Every foal born will require an equine passport in accordance with the prevailing legislation(or you risk a fine of up to £5000), and from January 1st 2009 will require to be microchipped before the age of six months and the code and chip location added to the application for passport/registration.
The donkey must be registered with a suitable name, taking into account Donkey Breed Society and Central Prefix Register rules regarding naming conventions, and on registration will be allocated a Studbook registration number relevant to its status in the appropriate register and a Universal Equine Life Number, as required by law.
For further information to assist in making decisions about breeding, which animal to choose and what this means in terms of registration of the foal, we have an overview of our Stud Book Registers as well as full Stud Book Rules. There is also a definition of Inbreeding as relevant to acceptance into the Pedigree Register and for inspection and a chart showing which Register any foal would be eligible for.
So you'd like to breed a donkey?
If you are thinking of breeding from your mare, please consider everything very carefully.
- Can you afford to give your mare the attention she will need?
- Can you afford the cost of any additional feed and / or veterinary bills?
- Can you afford the time and money to bring up the baby? He or she will need feeding, equipment (a head collar at the least), the attention of a farrier every 6 weeks plus annual veterinary costs for inoculations and teeth maintenance ? and that's before there are any illnesses or accidents to be dealt with! Inquisitive babies can easily get into trouble!
- Can you afford to have a colt gelded (and give him the care he needs to recover) ? keeping an entire male (colt or stallion) is not advised unless you mean to use him at stud. Nice as his nature may be, his instincts mean that he will require careful management and strong handling to avoid becoming at best a nuisance, at worst a danger.
- Can you discipline a youngster? Teaching an excitable (or sulky!) bundle of legs to lead nicely takes stamina and patience, yet no-one is going to want an unruly or potentially dangerous youngster ? let alone an adult that will not lead, allow its feet to be trimmed or stand for the vet..
- Can you assure yourself that he or she will have an excellent home?
if the answer to all of these is 'yes', then you have reached 'go'
Why do you want to breed?
This foal may be starting life as your 'fluffy baby', but realistically there are another 30 or 40 years of future donkey life to consider, so to breed responsibly must be considered as the prudent way forward . The Donkey Breed Society is committed to a programme of improvement through selective breeding and upgrading, the results of which are recorded annually in the published studbooks.
First select your broodmare.
However if you only have the one then assess might be a better choice of word. Assess her faults and her good points, yes she will have them, be really critical, consign them to memory because when choosing a stallion it is important that any faults he may have do not mirror hers.
Then choose a suitable stallion.
It isn't about picking the nearest - he may be completely unsuitable, without registration documents to prove otherwise he could be the father or half brother to your mare or so unsuitably sized that a potential large first foal could present a difficult birth, or he may present a conformation or clinical defect common to your mare that will reproduce itself in your baby.
Temperament is a huge consideration, stallions are neither tranquil nor 'cuddly', but unpredictable and volatile and whilst this can be influenced by housing and handling the animal you are considering should inspire you with confidence in his manner,as well as his conformation, if not think again! there are others.
Satisfy yourself that your mare will be cared for in the manner you would wish whilst she is away from home at stud. If there is any doubt in your mind, please don't do it, again there will be other stallions in more acceptable environments.
Planning
Climate change may be a poplar social topic, but foals need sun on their backs, grass in their tummies and freedom to gallop, none of that is very evident between January and April any more. Covering too is often more successful in the Spring rather than winter, and the shorter period your mare is away from home the better, so an April covering could give you a May foal the following year. Essentially having chosen a stallion, talk to the owner, and follow any advice they have to give.
Breeders Pack
Planning any birth is exciting but can be full of pitfalls. The Donkey Breed Society is preparing a Breeders Pack full of information to help you through every stage from 'Choosing the Right Stallion' through to 'Weaning your Foal'
Stallion Day
If you need more, a Stallion day is planned for 2009, when you will be able to see some of the stallions in the flesh, watch how they move and assess their qualities relative to your mare. See visual displays from the various studs, pick up a breeders pack, an application form for a passport or buy a studbook past or present. More details will be published as they become available.
Foal Registrations for 2009
From 1st July 2009 all foals must be microchipped and the barcode data and date of microchip insertion included on the passport/registration application form.
Following the implemention in 2005 of a Commision Decision 96/78/EEC requiring Breed Societies to accept the progeny of stud book registered parents into the same register without inspection, Donkey Breed Society Members should be aware that they will be required to provide proof of covering in the form of a Dated, Named and Signed Covering Certificate attached to any application for passport/registration for progeny of parents registered in Section A or Section B of the Pedigree Register of the Studbook. Only those donkeys whose pedigree can further demonstrate that they meet the criteria for inspection can be elevated to the Inspected Pedigree Register. Failure to provide endorsed Donkey Breed Society Covering Certificates will cause the donkey to be registered in the General Register.
Stallion owners can obtain books of covering certficates from the Stud Book Registrar:registrar@donkeybreedsociety.co.uk
Stud Book Inspection
If you wish to apply for a Stud Book inspection for eligible donkeys pleases contact: registrar@donkeybreedsociety.co.uk
Stud Book News and Veterinary Inspection Results
Two donkeys were veterinary inspected for entry to the Pedigree Stud Book at Rodbaston in 2008 and I am pleased to report both passed, also a second stallion for a'Veterinary Only' inspection. This Veterinary Inspection being made available to any donkey who for one reason or another does not meet the criteria for entry to the Studbook and a Stud Book Inspection, but is being considered as part of breeding programme. The inspection being intended to identify the presence of any Herediraty Defects or Diseases that might impair the candidate for breeding.
Inspection can only be for the good of the future generations of donkeys that we are breeding and registering in the appropriate sections of the Stud Books.
Congratulations to Trinitas Henry 'Iggins, who won the Premium Stallion award for 2009. The Award being given annually to the stallion, who the judge (a Veterinary Surgeon familar with donkeys) believes is most likely to improve the breed.
Passports
Remember it is vital if you sell or re-home your donkey, that both the passport and the Transfer Form, located in the back pocket of a DBS passport, are returned to the Passport Administrator.
If you are wishing to Register a foal, then a special rate of £10.00 is available up to six months of age, after that it will be the normal rates. Please remember to include your copy of the covering certificate with the application form to verify the foals breeding.
If you have any Stud Book enquiries, please contactRegistrar@donkeybreedsociety.co.uk
Pam Moon - Stud Book Registrar
There is of course the downside to breeding as well, when things don't go quite as expected....... Bill Tetlow reflects on
The Year that Lightening Nearly Struck Twice at Lamb Hill
Carol and I were getting very excited, we were about to fulfil a long held ambition to have two foals born quite closely together so we could have the pleasure of watching them both playing in the paddock. We had planned everything meticulously; Bonnie and her daughter Belle went off to Guildford to meet their prospective husbands at the Perehill Donkey Stud these were by coincidence father and son, Perehill Brigadier and Perehill Chocolate Soldier. We left the choice of the final mating in the capable hands of Ann Hunt who had far more experience in these matters than either of us. She came up with Bonnie going to the son and Belle going to the father which caused some raised eyebrows amongst our non donkey friends. As the time grew nearer and both girls grew to enormous proportions we kept a close watch on them, then twelve months to the day of her mating Bonnie was showing all the signs of impending motherhood.
We kept her in and waited, at 9.30pm she had a text book foaling and produced a beautiful dark brown colt foal Jacob. After about twenty minutes we realised all was not well the foal was slow to try and stand and when it did it fell over. We looked on as Bonnie struggled to get the foal on its feet to no avail we then realised it was time to take a hand we lifted the foal up and try to get him to suckle - without success - even Bonnie was making sucking sounds to try and encourage him. We had rung Robert the farmer who keeps sheep on our land and he had come round with all of the stuff he used for orphan foals, we milked Bonnie out and tried feeding Jacob from the bottle still with no success. After three hours of struggling he suddenly died in Carol's arms, it was devastating for us but worse for Bonne who was inconsolable, she threw herself around pacing up and down and calling out, it was one of the worst experiences of my life.
After a few days things began to get back to normal, Bonnie was back in the field with the gang so we decided that we would make the best of it and decided we would enter her along with Fergus for all of the shows, the entries were filled out and sent off, but at the back of our minds was the worry what if we were to go through it all again with Belle. All of our friends said not to be silly she would be fine, who ever heard of lightening striking twice in the same place.
I was away for a training seminar when at 7.30am I received a phone call from a frantic Carol saying that Belle had foaled and she was attacking it. Seminar forgotten I drove back home as fast as the speed limits would allow. When I arrived home I found a somewhat calmer Carol saying that the foal a filly was fine and safely away from Belle, she and the redoubtable Robert had tried tying Belle up to let the foal suckle but all hell had broken out and Robert had received a kicking for his troubles.
I went down to the barn to look at out new arrival, she was just gorgeous dark brown like Jacob but unlike him she was up and pinging all over the place. Belle was tied up and looked calm so after a while I thought I would just take the foal towards her; I should have known better but even I did not anticipate what would happen and so quickly! Belle whipped round and lashed out - I turned to protect the foal, got the full blast in my back and was kicked across the stable, which is where Carol found me laid in the straw with the foal moaning and feeling sorry for myself.
Gina the vet was sent for next and she arrived checked Belle and the foal over and said they were both fit and well. She then said she would sedate Belle and see if she would let the foal suckle which would hopefully in turn make the maternal instinct kick in. Not a chance even though she was given a horse size shot she still went wild when the foal came near her; the senior vet was sent for next, the one who is used to doing this with race horses Gina assured us.
When he arrived Belle was still sedated and looked really drowsy so the vet told Carol to stand with the foal behind some sheep hurdles and then instructed me to walk Belle slowly towards the foal to let her see it was nothing to be afraid of. I insisted that I put two ropes on her and that he held one as well, the look I received was one of disbelief, I could see him thinking it is only a donkey, man what are you afraid of. I insisted and we both slowly walked Belle across the stable towards the foal, suddenly she took off dragging the vet and I behind her like we were paper dolls luckily the hurdles stopped her.
The vet now with a completely different opinion on the strength of a donkey told us we were in for a long haul and we would have to hand rear the foal. Luckily Belle did not mind being milked so that we got all of the colostrums that the foal required into her and this gave us time to locate foster milk. We contacted Battles who make the Aintree Milk replacement and they gave us the name a local contact where we could get an emergency supply and they promised that we would have a delivery the next day.
The next call was to the Veterinary Department at the Donkey Sanctuary who e-mailed me a feeding plan for the foal, we had all the materials, we now just hoped we would have the energy to keep up the two hourly feeds for the next three weeks and the three hourly ones for the two weeks after that. There is no doubt about it, it was tough going, we would go down to the barn, milk out Belle who happily kept supplying us with milk for the first three weeks, mix the extra feed to make up the required amounts, feed the foal, sterilise the bottles exercise the foal for ten minutes then go back the house only to find that you would be starting the whole process again in 45 minutes time.
At five days we realised that the foal was lonely and we were aware of the dangers of her becoming humanised, Grandma Bonnie came to the rescue, we introduced them and she immediately took the foal under her wing and took over all of the motherly duties her daughter had failed to do, sadly though she could not help with the feeding as her milk had dried up two weeks before. We were then loaned a lamb feeder by Alec and Sue Horn which was most useful when the foal got on to larger feeds; she flatly refused to drink her milk out of a bucket, water, yes, but not milk.
What advice can we offer other 'Expectant Owners' Just this, plan for the worst eventuality, have a bottle and lamb teat feeder and sterilising tablets ready. Find out from Battles where the nearest emergency supply of milk replacement can be obtained and then pray you don?t need it. Was it worth it? Of course it was we have a bouncing filly of five months who now lives with the big gang but still shares a stable with granny; we never did get to any of the shows we entered with Bonnie but she is a Champion donkey in our eyes. Oh yes the foal does have a name, Carol said there but for the 'Grace of God' if I had gone into the stable two minutes later she would have been dead, so it had to be Grace !
Footnote
In the midst of all out troubles a well known breeder who had heard of of out problem and subsequent struggle made the helpful comment "Bottle fed foals never turn out well and never do anything is the show ring" just the sort of thing you need to hear when you have not had a proper night's sleep for weeks.
Well in 2009 Grace became the British Filly Champion so much for expert opinion.
Stud Book Related Awards - 2008
Improving Register Showing Awards
These awards (rosettes) are newly awarded this year, sponsored by Olivia Harrison. They are a first part of programme to promote the use of good breeding, by use of Stud Book registered mares / stallions on non-Stud Book stock i.e. with the resultant donkeys in the Improving Registers.
It is to help encourage people to consider a Stud Book parent when they wish to breed from their non-Stud Book donkey, rather than just the 'stallion down the road' - usually they will own the mare, but of course, this works equally the other way around.
It is recognised that these awards are only touching people who show their donkey, and we are considering other ways of promoting good breeding without necessarily involving showing.
In its introductory year the scheme has used the same criteria for accumulating points as does the Summerhays Broodmare Scheme (i.e. points gained at all affiliated shows plus the Championship Show, however as this tends to limit awards to those who show rather than the wider membership this will be reviewed in 2009
There is no award for adult donkeys in the 3rd Generation Improving register since their 'reward' is that they are eligible for Stud Book Inspection. 1st Generation Improving Register
Highest placed yearling: Wychbrook Petronella - Terri Morris
Highest placed 2 year old: Rudgeway Park Annabelle - Jean Fooks
Highest placed 3 year old: Happy Valley Tom's Promise -Janet Lee
Highest placed adult female: Crampmoor Azalea - Wendy Andrews
Highest placed adult male (gelding or stallion) Wallington Irish Quest - Caroline Ward
2nd Generation Improving Register
Highest placed yearling: Trinitas Sekhmet - Carole Travell
Highest placed 2 year old: None in this category
Highest placed 3 year old: None in this category
Highest placed adult female: Gamlingay Starlight -Brian Spicer
Highest placed adult male: (gelding or stallion) Glendene Taboo - Helen Naden
3rd Generation Improving Register
Highest placed yearling: Avoncroft Trinket - Olivia Harrison
Highest placed 2 year old: Gamlingay Minnie Me - Helen Naden
Highest placed 3 year old: None in this category
Supreme Championship Show Progeny Points
These points are awarded to the stallion whose progeny scored the most points for him at the Championship Show, and similarly for the mare whose progeny scored the most points for her.
Mare Progeny Points winner: Gamlingay Calamity Jane -Wendy Sawyer
Stallion Progeny Points winner: Peppercorn The Patriarch - Carole Travell
Summerhays Brood Mare Scheme.
This year, the scheme has been widened to allow 'Progeny'and Stud Book (A/B) and equivalently bred colts, to score points for their Stud Book (B) registered dam , providing she would herself still be eligible under current Stud Book rules e.g. not inbred).1st: Crampmoor Amethyst 3 progeny 48 points
2nd: Gamlingay Sweet Melody 1 progeny 24 points
3rd: Lucy Lockett 1 progeny 22 points
4th: Thirkleby Queen Prosperina 1 progeny 12 points
5th: Trinitas Ceol Morag 2 progeny 11 points
6th: Crickledown Starlight 1 progeny 9 points
7th: Trinitas Ceol Bhinneas 2 progeny 9 points
8th: Plurenden Carlotta 1 progeny 8 points
9th: Braughing Mina 2 progeny 4 points
10th: Westra Stella 1 progeny 3 points
