Why mistreating donkeys is counterproductive

When 32-year-old Mary Wanjiku completed her KCSE in 2013, she got a mean grade of C minus. With such a grade, she could pursue a certificate or a diploma. Unfortunately, she could not proceed with her studies due to a lack of fees. To be able to fend for herself, she tried being a house help for about a year, but that too was not her thing.

“I went back home to Murang’a and stayed with my mum until 2015 when I left again, in search of a job. I would then land a few menial jobs here and there. For a while, I sold items for people in their shops,” she narrates.

Wanjiku met her husband, Maurice Mwangi, in 2016. They got married and had their first child, a son, in the same year. She quit employment to take care of her family in Githunguri, Utawala, in Machakos county. They now have another child, a 3-year-old daughter.

With time, Wanjiku and Mwangi realized that with their growing family, Mwangi’s income as a matatu driver was not enough to sustain their family.

“This area does not have sufficient fresh water. I saw some of my neighbours using donkeys to bring water to their houses, and that’s how I thought of owning one as well. I asked them how they do it and they were kind enough to train me how to use and maintain the donkey.” 

With the help of her husband, Wanjiku immediately ventured into the business and bought the first donkey with her foal at Sh13,000. While her husband plies the Eastern bypass route, Wanjiku stays at home to take care of the children and the donkeys. She has been a donkey owner for two years now.

The donkeys carry water, help to move people to new homes, and carry building materials among other tasks. Wanjiku charges her clients depending on the load the donkey will carry and the distance that the donkey will cover.

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“Water is 15 shillings for every container. The donkey cart handles 20 containers per trip. The donkeys can manage five trips per day. We get the water from a borehole and fill the containers with pipes,” Wanjiku explains.

The highest amount she earns in a day is Sh1800 and the least is Sh500.  Wanjiku adds that her donkeys “have helped me pay school fees, rent and food. We have also recently bought a piece of land from donkey proceeds.” 

 30-year-old Mercy Kerubo, who is single but expecting to get married soon, shares the same sentiments, although she has faced several challenges as a donkey owner.

 “I had four donkeys at first but they were poisoned by my jealous enemies. Right now, I have only one but it is helping me fend for my needs and more. I’m glad I can’t go back to the house empty-handed.” She says. 

53-year-old Winfrida Mikae is a single mother of five and grandmother of three. She says the donkey business has helped her pay school fees up to university level for her three children. She has been a donkey owner for 10 years. She is now the treasurer of the Githunguri- Ruai Donkey Owners Association registered as a self-help group of 20 donkey owners, nine men and 11 women.

“We do table banking where one can access a loan but pay with interest. The money has helped me pay fees for my kids, who are now graduates from the Kenya Medical Training College and Kenyatta University.”

For Mikae, it has not been an easy journey, especially since she separated from her husband. She is, however, glad she has been able to provide basic and secondary needs for herself and her children, thanks to donkeys. 

“I had four donkeys, but they were illegally slaughtered for meat by unknown people.  I’m grateful to the people from Brooke who helped me buy another donkey, and now I have three.” She says.

Wanjiku, Kerubo, and Mikae all understand the need to take great care of their donkeys for maximum productivity and profits. According to them, donkeys are just like human beings. If you treat them well, they love you. If you mistreat them, they will harass you and refuse to work. The three women say they used to hit and mistreat their donkeys, but after undergoing training on equine welfare, they became intentional and created friendships with their donkeys through feeding and training them. 

Kerubo says she has become so accustomed to her donkeys that it feels like a marriage because the donkeys provide for her: “When my donkey sees me, it starts billowing. It delights me, and I am so keen to handle it well because, without these donkeys, I would not have survived in Nairobi. “Ningekuwa nilirudi ushago.”  (I would have gone back to the village).

 Wanjiku, whose donkey is female, says she always has to make sure they are properly fed, given clean water, and sleep in a clean environment. She also ensures they rest for at least three hours during the day. According to experts, female donkeys need special care compared to male donkeys, especially when they are expectant. 

“My donkey had started adding weight and was not as efficient as before, and that is how I noticed it was pregnant. I had to reduce the workload so I gave her four hours of rest per day and fed her with plenty of dry grass, maize jam, and bran mash. I also ensured that she had a constant supply of clean, fresh water.”

According to Wanjiku, “Veterinary officers come every three months to assess the overall health of donkeys and diagnose and treat diseases. Most times the services are free of charge, other times we pay.” 

 Mikae says that the greatest challenge they face as donkey owners in Githunguri is security for their donkeys.

“We want to own a plot so we can stop paying rent. This way, we will be able to hire people who can take care of our donkeys as many are slaughtered or poisoned.” She says. 

Recent research shows that a large proportion of Kenya’s 1.17 million donkeys are found in semi-arid areas where they are used by women to transport water and firewood. Others are used in agricultural areas to transport farm produce to markets and households and in urban areas for transporting commercial goods and water vending services. 

A 2019 report by Brooke East Africa presents the status of donkey slaughter in Kenya and its implication on the donkey population and community livelihoods.

A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted in Turkana, Nakuru, Machakos, Baringo, Narok, Kajiado and Kirinyaga.

Among other results, the study revealed that the donkey was ranked as the most important livestock compared to chicken, goats, sheep, cows, and ducks. This was based on its use in transportation while enhancing accessibility to hard-to-reach areas such as footpaths, marshy areas, and during rainy seasons. The donkey was a source of livelihood for the community, generating a mean income of Sh11,390 per month. 

Despite the heavy reliance on equines, they are often affected by poor welfare including wounding and bruising from misuse and abuse, malnutrition, dehydration, diseases, hoof abnormalities, eye conditions, and respiratory problems.

Dr Vincent Oloo, a veterinary officer at Brooke East Africa, explains that foals take three years before they start working, they can, however, start training for two years with light loads. Female donkeys (Jennies) mature between three to four years after birth and can get pregnant at 4 years. For males (Jacks), sexual maturity begins at around 2 to three years. The fertility of donkeys depends on how well they are taken care of by the owners. Natural environmental conditions also determine their fertility. 

While many animals engage in courtship rituals and displays of strength and prowess to attract a mate, donkeys take a slightly different approach. The jack (male donkey) will bray loudly, kick up his heels, extend his neck, and hold his tail erect to grab the Jenny’s (female donkey) attention. If interested, the Jenny will move closer while coyly looking back over her shoulder. This dance of flirtation may last for several minutes as the pair sizes each other up. Once ready, the jack will mount the jenny from behind for copulation. Mating is typically quick, lasting just a few seconds.

Donkeys are promiscuous breeders and will readily mate with multiple partners when given the chance.

The jenny has an 11 to 14-month gestation period and usually gives birth to a single foal. Twins are possible but rare, occurring in only about 1 per cent of births, according to The Donkey Sanctuary. Jennies cycle into heat year-round, allowing them to breed at any time of year.

“The heat cycle is on average 21 days to 25 days, with ovulation occurring for 2-7 days. Unlike horses, donkeys do not have longer cycles during the winter months. However, studies have shown some variance may be caused by drought and annual dry seasons,” says Dr Oloo.

Dr. Oloo adds that it’s ideal to plan breeding in the spring or fall to avoid extreme hot or cold weather during pregnancy and birth. He emphasizes that the diet for pregnant and lactating donkeys “should consist of 70 per cent grass and 30 concentrates and supplements bran, mineral salts, and plenty of water whenever they need it. They have smaller stomachs, so they consume little but frequent amounts of water.”

According to The Donkey Sanctuary, pregnant animals’ working hours should be regulated and given lighter duties. If starved or mistreated, even if the female animal desires to get babies for the next season, it will not reproduce. Mistreating a female donkey can, therefore, be detrimental to the owners, who would want more profit, considering their long gestation period of 11 to 14 months.

Dr Oloo says one of the most prevalent reproductive diseases in donkeys is endometritis, a disorder caused by bacteria and can be treated by vets if diagnosed early, if untreated, endometritis could lead to irreversible infertility.

Some of the signs of endometritis is a foul-smelling discharge that comes through the vagina but emanates from the uterus.

Dr Samantha Opere, a veterinary officer, says that research on donkeys is limited, making it hard to detect and diagnose many diseases.

“When a donkey miscarries, the owners don't call us in time because most of the time they know it is their fault. Sometimes, we encounter cases of foals that are born weak and die due to mishandling by the owners,” she says.

According to Dr Opere, donkeys should be given at least three months of reduced workload (in the last trimester) to allow the Jenny to spend her energy to grow the foal as she prepares for birth. They should then be given three to four months of maternity leave after giving birth.

“When the jenny rests, it gives the foal time to be strong while suckling. But most people give the donkey just one month, which is not enough. They need to add more rest time to increase population and avoid miscarriages and weak foal,” she adds.

Jennies produce milk for their foals who, just like human babies, will suckle exclusively for six months and thereafter continue with other feeds for up to 12 months. The amount of milk produced by jennies after giving birth is usually less (about one litre per feed) compared to cows, camels, and goats. Luckily, humans do not consume donkey milk, hence the foal gets to suckle all the milk.

“The first milk after birth (colostrum) contains antibodies that are transferred to the foal to strengthen their immunity. They should be dewormed every month from the third month until they are 15 months old and then every three months afterwards,” says Dr Oloo.

Despite many efforts to ensure proper reproductive and foal health in donkeys, the donkey slaughter trade has an impact on donkey populations. 

 According to Dr. Oloo, many of these donkeys are usually slaughtered while pregnant or when they are together with their foals. This will reduce donkey populations in Kenya and Africa and deprive the communities of donkeys, where they get their livelihoods as they depend on these animals to earn a living.