It’s important to keep regular measurements or estimates of a donkey’s weight. If a donkey has lost a lot of weight, this could indicate a sickness, malnutrition, worms, or other parasites. If a donkey is mature and has gained a large amount of weight in a short time, it’s critical to ensure that you aren’t overfeeding them, especially with alfalfa, treats, and snacks. Obesity-related complications can regularly lead to dangerous conditions in donkeys. You can estimate a donkey’s weight by taking consistent measurements of their body.

How are they holding their head? It’s best if they’re holding it up on their own volition. If they’re shaking, hunching, or tucking their head, this can be a sign of illness or injury. Check their head for abscesses, which could be a symptom of Pigeon Fever, which is highly contagious and requires quarantineThe policy or space in which an individual is separately housed away from others as a preventative measure to protect other residents from potentially contagious health conditions, such as in the case of new residents or residents who may have been exposed to certain diseases. and intervention.

A donkey should have bright, clean, alert eyes. They should be free of discharge and clear, and not appear sunken. Cloudy, watery, dry, swollen, constantly blinking, or crusty eyes indicates likely illness, injury, or potentially the gradual development of blindness in older donkeys. The above symptoms could also be signs of pink eye, which is highly contagious. Their pupils should be about the same size and react properly to bright light (get smaller and then return to normal). Take note of the skin around their eyes- if it’s much paler than usual, it could be a sign of anemiaAnemia is a condition in which you don't have enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to the body's tissues. or another disease.

Their ears can have a modest amount of earwax or debris in them, but should be clear of any ear mites. Excessively sticky, yellow, or odorous earwax needs addressing. You can use a gauze pad to clear out excess earwax or to sample potential ear mites. If you are in a particularly cold area, you should ensure that their ears are not excessively cold or even potentially frostbitten, and consider offering some sort of cold weather ear protection.

A donkey’s nose should be free of any discharge, fluid, crustiness, or blood. Their nose should be soft and moist, and not cracked. You shouldn’t typically see much movement in their nose or hear much as they breathe; consistently flared nostrils or any noisy breathing from their nose could indicate breathing or respiratory system trouble. An excessively runny or blocked nose could be a symptom of allergies, dust irritation, or an upper respiratory infection.

You shouldn’t be able to hear a donkey breathe in ideal circumstances. Their breathing should not be labored, loud, wheezy, rattly, sneezy, whistling, or squeaky. Generally, a mature donkey should have between 12-28 breaths per minute. A breathing-impaired donkey might have a particularly serious respiratory system infection. They should not have a dry cough; donkeys rarely cough, and if they do, it’s likely a serious issue! Many of these symptoms could also be a result of pneumonia which donkeys can be highly susceptible to. Abnormalities should be immediately reported to your veterinarian. If they’re reluctant to eat, they might have a problem with one or more of their teeth that needs to be managed, or problems with their throat. Now take a look in their mouth. Their gums should not be red, very dark, or muddy looking, and there should not be any sores, abscesses, or scabs in their mouth, which could be caused by parasites, flies, or by grazing on poisonous plants. If the membranes around their lips and gums are dry, this indicates dehydration. If their mucous membranes are a notably paler complexion compared to their usual appearance, it could be a sign of anemia or other concerns. If a donkey has particularly bad breath, it could be symptomatic of an infection and require deeper examination.

You should get to know what your donkey’s digestive system typically sounds like; donkeys make diverse sounds in typical daily digestion, and being aware of what sounds “wrong” can go a long way in catching serious health problems early. You can check their digestive system by listening in the space between their final rib and their back leg, though you must take care because if there’s a chance they’re in pain, the donkey may kick at you for trying to get so close!

It’s critical to check a donkey for symptoms of colic. If a donkey appears to be in pain, is looking at their flank frequently, is drooping their ears, has an absence of gut sounds or is making abnormal ones, is sweating excessively, has a high pulse, is lying down or attempting to roll frequently, appears dehydrated, is grinding their teeth, urinating frequently, not defecating, isn’t eating at all, is stamping their feet, has difficulty breathing, has anxiety or depression, has an impacted colon, is very gassy, or are stretching themselves out, this is a sign of colic. If you are at all concerned that a donkey might have colic, contact your veterinarian as soon as possible. In cases like these, it’s crucial to keep the donkey moving while waiting for veterinary intervention.

Check around a donkey’s entire body to ensure healthy skin. This is the time to ensure you are checking and feeling every area of the individual’s body, not just those included in this list.  This thorough section of the health check is critical to ensure that nothing that can be addressed early is missed.  Their skin should not have lice, mange, itchiness, mites, nits, lumps, cuts, cysts, bruises, gangrenelocal death of soft tissues due to loss of blood supply, larvae, maggots, dry patches, blisters, or pressure sores. Abscesses on their body could be a symptom of Pigeon Fever. Their hair should be clean and flat against their body, not standing on end. Ensure they do not have any patchy hair loss or an unusually dull coat, which could be a sign of parasites or a mineral deficiency. Check their tail for hair loss and parasites as well. As a donkey ages, they may not shed their wintertime coats as effectively as it gets warm, and they might need some extra grooming assistance.

It’s important to check a donkey’s joints in their legs and shoulders for swelling or tenderness. They should not be much warmer than the rest of their body. Ensure that the donkey doesn’t have pain when they move their joints. There should be no cracking or crunching sounds when they move, and they shouldn’t be avoiding putting weight on any of their joints in particular. Joint inflammation could be a sign of arthritis, which is prevalent in donkeys as they get older.

Carefully check each of a donkey’s hooves. Make sure they are a reasonable length and free of cracks, heat, swelling, debris, or abscesses. Any of these symptoms can cause lameness, discomfort, and could possibly contribute to infections and further damage. They should be able to put their full weight on their feet and they shouldn’t limp. If they are limping, check their hoof bottoms for uncomfortable debris. If their hooves are overgrown, schedule a trimming with a farrierSomeone who provides hoof trimming and care, especially for horses or cows as soon as you can. Generally, donkeys should have their hooves trimmed about once every six to ten weeks depending on the pasture terrain and the individual. If a donkey has any of the above issues with their feet, or if you smell a foul, sulfurous odor coming from their hooves, it could be a sign of thrush, requiring immediate treatment.

A donkey’s rear end under their tail should be relatively clean. Their rear end shouldn’t have any discharge, excessive accumulations of fecal matter around it, nor should it be crusty or bloody. Ensure that they don’t have any mites, lice, tapeworms, or other parasites. Make sure that the rear end isn’t irritated or prolapsed (protruding). If it’s prolapsed, you must consult with a veterinarian. Check their udders and ensure that they are not hot, swollen, painful, or tough, which can be a symptom of Mastitis and requires treatment. If a donkey is struggling to urinate, it can be a sign of bladder stones or another urinary tract issue and require veterinary intervention.

It’s important to monitor a donkey’s poop to recognize what healthy donkey droppings look like, which can be quite diverse between donkeys, and even different days. Healthy donkey poop is greenish to brown, moist, formed in balls with no recognizable piece of food in them that can be easily broken up. Donkey droppings shouldn’t be runny, nor should they be too hard, nor should they look like a “cowWhile  "cow" can be defined to refer exclusively to female cattle, at The Open Sanctuary Project we refer to domesticated cattle of all ages and sexes as "cows." pie”. If they’re poorly formed, watery, strong smelling, yellow, or bloody, it could be a sign of dehydration, diarrhea, parasites, illness, or improper nutrition. If you’re particularly concerned by a dropping, you can bring it into your veterinarian for analysis, though you should consider fecal testing healthy-seeming donkeys at a regular interval to check for internal parasites. Conversely, ensure that the donkey has regular bowel movements, as a struggle to poop could signify early signs of Colic. Their urine should not be very dark and concentrated, or contain blood in it.

If you notice that a donkey is unhealthy, it’s crucial to consult with a veterinarian or compassionate care expert and prioritize accurately diagnosing the problem. Depending on the health concern, it may be necessary to isolate the donkey in order to protect the rest of the herd from a potentially infectious disease.  However, with some illness, such as pneumonia, often once a donkey is showing symptoms, the other residents in the herd have already been exposed. In these instances, you will need to weigh what is in the best interest of all of your residents. A sick donkey who is isolated from their herd may become more stressed, which could delay recovery.  Depending on the health concern, separating the donkey with a calm companion might be a good compromise.