Best Hay for Donkeys: Choosing Safe, Suitable Forage

Donkeys are not small horses when it comes to feeding. They are adapted to high-fiber, lower-energy forage and often gain weight quickly on hay that would be routine for many horses. For many healthy adult donkeys, the goal is not the richest hay on the stack. It is clean, safe, mature forage that supports gut health without pushing calories too high.

A practical option for many adult donkeys is barley straw as the main forage, with a smaller portion of moderate-quality grass hay. Merck notes that donkeys may do well on a ration made up of about 70% to 75% barley straw and 25% to 30% moderate-quality grass hay or pasture. If straw is not available, Cornell Cooperative Extension advises choosing a very mature grass hay rather than lush, nutrient-dense forage.

When you are shopping for hay, look for forage that is dust-free, dry, clean, and free of mold. Mature grass hay is usually stemmier and lower in energy than soft, leafy hay. Timothy, orchard grass, bermuda, brome, and mixed grass hays can all work, depending on what is common in your area. Haylage may be used in some cases, but it needs to be properly made and selected carefully. Silage is not suitable for equids.

Hay that is often too rich for many donkeys includes leafy second-cut grass hay, alfalfa, and other legume-heavy forage. These may be useful in selected cases, such as underweight animals, growing youngsters, pregnancy, lactation, or heavy work, but they are not the best default choice for the average easy-keeping pet donkey. Your vet can help match the forage to your donkey's age, workload, teeth, body condition, and laminitis risk.

How much hay is safe depends on your donkey's body weight, body condition, workload, pasture access, and whether straw is part of the ration. A commonly cited maintenance target for donkeys is around 1.5% of body weight per day as dry matter from forage. For a 400 kg donkey, that is about 6 kg of dry matter daily, or roughly 13.2 pounds. Some donkeys may need a bit more or less depending on their condition and the forage itself.

In real life, hay is not 100% dry matter, and bale weights vary. That is why weighing forage is more accurate than feeding by flakes alone. If your donkey is overweight, has a history of laminitis, or develops fat pads easily, your vet may recommend a tighter plan focused on lower-energy forage, slower intake, and careful pasture control. If your donkey is older, underweight, pregnant, lactating, growing, or working, the plan may need to be adjusted upward.

For many adult donkeys, a safer pattern is to provide continuous access to appropriate fibrous forage rather than large, calorie-dense meals. Slow feeders can help stretch eating time. If you are feeding hay without straw, choose a mature grass hay and monitor body condition closely. If you are unsure whether the hay is too rich, a forage analysis can be helpful and often costs about $25 to $60 through U.S. forage labs, not including shipping.

Do not make sudden feed changes. Switch hay gradually over 7 to 14 days when possible. Fresh water and access to salt should always be available, and many donkeys on forage-only diets also need a vitamin-mineral source or ration balancer. Your vet can help you decide what fits your donkey's situation.

The most common forage-related problems in donkeys are weight gain, fat pads, laminitis risk, poor chewing, and digestive upset. A hay that looks beautiful to people can still be too rich for an easy keeper. Watch for a thickened neck crest, pads over the shoulders, lumps of fat along the back or rump, or a donkey that is gradually getting rounder even though the ration seems modest.

Pay attention to how your donkey eats. Dropping partially chewed hay, eating slowly, bad breath, drooling, nasal discharge during eating, or repeated choke-like episodes can point to dental trouble or difficulty handling long-stem forage. Donkeys can also be very stoic. With colic or impaction, the first signs may be subtle, such as dullness, reduced appetite, fewer droppings, or standing quietly apart.

Poor-quality hay can cause problems too. Moldy, dusty, or contaminated forage may irritate the airways and digestive tract. Never feed hay that smells musty, feels damp, has visible mold, or contains foreign material. Straw with retained grain is also a concern because the leftover grain raises the energy and starch content.

See your vet immediately if your donkey shows lameness, heat in the feet, reluctance to walk, repeated lying down, no interest in food, signs of choke, or reduced manure output. Those signs can become serious quickly, and early care matters.

If your current hay seems too rich, the first alternative is often not a fancy feed. It is a lower-energy forage plan. For many adult donkeys, that means barley straw plus a measured amount of mature grass hay. If barley straw is unavailable, your vet may suggest oat or wheat straw in some situations, but barley straw is often preferred because it is palatable and fibrous. Any straw used for feeding should be clean, dust-free, and free of retained grain.

Another option is to switch from leafy hay to a mature grass hay with lower calorie density. Timothy, orchard grass, bermuda, or mixed grass hay may be reasonable choices if they are harvested mature and tested or known to be suitable. In donkeys with laminitis risk or metabolic concerns, your vet may recommend forage testing and, in some cases, soaking hay to reduce water-soluble carbohydrates.

If your donkey cannot chew long-stem forage well because of age or dental disease, your vet may discuss soaked forage pellets, chopped forage, or a complete senior-type equid feed as part of the plan. These are not automatic upgrades. They are tools for specific situations. The right choice depends on whether the main issue is calories, chewing ability, nutrient balance, or medical risk.

Pasture can also be part of the conversation, but lush grazing is not automatically safer than hay. Many donkeys need restricted pasture time, dry-lot management, or a grazing muzzle during high-risk seasons. Your vet can help you build a forage plan that protects gut health while keeping weight and laminitis risk in check.