Welcome to Deer Haven Ranch Miniature Donkeys, one of
California's premier breeders of miniature donkeys. Located near Santa
Maria, Deer Haven Ranch offers one of the most select
small herds on the California
Central Coast. Deer Haven Ranch raises
an exclusive line of time-honored sorrel (light and dark red)
donkeys, considered among many to represent the purest tradition of the
miniature donkey. Deer Haven Ranch's award winning donkeys are raised and trained by Dr.
Anna P. Clarke, DVM. Anna brings over 40 years of veterinary
expertise to the miniature donkey field and a lifelong passion for donkeys that
hails from her native Ireland.
The Sorrel Miniature Donkey
Deer Haven Ranch, donkeys are
kept in as natural an environment as the ranch allows. Donkeys on the 40
acre ranch are run
together on about 15 acres of pasture with a herd sire who pasture breeds, and the jennets
are only separated when they are close to foaling. The barn is uniquely set up to accommodate
12 donkeys readily (see barn article), and there is a separate foaling barn. The ranch sells
all foals, gelds most jack foals, and continues to maintain a breeding herd of
miniature donkeys. All donkeys are registered and are good quality
breeding stock. Many of the foals have won top awards at the miniature
donkey shows. This breeding operation is kept small for closer involvement
with each donkey and the babies. Many other miniature donkey
breeders have much larger herds, some in the hundreds. Miniature donkeys
are becoming more and more popular as people learn that these animals make such
delightful pets.
Miniature Donkeys
History
Miniature donkeys are a pure breed of donkey that is
small in size, they are not bred-down
from standard size donkeys as is the case with most other animals that are
called “miniatures.” They
originated in the Mediterranean area, first in
North Africa, and later on the islands of
Sardinia
and
Sicily off the west coast of Italy, and it is from these island locations that the first miniature donkeys were
imported into the U.S.
and Canada
in the early 1900’s. Today there
are approximately 37,950 registered miniature donkeys in the U.S.
Statistics
Health
Miniature donkeys are very hardy and don’t have a lot
of health problems. They require
equine vaccinations, worming 4-6 times a year, and hoof trimming every 2-3
months.
Feeding
and General Care
Miniature
donkeys need to be fed good quality grass hay, and have a mineral salt block and
fresh water available at all times. Access
to pasture for grazing and exercise is preferable, but not essential.
Grain or other rich feed should be generally avoided as these donkeys
tend to readily get obese. The fat
will accumulate first on the neck which will form a “crest” or fat roll that
is just about impossible to get rid of once it develops.
A shelter is desirable, particularly in cold winter areas.
They do not need a lot of space and can be kept on a one acre or smaller
lot. Four feet high fencing is
adequate, preferably smooth wire, hog wire fencing is best to keep out dogs and
other animals.
Personality
Miniature donkeys are popular as pets because they are
intelligent, very gentle and loving, and enjoy, even demand, attention from
people. They are easily trained and
can be ridden by children up to 100 lbs. in weight, and quickly learn to pull a
cart. Mostly they are quiet
animals, but when they do bray it can be very loud.
This they do in greeting you, if you are late feeding them, or sometimes
just to communicate with each other. Jacks
are the noisiest.
Cost
A weanling registered jack will cost $1,000 and up.
Registered weanling jennets will be double
this. Mature registered animals and
quality breeding jacks and jennets start at about $2,000 and can range up to as
much as $30,000 for top quality show animals.
Ownership
As miniature donkeys are herd animals it is always
recommended that you have at least two. Some
will live happily with a horse or pony, or other farm animals, but most prefer
another donkey as a companion. No
one, except breeders, should keep a jack. All
pet jacks should be gelded for safety reasons and to discourage undesirable
breeding of less than top quality animals.
Two jacks cannot be kept together because they will fight and inflict
injury on each other.
Buying
An excellent source for finding a miniature donkey for
sale is the Internet site gotdonkeys.com that lists breeders in the
U.S.
and Canada. Other good sources are the
miniature donkey magazines’ advertising and breeder listings (see Donkey
Links).
These sites also have comprehensive information on miniature donkeys.
If you wish to buy locally, ask someone who owns miniature donkeys for
recommendations and a list of breeders in your area.
Animals can be readily shipped anywhere in the
U.S. by using the services of an equine transport hauler, any breeder you buy from
will usually arrange this service for you.
The cost will depend on the distance.
Yet another good source for purchasing and for looking at a variety of
excellent quality miniature donkeys are the Miniature Donkey Shows, dates and
locations of these are listed in the magazines.
Color
and Conformation
The
predominant color of miniature donkeys is gray-dun which is a gray body with a
light color on the belly and inside the legs, the
nose is usually light colored too. Today
though there are many different colors being bred although they do not breed
true to color always. There are
browns, blacks, spotted, reds (sorrels), and a mixture of all of these.
All, except the pure black, have a dark stripe down the back and across
the shoulders which is referred to as the ‘cross.’
The conformation of a miniature donkey is a subject best left to the
breeder’s, it takes knowledge and experience with the breed to judge
conformation, so if you are buying an animal don’t be shy about asking for
help in this area.
For further information, please contact
Deer Haven Ranch or visit the links at this site.
