(Note:  these pages are designed in frames - if you are not seeing frames,  please be sure and click here to optimize your viewing experience.)    

Does your winter weather go below freezing? If so, like your auto, you need to winterize your ass!   He actually does most of the work for you.  The reduced daylight as winter approaches tells him to start growing that thick coat. You can usually start seeing it come on about September (depends on where you live), and by the time the Arctic blast hits he's lost his summer sleekness and gone Nova (Fuzzy).

Photo by S. Kudo

 will surely colic. A lot of winter colic's are brought on by poor winter water management. 

So it's freezing outside, why isn't your donkey's ears and feet and tail freezing off?  Well, it does happen to any equine that isn't properly taken care of, but keep in mind, you can be bundled to the max. for the freezing weather, still be stomping your feet from cold, and your donkey is comfortable just as he stands! His body has adjusted to the weather. He doesn't have to be locked inside or have a blanket on. In fact, poor blanket management (sweating then chilling underneath) can just make him colder! He does better moving around to keep his circulation going, and unless he is clipped, a blanket (especially if it's damp with sweat or dirty) will just compact his hair and keep him chilled. 

What keeps him warm is his own blood and the special way the arteries and veins route and shunt the blood as needed. Animals are able to tolerate frigid climates (unlike us poor humans) in that, in simple terms, the blood coming from the heart (the heated body core) is piped next to the blood coming from the cold extremities, so by the time the blood gets back to the body core it's warmed back up and the central heat core is not chilled. Also, being a herbivore, donkeys have a large gut filled with digesting grass or hay (grain too, but actually good hay will keep them warmer, grain provides calories, but the breakdown of the hay provides warmth!). This natural digesting process creates a lot of heat, so the donkey has it's own central heating unit in it's belly. 

What can we do to help the donkey winter better? Provide care that supports the donkeys natural winterizing adaptations! First if blood moves the heat around his body, then we need to provide a constant supply of clean, unfrozen water. This water is even better if it's almost warm, because the donkey will drink better (you don't like freezing cold water on your teeth do you?). Keeping the donkey hydrated in the coldest of winter weather assures that the blood in his body will not be sluggish and slow and will be able to keep him amply warm all over. A dehydrated donkey will not be able to keep his temperature up, be unable to properly digest his food for the energy and warmth, and 

How do you provide ice free water? The best way is to have an automatic heated waterer. The next is a freeze proof water hydrant to get the water from - if it's not dumping directly into a trough, be sure the hose is taken off and hung so water can drain out or it will freeze up solid. A heater must be placed in the trough, be sure all circuit breakers are in place and the electric de-icer is in perfect working order. I prefer the sinkable heaters vs. the floating, less for the donkey to play with. Run the electrical cord through PVC pipe so no donkey teeth can touch anything remotely able to give them a life threatening jolt of electricity. Number one priority is to be safe. When in doubt please, please, ask a certified electrician, much cheaper and less heartbreaking than loosing yours or your donkeys life to make shift applications. Electricity can kill. There are also frost proof buckets or if one has time, toting warm buckets of water 3-4 times per day per donkey can suffice when electricity is unavailable.

Ivy League Crimson, demonstrating a simple design to protect submersible water heater cords.  Photo by Kelley Ward.

Make sure the donkeys coat is clean (not squeaky clean, just not matted with manure and mud) and fluffed up. Brushing will help keep the coat free of debris. Equines grow a winter coat and when they get cold the hair stands up. This is like a bird fluffing it's feathers - the fluffed hair traps air to act as an insulating layer (like us wearing a down coat). If the hair gets wet, caked with debris or flattened down by a blanket, the insulation is gone and the donkey is cold. This insulating air layer can also be blown away by a hard wind, this is why shelter and wind break is so important to the donkey. First so they can stay dry and second, if the wind is blowing hard, they can avoid wind chill. 

Ever see a herd of animals after a snow storm? Wonder why they can walk around with snow on their backs and not have it melt? It's because of the insulating layer of hair and the efficiency of the blood flow - they are not wasting heat like a poorly insulated house. Its a sign of a healthy properly adjusted animal. Drive around a neighborhood and check the snow levels on homes. You can quickly pick out the poorly insulated ones. Same goes with your stock. If you have one in a herd that is unable to keep that snow on (it's obviously melting) when everyone else is wearing that new blanket of white, better check him out, most likely he is stressed or sick. 

A donkey doesn't need to be pampered in a palace in the winter. He just needs clean, constant, unfrozen water, lots of good roughage such as clean hay, shelter and a dry place to lay down once in a while (this helps keep his coat from getting matted). You'll be very envious of the way he'll cruise through the winter weather, while we are endlessly shoving wood into that woodstove for the next six months....