Livestock Guardian Donkeys

Image: Brooke Purvis

Livestock guardian donkeys are becoming more popular across Australia, as an increasing number of landholders discover their effectiveness in protecting livestock from predators. Donkeys can successfully protect livestock across a range of regions, climates and types of livestock.

The success of donkeys guarding livestock has been documented around the globe. Guardian donkeys have been proven effective with international predators such as wolves and coyotes, and there is increasing anecdotal evidence of their success in protecting livestock from dingoes in Australia too.

There are estimated to be five million feral donkeys across arid central Australia, the Kimberley in Western Australia and the Top End in the Northern Territory. They cause damage to the environment and compete with livestock for pasture, and as a result are controlled through mustering and aerial shooting. 

In recent years, the Last Stop Donkey program has been developed to remove donkeys from areas where they cause damage, relocating them and retraining them to become effective guardians of livestock. The program, which is located in the Hunter Valley of NSW, has been highly successful and is an excellent example of a program that could be adopted in other regions to support landholders in protecting their livestock from predation by dingoes.

  • Important considerations when deciding whether or not to use livestock guardian donkeys:

  • Not all donkeys are suitable guardians:

    Not every donkey is a fit all solution; it is important to get the right donkeys to suit individual circumstances. It is advised to seek out someone who works with, or retrains, donkeys professionally, who can understand a person's individual circumstances and choose a donkey that is well suited to the job.

    Like with livestock guardian dogs, it is extremely important to get donkeys from an experienced, reputable handler that can provide ongoing support and information after purchasing. Purchasing a donkey that has come straight from being mustered and has had limited handling can have negative outcomes for livestock and infrastructure.

  • Fostering effective guardianship:

    Donkey’s effectiveness at guarding is due to their territorial nature. Moving donkeys around too frequently can impact their effectiveness guarding a territory as they need time to feel comfortable. This is important to consider when deciding to use guardian donkeys.

    Donkeys form strong social bonds with other donkeys, and when there are multiple donkeys on the job they work together to defend their territory against predators. Therefore it is important to have guardian donkeys in pairs.

  • Castrated males only!

    Entire male donkeys are too aggressive to be used as guardians. It is recommended that only gelded males or jennies and foals are placed with livestock.

  • Safe introductions to working dogs:

    It is important to ensure initial contact between donkeys and working dogs is closely supervised, as donkeys show aggression towards dogs. However, they can learn to differentiate between working dogs and unwelcomed predators. Most working dogs learn to work around donkey guardians, rather than trying to herd them like sheep. Neighbours with dogs should also be notified of guardian donkeys and warned of potential conflict that can occur between uncontained dogs and donkeys.

  • Additional information

    Donkeys only drink 9 litres of water per day, they eat weeds that are undesirable to livestock, prefer different grass to cattle and travel 40kms per day throughout their territory.Description goes here

Why are donkeys desirable guardians?

  1. Adaptability: Donkeys are able to integrate with various types of livestock in a range of different environments. 

  2. Low maintenance: Donkeys are generally low-maintenance animals and have the same diet as livestock animals, which can be supplemented with hay when needed. It is important to note that donkeys still require regular feet, dental and worming treatment to keep them healthy, and ensure they work reliably.

  3. Territorial behaviour: Donkeys are territorial by nature and will bray, kick and bite in defence against predators. 

  4. Vocal deterrence: Donkeys are vocal animals and will bray loudly when they sense incoming danger. This can not only alert farmers and other guardian animals to approaching danger, but deter dingoes from approaching.

  5. Physical deterrence: Donkeys are much larger than dingoes and can intimidate or challenge dingoes, which acts as a deterrent and prevents dingoes from attacking livestock.

  6. Long term protection: With proper care and living conditions, donkeys can have a lifespan of 27-50 years, meaning they can provide decades of protection for livestock.

Determining the correct ratio of donkeys needed to protect your livestock

In open paddocks that allow donkeys a good line of sight, use approximately 1 pair of donkeys to 200-300 sheep. In hilly or scrubby paddocks, there should be 1 pair of donkeys to 100 sheep.

For extensive situations there should be 1 donkey pair per sheep camp.

Proper care and treatment

To ensure donkeys work well, there are some basic care requirements that need to be met. While they are fairly low-maintenance animals, it is important that donkeys' feet, teeth, regular worming and tetanus vaccinations are kept up to date. 

The frequency of foot trimming depends on the individual donkey and the terrain that they are kept in, but generally hoof trimming should be undertaken every 8-10 weeks. It is recommended that donkeys have a dental check up once a year to identify any potential dental issues such as overgrown teeth and sharp edges. Donkeys should be treated regularly for worms to ensure they don’t develop a worm burden, which can impact their health and consequently, their ability to guard. Donkeys are also required to be vaccinated against tetanus, as they are particularly susceptible to the bacteria tetanus produces. In donkeys, tetanus is lethal in 80% of cases. 

For ease of performing these tasks, it is recommended that a crush is located on the property. It is important to note that you should never put a donkey's neck in a crush, this can break their neck. The crush is used to contain them in a small area while performing health maintenance.

Initial costs of purchasing a donkey as a guardian

The price range for a donkey can be between $900 and $4,500. However, the cost to purchase a guardian donkey depends greatly on the amount of training and health care they have received prior. Whilst it may be enticing to buy a donkey at a lower initial price, this does come with significant risk of costing more in the long run.  

If a cheaper donkey is opted for, it is highly likely that there has been a lack of proper training to ensure they will be suitable guardians. This can lead to poor guarding, damaged infrastructure and, in extreme cases, injury or death of livestock animals.

Look for donkey retrainers who have tested donkeys in a range of situations (including around children) and who can offer ongoing support and information after purchasing a donkey. Looking for donkey retrainers who know the age of the donkey, and ensure they are vet checked, microchipped, vaccinated, registered and up to date with worming, dental and feet work is also important. Lastly, a reputable donkey retrainer should know the strengths and weaknesses of the individual donkeys in their care and can recommend which donkey will be most suitable to individual circumstances.

Ongoing costs associated with livestock guardian donkeys

Donkeys success in action across Australia

One donkey supplier in regional NSW has claimed a 300% increase in farmers seeking donkeys to protect livestock from dingo predation.

Further, a NSW farmer had a persisting issue with predation by dingoes, with up to 30 sheep killed on the property each night. In the 3 years since deploying 2 trained donkeys on the property to protect livestock, no killings by dingoes have been recorded.

A farmer in Grafton also decided to utilise guardian donkeys to protect their herd from predation and asserts they were an ‘instant success’. 

You can find a list of other guardian donkey successes on the Dingo Advisory Council website: