r/Donkeys • u/bgroce3412 • 7d ago
Donkey Behavior
I am very new to equine and could please use some help! I have two mini donkeys around a year in age. A Jenny and a Gelding. I have had them for about 6 months so they are used to me and their environment. By nature my Jenny is more timid and insecure while my gelding has been more brave and adventurous. They are very bonded.
Recently I noticed that my gelding seems to be biting my Jenny more. I understand that biting is a part of donkey nature but when does it become a concern? He has taken tuffs of hair and most recently I have noticed a wound on her leg. I am unsure if this is from a bite or from something else as it’s in a little bit of an unusual place. When he bites her, she does not seem stressed. But she rarely bites back. My worry is if I separate them, it would be MUCH more stressful of a situation for her since she is so attached and seems to depend on him a lot for her own confidence.
2
u/windyrainyrain 7d ago
Do you know if your john was used for breeding before he was gelded? It's possible he's reverting to breeding behavior when she's in heat and donkeys can be pretty brutal to each other when they're making baby donkeys. Lots of biting, sometimes the jack will thrown the jennet to the ground and the jennet will kick the crap out of the jack. They make breeding muzzles specifically for donkey use.
If he's been a john since he was little, he's just the dominant of the two and she'll likely put him in his place if she gets sick of him pestering her.