What is the difference between a good Miniature donkey and a bad one…?
There are many factors that contribute to being able to tell a good donkey from a bad donkey. Overall conformation, which is how well the donkey’s body is put together, is one of the most important factors. (Check out the Donkey Conformation Form to see what factors are included in grading a donkey. In the Newsletter section of this website, we will be featuring all the aspects of conformation for the next several months. It will be an intensive guide, based on the Canadian Donkey & Mule Handbook guide-lines for grading donkeys.) As well as conformation, important factors are attitude, color, pheno type (ie. whether the donkey is attractive or not), and genotype. Again all of these terms will be discussed in greater detail in the newsletter. In any breeding program, culling is an important step to making sure the breed has good quality animals. Culling means getting rid of breeding stock that is not up to standard. This means castrating jacks that do not have superior conformation and
There are may factors that contribute to being able to tell a good donkey from a bad donkey. Conformation (how well the donkey’s body is put together) is one of the most important factors. A good donkey will have straight legs, a nicely rounded hip, a straight topline, and a pretty head. A poor donkey can be cowhocked, rafter hipped, with a sway back and a big head that looks too large for its body. Other important factors are attitude, colour, phenotype (what the donkey looks like) and genotype (the donkey’s genetic background). CanWest members consider all of these factors and more in determining which donkeys should be bred to which other donkeys. Donkeys that do not meet our exacting standards are not bred, but they can still make excellent pets. Some of the best pets are the geldings (castrated males who are not up to our standard of breeding stock). A reputable breeder will geld the majority of its jacks and will not sell young jacks unless they are of superior quality and suitab
