Feeding Your Donkey
Article last updated: 25th March 2025
The donkey has been the traditional ‘beast of burden’ and in many countries is still a working animal. Originating from arid and semi-arid areas, donkeys have evolved to survive on tough, stalky forage which has a low nutritional value. In the UK however, the donkey has become much more of a ‘pet’ or companion animal and their affectionate nature makes them a treasured member of any family. This leisurely lifestyle often means that donkeys are fed far more than they require which can lead to problems such as obesity and laminitis. Good care also means donkeys are living much longer and can commonly have age associated dental problems that require dietary change.
How do I know if my donkey is a healthy weight?
Regularly monitoring your donkey’s weight is key to identifying weight changes over time. Any change in weight can help you to identify if a dietary change is required to reduce energy intake to prevent further weight gain or to increase energy intake to prevent further weight loss. Unexpected weight loss may also be linked to ill health or dental problems and should be discussed with your vet. To monitor your donkey’s weight, use the Donkey Sanctuary’s Donkey Weight Estimator Chart and Donkey Body Condition Score Chart.
How much does a donkey eat?
Like other herbivores, the donkey has evolved to spend most of the day eating so that they can consume sufficient low nutritional value forage to meet their requirements in the wild. Research has found the physical format and tastiness can influence how much a donkey eats, but for those consuming long stem forage it is estimated that they can consume 1.3-1.8% of their bodyweight on a dry matter basis daily (cited in Burden & Bell, 2019). For a 180kg donkey this is between 2.34kg and 3.24kg dry matter, which is 2.63-3.6kg straw of forage as fed (assuming it is 90% dry matter).
It has been described that the maintenance requirements of donkeys are easily met by forage but a source of minerals and vitamins and plenty of clean water are required to balance the diet (Smith & Burden, 2013).
In the summer months it is recommended that the donkey’s forage intake is made up of 70-75% straw to 25-30% hay and in the winter 50-75% hay and 25-50% straw (Smith & Burden 2013) to reflect changes in energy requirements due to the weather conditions. As browsers, it is also advised that safe logs and branches should be provided to satisfy the donkey’s natural browsing behaviours (Burden & Bell 2019).
Managing obesity & laminitis in donkeys
Donkeys are very efficient at getting the most out of the feed they are given and so they can put on weight quickly if given high calorie forage or feed. If a significant weight loss is needed then dieting must be done with care and veterinary supervision is recommended due to the donkey’s susceptibility to hyperlipemia, a condition which results in excessive levels of fat in the blood accumulating due to a sudden reduction in energy intake. Hyperlipemia can be fatal and any change in your donkey’s overall behaviour and appetite should be taken very seriously with veterinary help sought immediately. If the donkey is sound, exercise should be increased in addition to longer term dietary changes which should be made very gradually over 4-6 weeks (Smith & Burden 2013).
Donkey metabolic syndrome (DMS) is the most common endocrine disorder in donkeys and has obesity and insulin dysregulation as the main clinical features in addition to repeated episodes of laminitis (Mendoza et al., 2024). Given the similarities to equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) some of the management advice is the same.
To manage laminitis risk, we need to aim to maintain our donkeys at a healthy weight and limit their intake of non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) which combines simple sugars and fructan (water soluble carbohydrate (WSC)) plus starch.
Unrestricted access to grass will supply far in excess of a donkey’s requirement for energy rapidly resulting in obesity and also contains highly variable amounts of NSC so needs to be managed. Those with DMS that are laminitis prone many need to be completely removed from pasture and fed ad lib straw in a grass free area with their companions. For those that can have some grass access strip grazing or reducing the size of the grazing area are practical means for reducing grass intake whilst having access to friends, multiple straw stations, toys, and safe logs and branches to encourage social behaviour, movement, foraging and browsing behaviour.
Straw should be the predominant forage source for the dieting donkey as it is a lower calorie forage source for them, but if the donkey hasn’t previously been accustomed to straw in their diet, in addition to a gradual introduction and closely monitoring intake, their teeth should be checked and consistency of droppings monitored to make sure that they can manage to chew and digest the straw well. Any unexpected reduction in forage intake or forage refusal, dullness and lethargy should be addressed quickly by seeking the advice of a vet.
What about bucket feed?
Given that most donkeys can exceed their energy requirements from limited grazing and conserved forage alone there is little rationale for providing a bucket feed other than to make up for dietary shortfalls of vitamins and minerals. Most mixes and cubes for horses are unsuitable for donkeys as they are very energy dense. A fibre-based feed that is low in sugar and starch makes a good basis to the ration and a vitamin and mineral supplement or balancer can be added to balance the diet.
Dengie Healthy Hooves Molasses Free, Hi-Fi Molasses Free, Hi-Fi Lite, Ulser Lite and Meadow Lite with Herbs are Dengie’s lower calorie and sugar products that are suitable to give as a small bucket feed for the donkey. Healthy Hooves Molasses Free contains added vitamins and minerals which, when fed at the recommended feeding rate of 500g per 100kg of bodyweight daily, will provide a balanced diet. The other Dengie feeds are straights and so need to be feed alongside a broad-spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement or balancer for a balanced diet.
Cocoa & William Case Study
Cocoa and William were rescued many years ago from a market where they had arrived separately but both sick and emaciated. They were rescued by Remus Memorial Horse Sanctuary in Essex and since then have lived with a herd of donkeys at the Sanctuary and have remained closely bonded. With the right care and attention, Cocoa and William were soon back to a healthy weight and the challenge now, as with many other donkeys, is keeping their weight under control to avoid weight gain.
Cocoa and William are regularly weighed on the Sanctuary’s weighbridge and Cocoa currently weighs 221kg and William 258kg. They live in a paddock as part of a herd with sparse grazing to help manage their weight. In addition to grazing, during the summer they have the following daily ration which is supplemented with some hay in the winter.
- Straw ad-lib
- Dengie Meadow Lite with Herbs 250g or approx. 1 large round Stubb’s scoop each
- A vitamin and mineral supplement at the manufacturer’s recommended quantity
- A little water to mix the supplement with the Meadow Lite with Herbs to stop it from falling to the bottom of the bucket
When it comes to weight management every little bit of movement helps. Cocoa, William and their herd mates have their water positioned at one end of the field and then their straw ration at the other divided into multiple feeding stations. Some of the straw is also put into a hay ball to encourage movement and to slow the rate of intake.
Managing dental deterioration in donkeys
Older donkeys can have loose or worn teeth which not only makes chewing difficult but can also result in pain resulting in a reduction in forage intake. Ensuring donkeys with poor dentition are fed sufficient fibre is vital for maintaining their health as low fibre intakes are associated with gastric ulcers and colic. Weight loss can also result and if due to dental pain or digestive issues a donkey stops eating, it further increases the risk of hyperlipemia.
For donkeys that are struggling to chew their usual long stem forage ration, the first step is to try short chopped fibre feeds. Those that are high in fibre and low energy, sugar and starch are most suitable as if the donkey has usually been a good doer, once they are fed forage in a form that they can manage to chew they are likely to gain and or maintain weight again easily. From the Dengie range products that can be used as total forage replacers include Hi-Fi Lite, Ulser Lite and Meadow Lite with Herbs.
For those that do struggle to maintain weight with poor dental condition the addition of more digestible fibre sources such as alfalfa, grasses, and unmolassed sugar beet can help. Dengie Alfa-Beet is a soaked fibre feed that can be fed as a part forage replacer and can be combined with any Dengie chopped fibre feed if appropriate.
What about those with higher energy requirements?
For donkeys with higher energy requirements such as breeding stock or working donkeys, it is much more appropriate to use more digestible sources of fibre and some added oil to meet their higher energy needs rather than using cereal based conditioning feeds which contain high levels of starch which can exacerbate any underlying insulin dysregulation.
A higher ratio of hay to straw can be used in the forage ration to boost energy intake where required and when it comes to the bucket feed alfalfa and sugar beet are more digestible fibre sources to use. Assuming the donkey has no dental problems Dengie Alfa-A Oil, Alfa-A Molasses Free or Healthy Tummy can be used, or Alfalfa Pellets and Alfa-Beet for those with poor dentition.
References
- Burden, F.A., and Bell, N, (2019) Donkey Nutrition and Malnutrition, Vet Clin Equine, 35, 469-479 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cveq.2019.08.004
- Mendoza, F.J., Toribio, R.E., and Perez-Ecija, A. (2024) Metabolic and Endocrine Insights in Donkeys. Animals , 14, 590. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14040590
- Smith DG, Burden FA. Practical donkey and mule nutrition. In: Geor R, Coenen M, Harris P, editors. Equine applied and clinical nutrition. Philadelphia: Saunders; 2013. p. 304–16.
