Do you want a faithful companion for life? Miniature donkeys are becoming more beloved as pets nowadays because of its life-long expectancy of until 25 to 30 years. However, some reach close to 50 years which practically matches the number of years of human beings. They are faithful, affectionate, intelligent, helpful and easy to train.

The miniature donkey can be a great pet to have and completely affectionate, warm and trustworthy around children, often serves as a companion that lasts through time. They are most helpful to the elderly and the handicapped usually trained to pull a cart or a wagon, very dependable, and could also be conditioned to carry weight and cargo of up to 100 pounds. Since miniature donkeys are herd animals, they effectively thrive in a small pasture with other donkeys and animals. They could also guard animals in the farm to protect newborn animals from predators like coyotes and wild dogs.
For their daily nourishment, Miniature Donkeys require a small amount of grain, good quality hay, a mineral salt block, and fresh, clean water.

Miniature donkeys are known as the Sardinian donkey typically coming from the Mediterranean Islands of Sardinia and Sicily. Donkeys, together with zebras and mules come from the horse family, but donkeys differ somewhat with horses obviously, because of their ears that are much larger in
proportion. The neck, back, croup and rump, tail, legs even hoof shapes are rather unlike compared to horses, making them easily identifiable.

Although there are not many of them, they are not overly populated either. In fact, there are about 50,000 miniature donkeys in the United States alone and about 40,000 have already been identified and registered under the Miniature Donkey Registry.

Male donkeys are called jacks while female donkeys are jennets and their babies are called foals. Jennets are bred when they reach 3 years old and breeding as early as 2 is not advisable.

This breed is mainly defined by its size that is why classifications need to be mentioned Donkeys are considered miniature when their average height ranges from 26” to 36” at the withers and their weight between 200 and 300 pounds. Regular donkeys, on the other hand are classified according to size from small standard with 36” to 48”, the large standard with over 48” and under 54” for jennets and the mammoth with size that is beyond 54”for jennets and 56” for jacks.

These sweet and loving animals respond well to correct training, care and attention so it is best to prepare everything first before having them around the house. They can be companions and best friends for life, dearly beloved and trusted pets to have.

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Chances are, when you think about the movie Shrek, the first thing that comes to mind won’t be the green ogre the film is named after, but one of its funniest characters, Donkey. Donkey is an unlikely sidekick to Shrek, helping him out of tight spots throughout the entire Shrek series of films and providing the majority of comic relief moments.

The Donkey, more appropriately known as an Ass, first originated from the African Wild Ass, considered today as one of the world’s most endangered animals. Donkeys have deep roots of domestication with man, with evidence suggesting contact with humans as far back as 5,000 years ago.

Donkeys are affectionate animals, greatly enjoying the companionship of people. In fact, donkeys are such social animals that they quickly become depressed when left without any companions. And just as how Donkey in Shrek is portrayed as being stubborn, some donkeys in real life exhibit the same traits. However, this is due to an instinct of self-preservation, rather than stubbornness. A donkey will also show this behavior if it still has a strong prey instinct and spent little time with people.

And one other thing about donkeys. Though Shrek’s version isn’t exactly the brightest crayon in the box, numerous studies have shown that just like its distant cousins the horses, donkeys are also intelligent, friendly, playful and cautious, displaying an ability and interest to learn from their masters.

Another surprising fact about donkeys is how good they can be as guard animals. Indeed, a good donkey will be great at watching over an entire herd of goats, sheep or cattle. Caution however, must be exercised when exposing donkeys to goats, as the two don’t often mix together—donkeys are used to coyotes as their natural predator.