We have donkeys for adoption! Some are ready to leave within a few days, while others are close to completing their ground training program. Here are a few suggestions for you as you are considering contacting us to adopt a donkey:
- We do not send out single donkeys to a home that does not already have a donkey. Even a horse or several horses will often not be enough to satisfy a donkey's need for companionship. Horses are behaviorally different by nature, and we often observe donkeys to remain lonely - or worse, be picked on - in a herd of horses. Goats often do not make good companions for donkeys, either. Two of our past adopters returned donkeys to us that were given access to baby goats; sadly, in each case, one of the donkeys had killed a baby. This happens a lot, and you can get more information from goat breeders or others who have tried out donkeys as guardian animals or heard about such endeavors, or from the Donkey Sanctuary of England:
https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/sites/uk/files/2020-04/keeping-donkeys-with-other-animals-factsheet-march-2020.pdf
With this in mind, if you don't already have a donkey at home, we will ask you to adopt a pair.
- Also for the above reasons, we no longer adopt out donkeys as guardian animals, be it for goats, cattle, sheep or chickens. Many donkeys used to guard cattle have been seen chasing young calves around rather than actually protecting them. Donkeys have been reported watching their chicken being carried away by coyotes without bothering to interfere. And donkeys have been reported to kill goats or sheep, especially smaller ones. If you wish to read more about how donkeys do with other animals, here is a good article:
https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/sites/uk/files/2020-04/keeping-donkeys-with-other-animals-factsheet-march-2020.pdf
- We rarely have mini donkeys or mammoth donkeys larger than 14hh for adoption. If you don't see one listed here, we don't have one any time soon.
- Our donkeys are adopted out under a contract by which we intend to protect them in the long run. The contract gives both parties rights and obligations. The contract prohibits breeding as well as selling or otherwise passing on the adopted donkeys to another home or another person without our permission. It also requires you to return the donkeys to us or seek our written permission for a follow-up adoption of your choice in case you can no longer take care of them. If you are not willing to sign or abide by such a contract for the protection of the donkeys, then adoption is not for you.
- Donkeys require care and attention, and their proper maintenance does cost some money. If you cannot afford hay (hoping that you can let them graze off the ground in your yard or pasture instead), you should not commit to adopting donkeys from us. Not only did we get donkeys returned whose adopters were mistaken in believing that what grows on their property can feed the animals properly, but at times the grass and weeds on a pasture - even in New Mexico - can become too rich in sugars and cause laminitis in donkeys. During such times, the donkeys need to be removed from pasture and kept in a dry lot, if possible. If you cannot provide this, then you should rethink your decision to adopt donkeys. The same goes if you cannot provide routine preventative vet care or vet care in an emergency.
- We have recently raised our adoption fees both because of the recent price inflation on Craigslist even for untrained donkeys and also in order to deter interested parties that may not have sufficient resources to cover routine veterinary care for adopted donkeys. (It has happened too often lately that people expressed commitment to adopting donkeys and then never came through with the adoption fee.) Our fees now vary from $300 to $600 for a single donkey and $500 to $1000 for a pair, depending on size and training status. In all cases, the fee includes ground training, recent Coggins, wellness exam, core vaccinations (in fall/winter flu/rhino instead of west nile), dental float if needed, hoof trim, worming, and brand inspection if needed.
- We conduct home inspections prior to adoption. We require sturdy and safe fencing (preferably no barbed wire), a sturdy, roofed shelter with at least 3 sides or a barn, usually at least an acre of pasture for 2 donkeys and, in addition, a smaller dry lot (or nearly dry lot) for training, vet care, farrier care or just to park the donkeys if they develop laminitis from too much pasture access or need to be separated temporarily. We will work with future adopters who still need to develop their set-up prior to the arrival of the donkeys. We expect adopters to continue providing at least the same quality of veterinary care for routine and emergency procedures that we have afforded their donkeys prior to adoption.
- We do not send out single donkeys to a home that does not already have a donkey. Even a horse or several horses will often not be enough to satisfy a donkey's need for companionship. Horses are behaviorally different by nature, and we often observe donkeys to remain lonely - or worse, be picked on - in a herd of horses. Goats often do not make good companions for donkeys, either. Two of our past adopters returned donkeys to us that were given access to baby goats; sadly, in each case, one of the donkeys had killed a baby. This happens a lot, and you can get more information from goat breeders or others who have tried out donkeys as guardian animals or heard about such endeavors, or from the Donkey Sanctuary of England:
https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/sites/uk/files/2020-04/keeping-donkeys-with-other-animals-factsheet-march-2020.pdf
With this in mind, if you don't already have a donkey at home, we will ask you to adopt a pair.
- Also for the above reasons, we no longer adopt out donkeys as guardian animals, be it for goats, cattle, sheep or chickens. Many donkeys used to guard cattle have been seen chasing young calves around rather than actually protecting them. Donkeys have been reported watching their chicken being carried away by coyotes without bothering to interfere. And donkeys have been reported to kill goats or sheep, especially smaller ones. If you wish to read more about how donkeys do with other animals, here is a good article:
https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/sites/uk/files/2020-04/keeping-donkeys-with-other-animals-factsheet-march-2020.pdf
- We rarely have mini donkeys or mammoth donkeys larger than 14hh for adoption. If you don't see one listed here, we don't have one any time soon.
- Our donkeys are adopted out under a contract by which we intend to protect them in the long run. The contract gives both parties rights and obligations. The contract prohibits breeding as well as selling or otherwise passing on the adopted donkeys to another home or another person without our permission. It also requires you to return the donkeys to us or seek our written permission for a follow-up adoption of your choice in case you can no longer take care of them. If you are not willing to sign or abide by such a contract for the protection of the donkeys, then adoption is not for you.
- Donkeys require care and attention, and their proper maintenance does cost some money. If you cannot afford hay (hoping that you can let them graze off the ground in your yard or pasture instead), you should not commit to adopting donkeys from us. Not only did we get donkeys returned whose adopters were mistaken in believing that what grows on their property can feed the animals properly, but at times the grass and weeds on a pasture - even in New Mexico - can become too rich in sugars and cause laminitis in donkeys. During such times, the donkeys need to be removed from pasture and kept in a dry lot, if possible. If you cannot provide this, then you should rethink your decision to adopt donkeys. The same goes if you cannot provide routine preventative vet care or vet care in an emergency.
- We have recently raised our adoption fees both because of the recent price inflation on Craigslist even for untrained donkeys and also in order to deter interested parties that may not have sufficient resources to cover routine veterinary care for adopted donkeys. (It has happened too often lately that people expressed commitment to adopting donkeys and then never came through with the adoption fee.) Our fees now vary from $300 to $600 for a single donkey and $500 to $1000 for a pair, depending on size and training status. In all cases, the fee includes ground training, recent Coggins, wellness exam, core vaccinations (in fall/winter flu/rhino instead of west nile), dental float if needed, hoof trim, worming, and brand inspection if needed.
- We conduct home inspections prior to adoption. We require sturdy and safe fencing (preferably no barbed wire), a sturdy, roofed shelter with at least 3 sides or a barn, usually at least an acre of pasture for 2 donkeys and, in addition, a smaller dry lot (or nearly dry lot) for training, vet care, farrier care or just to park the donkeys if they develop laminitis from too much pasture access or need to be separated temporarily. We will work with future adopters who still need to develop their set-up prior to the arrival of the donkeys. We expect adopters to continue providing at least the same quality of veterinary care for routine and emergency procedures that we have afforded their donkeys prior to adoption.
Here is our current Guide for New Donkey Owners with some useful information about basic donkey care, an electronic copy of the official Donkey Care Handbook from the Donkey Sanctuary of England, and a current generic version of our adoption contract:
| tls_-_guide_for_new_donkey_owners.pdf |
| adoption_agreement_generic.pdf |
| donkey_care_handbook.pdf |