Q. Can Simple System feeds be fed to donkeys?
A. Yes - our forage feeds are ideal for donkeys!
Donkeys have an even greater requirement for fibre from forage than horses and are usually “better doers”, having evolved in much harsher conditions. Select forages from our range which are lower in calories and higher in fibre:
Organic Lucie Stalks or Timothy Chop are ideal chops for those with good dentition for chewing.
For older donkeys, or those who struggle to chew, Lucie Fibre Cubes, HayCare and PuraBeet are easier to manage soaked alternatives.
Lucie Nuts can be used as the base feed for young, growing or underweight donkeys, but avoid overfeeding. Regular body condition scoring is useful to monitor condition. Once a donkey has developed fat pads, they will rarely (if ever) lose them as donkeys are highly susceptible to Hyperlipaemia.
A balancer can also be useful as donkeys often have a dry coat, Simple System's Total Eclipse, which is based on full fat cooked linseed, is perfect – and has the advantage of being effective in small amounts and thus low calorie. Free access to a plain salt block, such as our Salt Lick Tub should also be given.
To manage donkeys the same way as horses and ponies is unfair on their careful evolution as they are cleverly adapted to digest very high fibre, low feed value roughage.This difference in digestive capability is evidenced through distinct differences in their hindgut ecosystem and the range of microorganism’s present (Edwards et al., 2020). As a result, donkeys have an even more innate desire to trickle feed and obtain high fibre intake, and they can become quite destructive if this need is not met. Providing access to safe trees and hedgerows, or branches and cuttings from these, can help increase environmental enrichment and reduce wood chewing.
Edwards, J.E., Shetty, S.A., van den Berg, P. et al. Multi-kingdom characterization of the core equine fecal microbiota based on multiple equine (sub)species. anim microbiome 2, 6 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42523-020-0023-1