Bathing My Donkeys

August 14, 2017

For donkeys, there's nothing quite like rolling in a fresh patch of dirt. And, while rolling on the ground helps to scratch their backs, it's also a natural behavior for donkeys to cover themselves in dust, which provides great insulation and protection from extreme heat and cold.

Here at my farm, my three Sicilian donkeys, Rufus, Clive and Billie, are no different - they, too, “live to roll”. And, during these warm summer months that means they must be bathed often - about once every couple of weeks.

Enjoy these photos from "bath time".

: My donkeys, Billie, Clive and Rufus, are groomed every day, and bathed every couple of weeks during the summer. During winter, they’re bathed once every four to six weeks.

: Here are the three amigos heading over to the shower stall, which is located at one end of my large stable.

: Donkeys are herd animals, so they don’t like being separated from other members of their pack. We always keep my donkeys together. On this day, as each one is bathed, the other two stand nearby.

: Here are Billie and Rufus. Donkeys are very social animals, and have a very keen sense of curiosity. Billie is a female donkey, or jenny – the only female in my stable.

: And this is Clive. All three of them get along exceptionally well. They are also very friendly and love greeting anyone who visits.

: For bath time, the donkeys are secured to the stall gates near the shower. All three donkeys are very well-behaved, and very patient.

: Billie is first. Here, Dolma starts by wetting Billie’s coat thoroughly with warm water. The hose is attached to a boom sprayer in the shower stall.

: Dolma goes over Billie’s entire body a few times to make sure every part is wet. Sicilian donkey coats comes in various colors, such as black, brown, white, gray or spotted.

: Their coats are also very thick, and hold lots of dust and dirt, so it is important to get the entire coat wet so it can be cleaned properly.

: Using a washing mitt specifically designed for equine coats, our stable intern, Lily, pours a good amount of shampoo onto the mitt. The donkeys are washed with a a tea-tree oil based shampoo. It’s derived from plant materials with no sulfates and contains tea tree oil, peppermint oil and aloe vera.

: Lily then scrubs the shampoo into Billie’s coat until it lathers.

: Here, Lily lathers the rump and underneath the tail. The shampoo is very gentle and soothing to the skin.

: After Billie is completely lathered up, Lily will wait a few minutes to allow the shampoo to soak into the coat.

: Next, Dolma uses warm water to rinse all the shampoo off Billie. The boom sprayer she is using, is very flexible and can swivel around easily.

: It’s also important to rinse the hooves, legs, and belly.

: Dolma rinses every leg thoroughly – so much dirt can accumulate in two weeks.

: And then she moves on to the tail, which can also get quite dirty.

: Lily uses a moist hand towel to gently clean Billie’s face. It is important not to get any soap, shampoo or water in their eyes.

: Billie seems to enjoy this part of the bath most.

: The donkeys are left to dry naturally. In very cold weather, they are covered with a towel to prevent chills.

: Clive’s face is cleaned next…

: … while Rufus gets shampooed.

: After a complete rinsing, an equine sweat scraper, or comb, is used to remove any excess water.

: This scraper’s contoured shape comfortably hugs the donkey’s body.

: Dolma goes over every donkey with the scraper. It’s also a good time to look over the entire animal for any cuts, scrapes or skin issues that need addressing – fortunately, my donkeys are in the best of health.