24/05/2017
‘Ad lib straw’
Oscar ‘Osconk’ Donkey snuffling straw. I love his curly top brow and poll tussle, remnants of his shedding winter coat, as too his sideburns or ‘chops’!
Donkeys need fibrous, cellulose plant material, essential to maintain healthy digestion, support hind gut flora and aid biochemical reactions. Fibre also helps prevent colic and loose bowels. Such material is native to their places of origin, that being the Mediterranean and Sub-Saharan continent.
In the West, our temperate climate grass, the lush verdant sort we see in fields and horse paddocks, by contrast lacks the quantity of fibre needed for donkeys; and in addition is frighteningly too rich for donkeys in nutrients (for a donkey, 3 hours on grass is equal to the sugars found in 20 mars bars!) Therefore, without regulation and controlled access, grass can potentially be very dangerous for a donkey’s health, precipitating rapid weight gain, weak joints, injured ligature and cartilage, laminitis, hyperlipemia, lipodystrophy, and arthritis or inflammatory joint disease.
In the West, the nearest equivalent for a healthy donkey is Barley straw. (Also advocated by The Donkey Sanctuary). Sickly and elderly donks may eat oat straw, helping to maintain weight (more nutrient than Barley straw) and is softer on dentition, mouth and more readily digested.
In a natural setting, Donkeys eat little and often, so it’s essential they have 24 hour access to ‘ad lib’ Barley straw. Donkeys should never be made to fast. Barley straw allows them to eat to satiety without gaining weight and mimics their natural diet and eating behaviour.
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Donkey Devotees; I’ll explain how we control grass consumption in another post soon, which will be tagged under 'strip grazing’ when I post it, so do keep checking! 🙂🌾🐴 Regards, Donk-a-Lonk xx
