Breeder of Registered Miniature
Donkeys, Quality Breeding Stock, and Lovable Pets
ARTICLE: Choosing Miniature Donkey Breeding Stock
BRAYER:
A Breeder's View: Choosing Miniature Breeding
Stock
By Carolyn Christian, Quarter Moon Ranch
IF SOMEONE WERE SELECTING A MINIATURE
DONKEY, WHAT CRITERIA SHOULD THEY USE FOR
SELECTING THE FOLLOWING:
A. A FEMALE BREEDER
Your
jenny should be three years old before she
begins breeding depending on her size,
condition, and overall development. Because we
prefer our weanlings to mature to 31" to 33" in
height (jack or jenny), my ideal breeding jennet
is 32". Bred to a jack which is 31" to 32", this
foal should have a better chance at good
conformation. A wider chest in most cases is
characteristic of a wider rib area which should
not only help in foaling, but aid the donkey in
standing firm and square. Avoid mouth defects,
toes in and out, cow-hocks, ridged and concave
rear ends, poor tail sets, weak symmetry in the
rear end and total body outline, heads that are
not in proportion to the rest of the body, etc.
And when you find this donkey, buy it because it
is rare. Extremes in structural defects is not
good in your female breeder and don't buy into
the theory that a good jack can correct a
laundry list of major conformation faults. If
your jack can do it, you're more lucky than
genetically wise. If you want quality in your
donkey, your best chances of getting it are to
breed to quality. That's just common sense. It
has paid off for us tenfold. We don't hit
homeruns each time, but most. Our herd is not
the largest (21 breeding jennets and 2
herdsires) but we bought and bred quality as we
built quantity. Also, pedigrees are important
but don't become a pedigree snob. A poorly
conformed donkey with a recognizable pedigree is
still a poorly conformed donkey. If it is a
jack, he should definitely not be the
cornerstone around which your entire breeding
program is built. I see far too many new people
get into the miniature donkey business and spend
an enormous amount of money on an animal just
because it has "original bloodlines" or is a son
of "Perfect Jack". I believe that pedigrees are
important in determining the height, color,
breeding, and genetic makeup in the background
of a particular donkey, but look up from the
pedigree and look at that donkey. Does it have
allot of the faults previously mentioned and if
so, are they major or minimal? Not EVERY progeny
of "Perfect Jack" is as perfect as he was, and
quite frankly, I even wonder if in some cases
"Perfect Jack" wasn't more like "Just So-So
Jack" and simply the object of an agressive
marketing campaign. THE PROOF IS IN THE PROGENY
NOT THE PEDIGREE. This is why buying from
reputable breeders becomes important.
B. A MALE BREEDER
As previously mentioned, your herdsire is the
foundation of your breeding program. He
determines the sex due to the makeup of his
chromosomes, and he puts his genetic fingerprint
on every foal you produce. I've noticed that
everyone in the market for a herdsire has the
same criteria. They want a breeding age jack
(black most of the time) with a good pedigree
who is small and a proven breeder. The chances
of finding this little guy are about as great as
Pete and I selling all the donkeys, moving back
to Houston, and living in an apartment on the
freeway. Why would anyone sell that jack? You
probably could buy him, but what part of your
land are you willing to sell to pay for him?
Seriously, you may get lucky and find a fire
sale or someone who has to avoid inbreeding, but
you might think of searching for a younger
animal with promise to become that jack, or seek
stud service from a jack of which you are fond
until you find yours. And when you find him, the
key word is not "small" nor "black" but
"proven". We bought Barney at two years old. He
had never bred. We knew he had extremely correct
legs, good top line and chest, and proportion,
but the jury was still out until we saw if he
could pass those qualities on to his foals.
After the first 5 foals, we were encouraged.
After the next 5, we were beginning to get
happy, after the next 5, we were buying him
blankets with his name on them! Then, after we
saw his first few jacks and jennets at maturity,
that boy gets to stay! This same theory applies
to your jennet as well. After a few foals, you
will be able to tell to some degree of accuracy
what her part in that particular cross is. We
breed certain jacks to certain jennets because
the end result is better than either of the
individuals. It may sound funny, but we want our
offspring to be better than the pair from which
they are bred, therefore, as good as our boy is,
we want his progeny to be even better. To cattle
people, this is the basic principle of heterosis
or hybrid vigor where the cross exaggerates the
best qualities of the parents by bringing to the
cross a completely diverse genetic tree. That is
also why it is important to have good genes on
both sides.
C. A PET QUALITY MINI DONKEY
The criteria for selecting a pet quality
miniature donkey is that you forget everything
I've just said and look for the most lovable
donkey you can find that fits your personality,
one that was born just to live at your ranch. If
it is a jack, geld it. If it is a jenny, love
her, don't breed her. I've talked allot about
our emphasis on conformation. Don't think we
don't have pet quality animals here at Quarter
Moon Ranch. We do AND SO DOES EVERY OTHER
BREEDER whether or not they will admit it.
Genetics is not an absolute science. But we
don't panic because it gives us the opportunity
to place donkeys in the homes of people who may
otherwise not be able to afford another animal.
We want everyone to share these special
"critters" with us.
IF YOU SELL A MINIATURE DONKEY TO SOMEONE
NEW, WHAT DO YOU TELL THEM ABOUT ITS CARE?
If you follow a few basic rules which include
worming, vaccinating, health,dental and hoof
care, nutritional requirements, clean management
practices, and basic responsible animal
husbandry, these donkeys will live long and
happy lives with fewer health problems.
ANY INTERESTING STORIES, FUNNY, HELPFUL
HINTS OR OTHER TO SHARE WITH READERS?
I got a call from a young mother in her late
twenties wanting us to bring a donkey to her
daughters 10th birthday party. I had met
Christine when she and her THREE car loads of
family came to see the donkeys. I was told at
that time that Christine had cancer and was not
expected to live. She speaks openly and
courageously about her illness. Christine and
Kirt have two children and she is one of the
most beautiful young women I have ever met. Her
daughter had loved the donkeys so that she
wanted to surprise her with having one come to
her birthday party. She told me that her
children's birthdays are more important to her
now because of her illness. We COULDN'T refuse.
We didn't bring just one donkey, we took
weanlings, mommas with babies and Barney. We set
up a petting zoo and gave children rides in the
cart with Barney. The day was long, exhausting,
and very rewarding. She fell ill three days
before the party and was released from the
hospital only the morning of the party. She was
determined to be there. Christine is in failing
health but she and her daughter have fond
memories of Barney driving Pete, Christine, and
the birthday girl all around their ranch- AND SO
DO WE. There are always funny and heartwarming
moments with our donkeys, but the one story that
sums up what these animals are all about came
from a farrier we had working with the donkeys
when we first got into the "business". Randy is
a real Texas cowboy. He looks and acts the part.
He raises race horses and quarterhorses and had
no place among his sophisticated horse clients
and macho rodeo buddies for a donkey, let alone
a miniature donkey. After he had been working
for us for several months, he said he wanted to
buy Pedro, a gelding we had. I said that, of
course, I will sell him to you but that he
didn't look like the "miniature donkey type". He
agreed that he was going to get an enormous
amount of teasing for buying Pedro. When asked
why he wanted to buy him, Randy replied that
after being around these donkeys, "I want to
drink coffee and grow old with Pedro". Many
horses have come and gone in Randy's life both
before and since then. He and his wife divorced.
But Randy and Pedro are still drinking coffee
and growing old together. That's what miniature
donkeys are all about.