FUN FACTS
ELEVENSES LLAMAS AND MINIATURE DONKEYS
Ken and Marty St. Clair, 195 Valley Drive, Rougemont NC 27572, 1 800 821-3060
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Home, Policies, On the Farm, Donkeys etc, Twins, Fun Facts, Male Llamas I, Male Llamas II, Female Llamas I, Female Llamas II, Llama Herdsires, Former Llama Herdsires, Donkey Herdsires
Donkey facts are on the top.
For llama facts, scroll down.
EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT
DONKEYS
…BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK
1. Donkey… refers to the same animal as ass and burro.
A male donkey is a jack, a female is a jennet or jenny. Cross-breeding between a male donkey and a female horse gives you a mule; between a male horse and a female donkey yields a hinny.2. Donkeys have an average life expectancy of 40-50 years.
As a result they tend to mature slowly. No training involving carrying any weight should be done before the age of three years. Females are generally not bred until three years of age.3. Miniature donkeys are 36" or less at the shoulder at maturity.
Standard donkeys are 36" to 48" at the shoulder. Mammoth donkeys stand over 48".4. Miniature donkeys have the cross on their backs.
Other donkeys may have it too, but all miniatures do.5. Donkeys have an average gestation of one year.
They generally have only one foal and usually at night (most generally when you are completely exhausted).6. Donkeys bray (or hee-haw).
Some are better (and louder) at it than others.7. Donkeys eat hay
. And grain. And grass. And leaves. And trees. And apples. And watermelon. And carrots. And – well, you get the idea.8. If you get on the donkeys level, he will generally put his chin on your shoulder
. This is a donkey hug. Enthusiastic huggers can knock you over.9. One donkey is fun
. Two donkeys are 8 times as much fun. Three donkeys are 27 times as much fun. Watching donkeys play is great fun indeed.EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT
LLAMAS
...BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK!
1. Yes, llamas DO spit
...at each other. Female llamas spit at male llamas to let the male know they are pregnant. Male llamas spit at each other to determine dominance. Llamas seldom spit at people...although you can get caught in the crossfire if you aren't careful!2. Adults cannot ride llamas
, but llamas can carry children under 100 pounds and your pack when you go camping. Llamas can also be trained to pull a cart (our Patrick loves to show off pulling his!).3. Llama feet are eco-friendly.
The llama foot has two leathery pads with toenails to grab the terrain. This makes the llama very sure-footed, yet he will have little impact on the environment when you take him camping.4. Llamas have wool, not hair or fur.
Llama wool can be spun and either knitted or woven. Llama wool does not need to be dyed as llamas come in all the fashionable colors!5. Llamas are curious and intelligent.
Llamas love to investigate their environment and like to be exposed to new things. They learn very quickly and never forget something once they have learned it.6. Llamas have one baby (called a cria) per birth
and the gestation period is about 350 days. Twins are rare. Llamas usually rebreed 12 days after having given birth.7. Llamas can be companions, pets, guards
, cart-pullers, packers, displayed at shows, taken to schools and retirement homes, and nearly anything else you can imagine.8. Llamas use a communal dung pile –
that is, they don’t go to the bathroom unless they are in the bathroom. Makes cleaning up much less work.9. Llamas are gentle, sweet, enjoyable companions.
Very young children or very old adults can handle them with ease. Our lives have been enriched tremendously since we got llamas!Please visit our other pages by clicking below:
Home, Policies, On the Farm, Donkeys etc, Twins, Fun Facts, Male Llamas I, Male Llamas II, Female Llamas I, Female Llamas II, Llama Herdsires, Former Llama Herdsires, Donkey Herdsires