Donny and Patti Green spend some 'quality time' with mini-donkeys Merle Haggard (left) and Houston. The merry-go-round at their home is for the grandkids, but the small donkeys are also considered 'grandchildren bait.' -Staff photo by Hemmingsen

September 9, 2002 -- Donny and Patti Green of Whitehouse have had their hands full for sometime now with what they say is just about one the most enjoyable retirement plans around - owning miniature donkeys.

The Greens no longer dedicate all their time to their privately-owned alarm system business. They left that up to their kids.

Instead, they keep themselves busy by raising registered miniature donkeys.

The Greens raise miniature donkeys for breeders or for people looking for animals to keep on a few acres. The Greens also take pride in owning some prize-winning "minis" which they take to miniature donkey shows on a fairly regular basis.

Lonestar Ranch (or what the Greens sometimes dub as "Green Acres") is located just outside of Tyler. The Smith County ranch is approximately 20 acres. "You don't need a lot of space to raise mini-donkeys," explained Donny.

The International Miniature Donkey Registry (IMDR) backs that up by saying limited acreage can go hand-in-hand with miniature donkeys, and a potential owner basically needs a pasture large enough for the donkeys to run and play (enough exercise for them to remain healthy).

So, how did the Greens decide to go from alarms to donkeys?

"We were looking for a hobby since we were trying to retire," said Donny. "So, after hearing and reading about miniature donkeys, we decided to take a trip to South Texas one day and look for a few to buy and ended up coming home with four of them."

Right away, according to the Greens, the investment appeared to be a success.

They immediately fell in love with the donkeys and said they became wrapped-up in caring for and feeding them every day.

Donny Green shows off 1-year-old Merle Haggard, a national champion. -Staff photo by Hemmingsen

With a theme in mind, the Greens chose to name each donkey after Texas or "Lonestar" cities and towns, such as Dallas, Abilene, and Waco, as well as after some favorite Texas country singers.

Patti said she was excited about the purchase before it ever happened because, as a child, she had been raised around donkeys, horses, and Charolais cattle.

"When the other kids asked Grandpa to bring them back a pony when he went out of town, I always asked for a little burro to ride," explained Patti.

A few months ago, the Greens took a few of their quality show donkeys to the National Miniature Donkey Association (NMDA) show held in Shelbyville, Tenn.

They said they found themselves speechless when all three of the donkeys they entered achieved some of the highest awards.

"Charley Pride, Merle Haggard, and Dallas all won first place in halter competition," Donny explained. "That's what we call showing our 'ass.'"

Charley Pride, a 2-year-old jack, won a national champion title. Merle Haggard, a 1-year-old Jack won a national champion title and as well as reserve grand champion. And Dallas, a 2-year-old gelding, was also awarded national champion and reserve grand champion.

"Dallas was supposed to have been just a pet, which we had gelded," explained Donny. "But, we decided to see what he could do at the shows and he won second place at the very first show he was entered in (at Houston).

The Greens enter their donkeys in other shows, including those in Corsicana, College Station, the State Fair of Texas in Dallas, and Fort Worth.

The Greens use the services of trainer Bobbie Ferraro of College Station, who trains the donkeys to pull carts, lead, and go through obstacle courses - things the donkeys are expected to do at the competitions.

As far as basic care of the donkeys, the Greens say it doesn't take much.

"Hot or cool weather doesn't seem to bother them too much," explained Patti. "But they despise rain. Other than that, shelter, food and water, along with a little TLC, is all they really need."

The Greens said they feed their donkeys about a cup of sweet feed a day, and keep water and hay accessible for them at all times. The donkeys also eat grass.

Eventually, the mini-donkey owners began to develop their own breeding program to achieve certain bloodlines. The Greens' breeding program focuses on three factors - conformation, color, and disposition. "We strive for show quality conformation," they explained. "We also specialize in black and brown colors, and our foals are imprinted and trained for good disposition."

Currently, the Greens have had the pleasure of owning the nationally-known "Charlie Bandito." This "4-Star" jack has offspring all over the country, and is the only one to reach 4-Star status thus far.

"Donkey jacks are rated as herd sires by stars from 0 to 4," explained Donny. "They earn stars essentially by what their offspring earns, in shows, and such."

Donny said he is sure that the next donkey jack in line to receive such status will probably be a son of Charlie Bandito.

The Greens are somewhat pioneers in artificial insemination of miniature donkeys by being the first to collect and artificially inseminate minis. The process is patterned after horse A.I. breeding.

"The technology was already there," explained Donny. "We just had to adapt it to our miniature donkeys and so far we have been very successful at doing so."

They advertise nationally and ship "cool" A.I. semen almost everywhere.              

"When people know their jennet is in heat, they will call us by 10 a.m. We then immediately collect the semen they desire and ship it to them within a 24-hour period," they explained.

Semen is shipped overnight in a specially-cooled container. Once it reaches its destination, the buyer then delivers it to their local veterinarian who promptly uses it to inseminate the buyer's jennet(s).

For the future, the Greens hope to be able to freeze semen someday so they can ship it oversees.

The Greens say that when it comes to selling some of the donkeys they have on-hand, female mini-donkeys are most popular.

"Basically all jennets can be bred but only about ten percent of jacks should be used for herd sires," explained Donny. "We sell a lot of jacks as pets, because they cost less and can be gelded. But, in general, we sell show-quality and pet-quality donkeys.

The IMDR states miniature donkeys are very healthy animals; yet require the same yearly vaccinations as any equine. With proper lifelong care, miniature donkeys can live 25 to 40 years.

Birth weights are generally between 18 and 25 pounds, and at full growth, they can weigh approximately 200 to 400 pounds and be as tall as 38 inches.

Patti said the foremost attraction to miniature donkeys is their loving personalities. Their laid-back, easy-going personality can make them ideal pets for children, the handicapped, and the elderly.

Other beneficial uses can include: companions for other animals, showing, breeding, pulling carts, entertaining at parties, visiting nursing homes, parades, Christmas nativity scenes, and they can be great grandchildren-bait.

"It's a good investment you can love," expressed Patti.

For more information call the Greens at 1-866-4-HEEHAW.