How to deal with a uncastrated stubborn mini donkey that isn't mine

I'm currently renting land from my husbands boss to pasture my pigs.  To get access to the pasture I use thou I need to pass thru a dry lot pasture that houses a neighbors miniature donkey. They are not very attentive owners so this donkey is completely intact and not at all handled with his halter always on cause they cant catch him to put it on otherwise. He is fed and watered so its not abuse. Just I dont think they know anything about donkeys and thought he would be sweet and cuddly. He is NOT sweet and cuddly. He is a bored and angry ball of lonely and untrained donkey fluff stuffed with pent up hormones! I honestly wouldn't have the time to care if I didn't have to pass thru his space. Of course he runs up and waits for me at the gate when ever I come up. Then will act friendly until he isn't then he rears up and trys to bite me and wont leave my space. I have limited experience with well trained happy horses and none with untrained angry donkeys. Any ideas on how to maybe just train him enough to stop trying to fight me without causing any more behavioral problems for the donkey or me.  Is it something Im doing? Or is he just territorial with nothing to do so Im the coolest punching bag.

And yes I'm looking into another gate to avoid this altogether but its going to require a bridge or access road and culvert to do so and I'm not sure its worth it on property I don't own.

Donks, especially mini donks, are just horse puppies.

For your situation, I recommend bribes. Donkeys can be territorial over their space but that doesn't excuse them from having bad manners. Carrot or apple pieces may be accepted donkey currency to 'pay' your way through his space.  

I'm discovering most livestock are just weird shaped puppies lately! I bribe him with some handfuls of grass but maybe a apple chunk or two would be better. I am worried about him getting pushy trying to get more while I'm halfway thru the pen....

I agree,  treats should help calm the savage beast.  
After all, freshly-baked cookies will change my attitude any day, should work with a lonely donkey.

I'll give you another thing to look for in your future interactions. Watch his ears as he interacts with you. If they are pinning back, he is NOT happy. If he is hopping and kicking but his ears are staying relatively forward he may be trying to initiate play with you.

Donkey play can be hazardous as they think kicking and rearing is the bees knees. You may need to ignore (don't turn your back on him!) and carry on with confidence until he 'gets' it.

I'm hoping the bribe does the trick but you might unintentionally be becoming his buddy.

I have a feeling your spot on. I also worry I'm going to end up owning said donkey with the way the situation is.
I haven't had time to look at his ears to much when he rears as Im normally worried about his feet and bulk coming at me. Il check the ears. Il feel better if hes just trying to play and not angry with me.

Sam Potter wrote:I have a feeling your spot on. I also worry I'm going to end up owning said donkey with the way the situation is.

Just curious, why?

As others have suggested treats are good.  Put them far away so you can pass thru while he is munching.

Donkeys are territorial and you are in his space.

A frustrated uncastrated male donkey can be dangerously unpredictable.

Is there anything you can do to encourage the owner to have him castrated?

My solution will probably not be acceptable to some. BUT, I was attacked by an uncastrated pony and had to spend a week in hospital in addition to a broken collar bone and scapula. In a similar manner, I had to pass through this pony's pasture daily. After I resumed my routine I bought a 'hotshot', electric cattle prod. Two applications, which did in no way injure the culprit, and he keeps his distance now. I still carry a stick which he regards to be the hotshot and keep a wary eye on him anyway.

I agree that you should not trust this donkey at all (many years working with horses, and one of the first things I was taught never to turn my back on an intact stallion. I learned it ain't always just the stallions who are like that, but they are much more likely to be very crafty and often downright dangerous. Ponies and donkeys may be smaller but instead of crushing you he's likely to bite you from behind). Don't worry about the ears, just assume he's out to get you and watch the feet/teeth/etc.

Give him space, don't expect him to interact, bribes are good but be cautious. Don't run away or jump back if he does threaten you, they learn very quickly that this is the way to boss around people. Just be calm and quiet and don't expect him to be friendly. Maybe carry something extra in a pocket in case he does try to nip at you halfway. Honestly if it were me I'd probably go around (too many horse bites when I was young).

I believe that bribing bad dominant behaviour just rewards bad behaviour and encourages more of the same.

A cattle prod requires close contact -- effective but risky. A standard can of bear spray gives about 6-8 quick toots of deterrent at a distance (watch the wind direction!!). The message is  clear and simple: you don't have to like me, but I'm a spicy skunk and I will let you have it. So back the hell off.

If you have a legal right to cross this field, notify the owners that they may face significant legal liability if this dangerous animal attacks you and causes injury. My 2c.

i to some extent agree with Douglas, because the donkey is no dummy and will start pushing you for food if he knows he'll get it from you.

You have a few options. One might be to take the carrot/apple and toss it far from you. He may not go after it (in this case he's looking more for interaction), but he may learn that he'll only get it if he's far from you.

I went back and reread your original post and realize that going around isn't really an option, and the situation already seems complicated enough. Bear spray and shock prods work but may be more than you want to get into. I would give you two other suggestions.

First, the donkey is probably bored to tears (if not murderous). Could you find an old soccer ball, dodgeball, etc and the next time you go in there, bring it with you, and send it rolling away from you. A bored horse will go investigate and maybe go play, distracting him from you. I imagine a donkey is no different.
Later you can recover it, maybe, or maybe he'll keep playing.

The other thing you can do is get yourself a badminton or tennis racket, something big that you can wave around that effecively makes you taller. Horses rear up to make themselves more intimidating. If he's feeling you out to intimidate you, even just raising up your arms and giving a yell will probably get him to move back. When he starts getting into your space, if you do that he'll probably back off a bit. He'll most likely keep insisting, so you need to keep an eye on him and do it again.

(in case it's not clear: the racket is not to whack the donkey with, it's to make yourself look bigger. Suddenly you're a third taller than you were a minute ago, making scary noises, and the donkey thinks maybe he should go find somebody else to pick on. It works with dogs that come at you on the street too.)

Yeah sadly going around the pasture just isnt an option and Id rather not hurt the poor guy. The people who own him have a combination of poor financial support and bad financial decisions with less then legal hobbies. So unless I offer to pay for the neutering  I dont think they are willing to put money into him for a vet to visit or really much of anything. My husbands boss actually paid for the fencing after they tried to just keep him in with orange plastic snow fence in there 100ft by 100ft yard and he kept escaping into the highway. And another neighbor gets him hay and feeds him. They got the donkey for free after there friend the original owner went to prison for throwing gas on his wife and starting her on fire then running thru the ton naked.  I'm not sure the people who own him now are much more stable. So Im not willing to go have a serious talk about consequences for there donkeys actions. My compost pile isnt big enough to handle that much shit and I dont think it would be good for the soil. Keeping the peace is key. The town talk is they are behind on house payments and are known for just leaving the county for a few years then coming back once everything's cooled down.  Its unlikely they will bring the donkey with. As the local town homesteaders its likely he will go to us for safe keeping. Our town only has 9 houses so there isnt many other options besides call the sheriff to put him down if he abandoned. The older couples here love him but cant care for him. Hes the towns local mascot at this point despite his owners reputation.

Sorry this donkey has more drama then I do. I feel like he needs therapy!

But being big, try offering him something cool to check out and break up the monotony like a ball,  try offering the treat so its away from me and keep working with him outside the fence are all options I will happily try out. He lets me brush him and love on him when I'm outside the fence no issues. Just once I'm in he gets uppity.  

Maybe a local vet would perform the procedure for free as a public good.

Hello,
I've kept donkeys for 30 years. Jacks, uncastrated males, can be dangerous.
It would be a blessing to him for the rest of his life, maybe 40 years, if the community could raise the money to have him cut. I wouldn't hand feed him treats, but it might be worth putting down a dish of feed for him. I wonder if he can be tied up, if so you could combine feeding and tying him up while you are in the paddock. He should be getting his feet trimmed every 6-8 weeks, if this isn't happening he will quickly become an animal/neglect cruelty case. If he is getting his feet trimmed have a chat to the farrier to find out how he handles him. From what you say about the owners I suspect his feet aren't looked after.
You might like to investigate The Trust Technique with James French. You can learn it online, I did it several years ago, it works. You could use it from the other side of the fence to begin with and then in the paddock. It's a way of building trust and teaching boundaries. Good luck.

Sam, how's it going? Any progress with the donkey?

Yes! So Iv been working with him little by little to build up trust and hes wicked smart. Wev been practicing touch commands thru the fence and stay. So he will stay off to the side when I come in. Iv also been working with him in the fence to pick up his feet and if hes chill I will sit and brush him for 10-15 minutes. If he gets a little grumpy I immediately ignore and walk away. It seems to be working, Hes only reared once at me since and thats a huge improvement. I think I was overwhelmed with his size and body language before. But he just kind of seems to be a really big dog that needs some manners. They seem to train the same way to!
 There's possibly good news for his future. We the discovered that the donkey isn't being watered properly. I was chatting with one of the neighbors who has cattle about fencing by the entrance to the pasture when the lady who owns the donkey came up and started talking at me. And she ended up letting us know that one of the neighbors must not have any hobbies cause the water trough filled with water is not from them and she thinks its silly. The donkey has a stream that goes thru thats filled with water according to her. And the neighbor who feeds him put the water trough there and fills it with water every other day with buckets despite his health issues. At this point me nor the farmer neighbor were very amused. The "stream" is a run off ditch with about 2 inches of water in it from the field over and is dry 80% of the year and super high in nitrates and stuff. We wont run our pigs thru it due to that and the cattle farmer wont water his cows with it either. Well fast forward a few days and the DNR were called for the third time on them. twice has been over the donkey. Im pretty sure it was the wife of the farmer I was chatting with. Im not sure if they can do anything but theres more eyes on his well being now at least.
Bad news they shaved the poor guy to try to hide the balding spots that seem to be from a fungal infection, he's losing weight rapidly, His feet are starting to need looked after and I dont know for sure but something about his potbelly makes me think he has worms. I do spray his brush down with fly spray to keep him from being overwhelmed by the summer swarms. But sadly there's not much I can do at this point for him without causing a unhelpful scene. I feel like my hands are tied watching a animal in obviously bad condition due to laws that are outdated. Technically as long as he has food and water hes legally taken care of. So the DNR and police are also stuck. Its frustrating!!!

I am so glad to see you've been making progress!! It sounds like you've been really patient and doing hard work. Great job.

I always am assuming that horses have worms, some are just a bit more, uh, rotund than others though. Shaving probably didn't do much, if you can get a brush on him he may enjoy some oil getting rubbed into the itchy parts. Depending on where the infection is it may be rain rot (fungus from not having shelter). I had a friend who used sesame oil on his horse with fungus to good effect. I can imagine it's frustrating watching all this happen but it sounds like you're doing everything you can, realistically, and beyond. I'm glad more people are watching and that means it's not all on your head.

(they shaved the donkey-- that's serious!! that means he might be chill enough to get a hoof rasping, although I wouldn't want to be the one to try it the first time)