are like best friends. She's like a pet to us, Smith said.As for Penelope, Celeste Hortert said, “she's really friendly. People come to the fence and feed her stuff. She thinks she's a lap dog.”Penelope has even had a small acting career, Jan Hortert said.Penelope has appeared in both live Nativity scenes and Passion Play performances at Evangel Heights Church in Sarver.
Donkeys apparently have an inherent dislike for dogs and other canids. They will bray, bare their teeth, run and chase, and attempt to bite and kick an intruder.Researchers recommend using only one jenny (female) or gelded jack (male) per pasture; intact jacks are too aggressive, and two or more donkeys might stay together instead of being with the sheep.They also recommend about a four- to six-week period for the donkey to bond with the sheep.Remove donkeys during lambing because they might trample lambs or disrupt the ewe/lamb bond.Challenge a new donkey with a dog to test its response to canids.Do not use donkeys that are not aggressive.Donkeys are apparently most effective in small, open pastures or where sheep are cohesive and graze together.SOURCE: Colorado State University Cooperative Extension
