WANT TO BUY OR ADOPT A DONKEY ?

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All Cypress Farm Donkeys sale proceeds and PDHR adoption fees support , Purple Donkey Human Rescue,  501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization  © 2023 by Purple Donkey Human Rescue. Thank you 

We try to return calls and emails as quickly as possible. The following information will answer many of your questions and allow you to prepare answers to our questions when we speak. This helps us place the right donkeys with the right people. We are all about education and hold seminars at our farm regularly for people interested in donkey care. However, we are a PRIVATE GATED RESIDENCE so we see people by appointment only! Please schedule your visit ahead of time we do not take walk ins. 

Unless you are a breeder with an established reputation we definitely give preference to people who take the time to visit our farm. Our donkeys are family members who can live to 50 years of age. We encourage you to learn about us and we want to get to know you before placing our animals.  

CONTACT: We are best reached by text at 704-649-2491 and can then set up a FaceTime, zoom or call after you review the following information. 

There is far more misinformation than accurate information about donkeys floating around in the world. The BIGGEST MISCONCEPTION is that donkeys are GUARDIAN ANIMALS (NOT TRUE !!) While donkeys are highly territorial, they will unfortunately often harm or even kill goats or other small animals in their area. Jacks should not be placed in cow pastures. Many Jacks are killed by farmers after they attack calves. Sadly this happens all the time. Donkeys can not defend themselves against dog, wolf or coyote attacks. If this is your goal, please acquire guardian dogs. See this link but caution it is graphic Chantelle's Story 

Donkeys are highly intelligent and highly social animals. Your donkey may love you and they may tolerate and come to bond with other animals over time. Donkeys are herd animals who live in small cherrished family groups. They rely on each other for communication and protection and they have their own language. For a donkey to be truly content, get proper sleep and remain HEALTHY, a donkeys should have an appropriate age and size donkey companion. Equine must have another equine partner in order to get proper REM sleep. A lone donkey will never be at ease without a donkey (not just a horse) partner to watch over them. Have you seen those tik tok videos of single donkeys going crazy for toys? Unfortunately that is not a cute donkey but a very neurotic, unhappy donkey. Responsible breeders will not sell single donkeys into a home without  another appropriate donkey companion.  "I want a male and female foal "  A responsible breeder will not sell this pairing to you unless the jack is old enough to geld. The Male matures at 18 months to 2 years but the female does not mature and should never be bred until she is 3 or 3.5 years old. A young male and female will need to be separated or she can be bred early and risk a fatal situiation due to aggression or premature breeding. 

 JACKS: We only sell intact jacks to established breeding programs. Jacks are NOT PETS and can change drastically and even become dangerous as they mature. Most are very sweet with experienced handlers after they are trained but they are a loaded gun. They must be housed separately from jennets and sometimes even geldings. If a breeding pair is together they should be removed from the jennets area long before her foal is due to avoid tragedy. Jacks will kill calves and goats. THEY ARE NOT PETS OR GUARDIAN ANIMALS this is a misconception. We cannot say this enough. 

 PRICE: Our donkeys usually range in price between $3900-$6500 with the cost of wooly and some micros being significantly higher. This is by far not a money making operation. We give our donkeys excellent care, have a professional staff who handles our donkeys daily and all proceeds go to our 501c3 Purple Donkey Human Rescue. 

Learn about Donkey Care

https://cypressfarmdonkeys.com/donkey-101 (https://cypressfarmdonkeys.com/donkey-101)

https://donkeyrescue.org/news/pvdr-ears/the-reality-of-donkeys-housed-with-other-livestock/

DONKEYS ARE NOT GUARDIAN ANIMALS  Chantelle's Story / Caution some images are difficult to see

http://www.rollingdfarm.com/summer-1.html

Donkey Care and Welfare / The worldwide experts 

https://www.iowdonkeysanctuary.org/care-and-welfare

 OUR GOALS: We want to place our donkeys in homes that are not only loving but have sound equine support and have an exit strategy for our donkeys if your life should change. DONKEYS CAN LIVE TO BE 50+ YEARS OLD. We ask that owners place their donkeys in their will. Who will care for your donkeys if anything should happen to you or when your donkey outlives you. Please know that if anything should ever change and you cannot care for a donkey we are happy to have them back in our care. 

We will not sell or place a single donkey in a home without another appropriate donkey companion.  

Please note that NO responsible breeder will do this and if they do agree to this then consider it 

"A SIGN " We encourage people looking for horse companions to acquire 2 miniature donkeys as this is by far a more successful situation for you, your horse and the donkeys. We are happy to discuss the benefits of this when we speak to you. Unless you plan to take your donkey with you each time you ride the separation can be tramatic for the donkey. Sorry folks but donkeys are extremly intelligent. They are more intelligent than horses and they often pick at horses since horses don't speak donkey. Equine require LIKE KIND equine near them to get proper REM sleep. These are just a few reasons we only sell or adopt donkeys in pairs. 

Our donkeys will arrive up to date with shots, worming and come with a vets health certificate and negative coggins. They will be good citizens who are used to handling, pick up their feet and walk on a lead. NOTE: please be patient with donkeys when they arrive at a new home. It generally takes time and patience and care for them to trust you as their new person. Some are quicker than others but plan to spend lots of time with your new donkeys. They are very social animals used to being around a lot of other donkeys and people. It can take a month or more for them to start coming around and enjoying their new environment. Buyers are responsible for transportation but we can suggest and assist you with scheduling transportation. 

All jacks will be GELDED prior to being placed in their new home unless you are an established breeder buying a herd sire. jacks are NOT PETS. We can't say this enough. 

 DEPOSITS: We will NEVER ask for a deposit over the phone or electronically before we encourage you to visit our farm and meet our animals. Scams are rampant and deeply persuasive. We discourage everyone from ever sending deposits on line from photos. Once you have met your donkey and we identify it’s the correct fit then a 50% non refundable deposit (unless we are not able to deliver a healthy animal) will be accepted by Zelle, Venmo, PayPal, certified check ( in person please do not mail certified checks) please note that all proceeds from the sale of donkeys or adoption fees for rescues (when available) go to support our 501c3 Purple Donkey Human Rescue. 

YOU MUST HAVE THE FOLLOWING IN PLACE BEFORE YOU CAN BUY A DONKEY 

PLEASE BE PREPARED TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS DURING YOUR PURCHASE OR ADOPTION INQUIRY

Please be prepared to discuss the following before you call or email your inquiry about adopting or purchasing donkeys. We receive 5 and 20 calls a week for donkeys. We really need you to do your homework first and be prepared to answer at least most of these questions before we talk. Thank you!

SHELTER :
Do you have 3 sided shelter for donkeys? What is the size, height and flooring ? Donkeys are not waterproof and must have shelter from the rain. They get pneumonia far more than horses in the winter if wet and cold. Will they have shade in the summer. Note you may need to wrap trees in wire as donkeys will quickly skin the bark off a tree.

WATER:
What is your animals drinking water source and is it protected from freezing in the winter ? Donkeys like horses will only drink clean water. Do you have shade in the summer. Have you removed harmful or toxic trees and shrubs from the area ? We can provide a list.

EQUINE VET:
Who is your registered Equine Veterinarian. We will verify that you are a client of an equine vet prior to transportation. Are your current equine and other animals up to date on vaccines and worming ? Have they ever had a coggins performed ? Do they leave your property? Are they on a worming program ? An equine vet may not come in an emergency if you are not registered as a client.

EXISTING ANIMALS ON YOUR FARM:
What size and sex are your current donkeys? Jacks must be gelded as they are not pets. They can become aggressive as they mature at 15 to 18 months and then begin to breed, while jennets do not mature until they are 3 to 3.5 years old. We do not encourage the breeding of non registered animals. Without a registration history there is no way to know if you are bringing something negative forward.  Our 501c3 Purple Donkey Human Rescue deals constantly with animals discarded after back yard breeders tire of their donkeys or they have health issues or bad behavior. Breeding should only occur to bring forward the very best in the breed and only after a good deal of research. Miniature donkeys are highly intelligent equine who thrive living in the company of appropriatly aged and sexed like species animals. A young male and female is not a good purchase as they will need to be separated before he is two and will then need another companion.

GOATS: unfortunately more often than not the very territorial donkey will harm a goat in its space. Be prepared to separate donkeys. Donkeys are sometimes fine with goats .... until they are not. Fences make good neighbors so there is NO guarantee they will consistently be patient with other animals including the family dog. A guardian dog breed is the only breed that should be considered.

FARRIER:
Who will trim your animals feet ? Sometimes it’s difficult to find a farrier. We want to know you have engaged a farrier prior to shipping your donkeys.

HAY & FEED PREPARATION
What are you currently feeding your donkey and do you have a source of hay, if so what kind ? We feed costal (Bermuda) because it is lower in protein, sugar and starch . Alfalfa and other grasses good for horses are far too rich for most donkeys on a day to day basis. Too much grass, rich feeds or hay and suagary treats will get them fat or worse make them develop laminitis. Orchard grass or timothy hay is another good choice for donkeys. Something low in protein and sugar is key.

Thank you for reviewing this information. Text me AFTER you’ve read this with days and times you might be able to FaceTime or Zoom and then hopefully arrange a visit. We will ask that you answer these questions prior to visiting. We look forward to speaking with you. 704.649.2491 egrillo@purpledonkey.org