Discover our minis new home
Our brand-new paddock and shelter opened in October 2024 and is home to an adorable herd of miniature donkeys.
The minis have now settled down wonderfully in their new paddock, which was specifically designed to provide plenty of stimulation and enrichment year-round.
Although the new barn currently houses our lively herd of minis, it has been purpose-built for The Donkey Sanctuary to accommodate all breeds of donkeys.
It will future proof the use of the paddock to enable the farm manager to rotate our donkeys, so it is suitable for all donkeys in our care.
The height of the barn follows the best practice as seen on many of other farms, providing excellent circulation and ventilation of air and providing natural light at either side.
It also allows grooms to operate tractors to work within the space thus making the ‘mucking out’ process quicker and more sustainable for the team.
Fun at its heart
The revamped paddock also has plenty of space for the donkeys to roam, forage, play and problem-solve. These activities help keep our minis’ minds sharp, which is vital for donkeys who may become bored or overweight otherwise.
Enriching additions to the minis’ super-shelter include an all-season track, made with mats over-seeded with a mixture of native, coarse, deep-rooted grasses. This will improve drainage, provide foraging materials and allow donkeys to enjoy time outside year round.
A new water feature also promotes intrigue and exploration, while providing a thirst-quenching outlet. And for the donkeys who want to rest away from the hustle and bustle of sanctuary life, new shelter pods have been installed – offering refuge from the elements and some peace and quiet.
The new shelter is equipped with plenty of play and sensory items, as well as custom-built whirligig browse holders, which give the donkeys a real challenge to get their toys or treats.
Meet the mini's
Here are some of the adorable faces which feature in our new shelter.
Maverick
Date of birth: 03/04/2021
Arrival at sanctuary: Born here
Sex: Male
Maverick is very friendly and loves human attention. Maverick has blue eyes and pink skin, so needs to wear suncream and a fly mask in hot weather to protect himself from sunburn. He loves to play with his best friend, Peanut.
Peanut
Date of birth: 27/04/2021
Arrival at sanctuary: Born here
Sex: Male
Peanut is a very inquisitive and playful donkey, although he can be wary of new people and situations. When he becomes unsure, Peanut always has his best friend Maverick close by for reassurance!
Benson
Date of birth: 01/01/2014
Arrival at sanctuary: 30/07/2018
Sex: Male
Benson is a very friendly and inquisitive character, who shares a very close bond with his younger brother, Dudley. Benson is distinguishable by his dark muzzle.
Dudley
Date of birth: 05/05/2015
Arrival at sanctuary: 30/07/2018
Sex: Male
Dudley is very playful and loves his food. He shares a very close bond with his older brother, Benson. Dudley is distinguishable by his lighter-coloured muzzle.
Teddy
Date of birth: 31/12/2015
Arrival at sanctuary: 30/07/2018
Sex: Male
Teddy is a very confident character who enjoys being the centre of attention. He loves to play with his toys, especially Wellington boots. He shares a close bond with his brother, Rio.
Rio
Date of birth: 23/03/2014
Arrival at sanctuary: 30/07/2018
Sex: Male
Rio is a very sweet donkey who loves to play. Rio and his younger brother Teddy look very similar, although Rio is slightly taller.
William
Date of birth: 26/04/2004
Arrival at sanctuary: 03/08/2011
Sex: Male
William came to the sanctuary in 2011 with his friend Harry. He is a strawberry roan coloured donkey, and his favourite treats are carrots.
Harry
Date of birth: 21/03/2004
Arrival at sanctuary: 03/08/2011
Sex: Male
Harry is a loving character and is a firm favourite with grooms and supporters. He loves a scratch between his front legs and enjoys playing and eating the enrichment the grooms provide.
A nod to nature
At The Donkey Sanctuary, we want to protect our green spaces as we know donkeys thrive in biodiverse environments which provide them with food, natural enrichment and shelter. By helping nature, we’re helping our donkeys too.
Visitors to our new shelter may notice plenty of flora which the donkeys enjoy browsing. This is the result of a restorative plant mix, which was sown into the grounds of the paddock before its completion and opening.
This thorough mix of plants have improved the shelter’s diversity, while breaking up soil compaction and helping the ground drain during prolonged periods of wet weather.
We are also planning to sow a wider variety of donkey friendly grass and flower species to further build biodiversity, which will encourage more invertebrates and small mammals. Next year, we hope to create five flexible zones in their paddock to allow grazing and growing rotation and resting
We are also planning to...
- Plant a variety of plants including native species-rich grass and flower seeds to develop the scrub and tussocky grassland that donkeys so enjoy. This will encourage grazing and will allow our donkeys to express a range of foraging behaviours and taste preferences. It will also attract bugs and mammals, such as voles and shrews.
- Plant several donkey-friendly shrubs and tasty herbs. These will provide long-term browsing material and enrichment and attract a range of wildlife including birds and bats.
- Plant semi mature trees, to provide shade and enrichment. We are also considering non-native species that may be more resilient to climate change and offer increased carbon offsetting.
A gold-standard paddock
While the construction of the new shelter was imperative to improve our minis’ quality of life, it has also helped us learn key lessons going forward.
At The Donkey Sanctuary, we strive to give every donkey in our care the very best standard of care, while one of our core missions is for every donkey in the world to have a good quality of life.
The new shelter is the gold-standard example of what good donkey husbandry looks like, even in the smallest of spaces.
It has provided us with a foundation for how we approach and enrich healthy living spaces for other donkeys and nature across our sanctuaries.
We want to ensure that it’s not only our donkeys that benefit, but thousands more that are cared for by people across the UK and world.