How to Breed Donkeys

Before anyone considered breeding donkeys they need to be sure that the donkey is an animal they enjoy owning and looking after, and have the right facilities to do so.  Also you should establish if there is a market for the offspring of your donkey breeding venture.

Facilities Needed for Donkeys

You do not need a barn  to breed donkeys, but one is strongly suggested, as well if you really want to sell your donkeys for a good price you will need to take them to shows, so a barn, and an arena are important in preparing them for the show ring.

Donkeys do not have to be kept in stalls year round, only when preparing them for shows, however large box stalls are also good at foaling time or if an animal is injured and needs to be put on “stall rest”.

You should have ample pasture space, one pasture is not enough, as you will need to separate your animals based on age and gender. While some breeders will keep jenny's loose with a jack, the younger animals should not be kept with a mature jack. Keeping the opposite sex donkeys together can make it hard to predict when a jenny is due to deliver, also some mature Jacks can be aggressive to the younger animals.

Each pen should have a shelter, either in the form of a shed, or trees.

Donkeys are thrifty eaters and do not need as much hay as horses, however you still must consider feed expenses. If you have a enough pasture they can graze on that in the summer, but if you have more donkeys than pasture you will need to feed year round. They will need hay in the winter, and may need a small ration of grain when in foal or when nursing, although caution should be used when feeding grain as donkeys are prone to founder.

Breeding Donkeys

Jacks, or male donkeys, are sexually mature to breed at one year of age, so are jennys, however a jenny (female donkey) should not be bred she is at least 24 months old or she may be stunted and have problems related to being bred too soon. Most good breeders wait until the jack is 2 years of age before breeding him (and then to only a few jennys), and until jennys are 3 or 4 years of age.

The gestation period of a donkey is roughly a year long, although some carry for 13 months. Spring deliveries are best. Twins are rare. Delivery usually goes without a problem but you must be prepared for emergencies. In other words you should not breed unless you can afford emergency veterinarian expenses.

Making Money Breeding Donkeys

Good breeders, the ones that sell their produce for high prices, only have registered animals, they take them to shows to prove their worth as breeding animals and to prove the animals are worth high prices. If you think that because you saw a donkey sell for $5,000 that your donkeys are going to sell for that much, you are probably wrong unless you invest in top quality breeding stock, and take them to shows.

Most breeders of donkeys have other incomes and breed the donkeys more as a hobby. You should not try to breed donkeys for profit unless you know you have a market for them (buyers) otherwise you may find yourself with more donkeys than you know what to do with.  Find out what the demand is for donkeys, do people buy youngsters or only mature, trained donkeys?

As a general rule few people who breed donkeys, or horses, make a large profit, most do it as a hobby. 

In addition to feeding, donkeys have other expenses, such as vaccinations, worming, and hoof care. It may be hard to find a good farrier for a donkey, some people learn how to trim them themselves.

If you are still interested in becoming a donkey breeder join your local donkey and mule club and become associated with the donkey and mule registry in your country.