[Originally published in the 2012 Summer edition of ASSET Magazine]
by Susan White - Halfpint Hollow Miniature Donkey Farm
Hermione with Rod
As they say, fear is the most common cause of foal rejection and I believe that to be true with one of our very sweet little miniature donkey jennets. Once labor began, as soon as possible, she was going to get rid of whatever was causing that horrible pain! With determined pushes, she soon expelled a little black shiny wet thing. And once that little black shiny wet thing moved, the mom was instantly at the far side of the foaling pen. The foal, whom we later named Hermione, was a spunky little girl with a very strong instinct for nursing. To our horror, once she started to wobble towards her mom, her mother grabbed her by the nape of her neck, lifted her off the ground, and viciously shook her. We quickly ran into the pen to save her. We realized Mother Nature was going to need a little help from us! Haltering and tying the mom up to the side of the pen, we tried to soothe her…Hermione knew exactly where to go, but wasn’t allowed by her mom’s frantic kicking…She even kicked wickedly with two feet in unison when we hobbled her!
We read where one should leave the hobbled mom and foal alone together for two hours. Maybe that would work in some cases, but it seemed highly unlikely in our case, plus we were running out of time. Two hours had passed and we needed to get some colostrum into the baby, so I ran to the house for a warm wet washcloth, a little cup, and a large syringe. My husband, Rod, rubbed the mother’s udder with the warm wet washcloth to stimulate milk release, then, milking with two fingers, collected the “liquid gold” which I sucked up with the syringe and squirted into little Hermione’s mouth. She drank all we could get, which was about 100 cc’s that first time.
Hermione’s instinct to go to her mom for milk remained strong the first four days, but no matter what we did, her mom still fought her off…After four days, it was futile as Hermione had then learned to be afraid of her mother…We continued to try during the remainder of the week, but to no avail. In the meantime we were milking the mom and feeding the baby every two hours around the clock. We were indeed zombies! Towards the end of that first week, the mom was producing less and less milk as we weren’t milking her nearly as often as a little foal naturally nurses.
We had progressed from feeding with a syringe to feeding from a beer bottle topped with a lamb nipple (making the nipple opening a tiny bit larger) and now needed to think about a milk replacer. At our local feed store we purchased Land O Lakes Mare’s Match which we at first mixed in with what little milk we had milked from the mom. (Note: We made up concentrated solutions of the milk replacer…4 oz. powder/4 c. water… and stored in the refrigerator. When ready to mix and warm up the milk for each feeding, we diluted 8 oz. concentrate with 14 oz. water.) At the beginning of the second week, Hermione was having to adapt to straight milk replacer, which she wasn’t crazy about, and to the change in her digestive tract that occurs normally at that time. We started adding Probios (5 grams) to her morning feedings and nervous parents that we were, we made up some electrolyte (honey, salt, and baking soda diluted in warm water) that we had used to feed our dairy calves when scoured. This is when we discovered Hermione had a sweet tooth! Our son thought of a solution for getting Hermione to drink more milk replacer…add a bit of honey. It worked! In a couple of weeks we were able to drop the honey and she was none the wiser.
That first week, every two hours, we fed Hermione all the milk available from her mom. That amounted to 2-3 oz. per feeding. Unlike calves, donkey foals don’t tend to drink more than they should, so when it came time for the milk replacer, we fed her all she could handle. Week two she started at 6 oz. (half a beer bottle) every four hours around the clock. Week three we fed her every four hours, skipping the nighttime feeding, then week four three times a day up until weaning age when, by then, she was consuming two full bottles per feeding.
To keep Hermione out of harm’s way, we made her a temporary little house using straw bales in the corner of the foaling pen. Once her mother no longer came in, we brought in surrogate moms (aunties) to help socialize little Hermione and to teach her how to be a donkey. Rod replaced the straw bales with a creep so she could have her own space when wanted it. It was in her creep that we hung little feed dishes for milk pellets (Buckeye Foal Starter) and water. Hay was always available. In no time at all Hermione was nibbling at hay and the milk pellets. We gave her fresh water every day and fresh pellets every other day. After the first few weeks we also made available to her Purina’s Omolene 300.
The aunties worked out great! Three sweethearts gladly served as surrogate moms, first one for a while, then another. They didn’t have that protective instinct of real moms, but gladly accepted her so she didn’t feel alone. One of the aunties was pregnant. It is with her and her baby that Hermione still chooses to sleep each night. Assimilating into the herd was a bit awkward at first. Since no donkey, not even her aunties, have ever disciplined her, she, at first, would kick out at any others that got too close. She has overcome that and is now at ease with the herd, happily racing around and playing with the other foals her own age.
And what about her timid mother who rejected her? We are hoping that next time she will bond with her baby and experience the joys of motherhood. When we first allowed Hermione out in the pasture we carefully watched for any interactions…Her mother seemed to wistfully watch Hermione…but Hermione deliberately steered away from her. Now it’s like they each are just another member of the herd.
Hermione at 10 1/2 months old
Hermione as a yearling (13 1/2 months old)
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