Can someone enlighten me on burros??

[TomJr]

I saw goats mentioned and thought of these people

http://www.purplemountainpackgoats.com/about.htm

They have taken some of our guests on hikes so I have seen the goats doing thier thing. They also had several dogs along to ward off mtn lions... so there you go mobile bait and they carry your gear!

[horshur]

I've trimmed up several over the years...more honest than a mule if you ask me.

[pegleg]

[2ndhound]

Good heads up pegleg, Thanks for the tip Ken

[007pennpal]

This is a real fun topic. Makes me dream about old school mountain men. Keep me posted on this one. I want to see what the old timer comes up with and I want pics of this working animal when you aquire it. I think I read something about a smart donkey learning to track the dogs like you don't need your tracking gear in a pinch. Let me know if you get any experience in teaching the donkey to lead you to the tree. They can hear and smell better than us.
Thanks,
Sean

[2ndhound]

Sean I will keep you posted on the progress of my new project, Im excited to give it a try. Should be able to go on some new adventures, and tell some good tales, The best part is that I can just stay out there when I want, and lose most of that " better start heading back feeling " Or that other thought that bugs me, the one that says I probably shouldnt have walked so far back in here, if they start a track now Im hosed, or spending 1/2 the night looking for where I dropped the backpack to go to the dogs in a hurry, Im sure that there will be drawbacks to donkeys at times, But overall the benefits sound like exactly what Im looking for, I know the hounds will just love sleeping out in the hills, we havent been able to do it all that much but when we did they sure were some happy campers, Should add some years onto my ability to tramp after the hounds since I wont be beating up on my old carcass near as much,,Ken

[sow flat slim]

I packed burros for about 10 years. Had three of them and like what has been said, they are really smart and can pack a pretty good load. Usually dont have to worry about shoein them. The ones I had were standard size and I usually packed 130 to 175 pounds on them and never had a problem, couple times I had a little more on one of them as she was a touch bigger than the other two, and she never made a bobble. My burros would follow me any where, over some pretty nasty country. I had them strung together for a while, but then I would just lead one and the other two would follow no matter where. Have a little patience with them and dont be onery to em and they do fine. I packed a lot of deer out on them, in the daytime and at night and it was a dream gettin to the deer and back out. I knew a lot of sheepherders and they used burros to pack their camps and when they had em loaded all you could see was their legs Them boys would put 200lbs. or more on theirs, always thought that was alittle much but they packed them kind of loads from the North Warner mountains of California clear to Lovelock Nv. and back every spring and fall trailin with the bands of sheep. There is a secret to catchin a burro anywhere, and that is gettin em used to eating hand size oatmeal cookies with raisins, we called em burro cookies, that my wife would make for them, (I ate quite a few myself,) and they will come right to you. I packed mine from desert country to high rough mountains and they sure did good for me. If you can use sawbucks on them, as they seem to fit a burro better. Keep us posted.

[007pennpal]

This is starting to sound fun. Are you going to get one or two? Have you found an animal yet? Are you going to pull a trailer or put him in a pickup? I am starting to want to come down and hunt with you. What critters do you go after?
Sean

[2ndhound]

Sean, I wouldnt waste your gas to come hunting with me just yet, tell you the truth Im not very good at this hound thing yet. I try real hard but I am still learning. I have a real good time trying but my sucess has much room for improvement Dont have a line on a donkey yet but Im looking real hard, I have to do some things ahead of time before I purchase a donkey, I will pull it off though, I just want to do it right and not get in a big hurry. I was eyeballing those riding sized donkeys in the post below and they sure sparked my interest, but I know my first instinct is usually correct so I plan to stick to my first idea at least at this moment Ken

[Hagerman]

No, I am not going to offer you my ex-gorilla/wife again..
At the sale here in Roswell (and they have one coming up pretty soon
Should be having one in Clovis also.)
They often have burros and small mules running at about $25.00 a head.
If you are careful and pick a young one you might get lucky.
They use ace on a lot of problem horses/donkeys though so watch for that.
Good luck, John Ketzler

[2ndhound]

Dang it John, I didnt expect you to withdraw that offer so soon! I was still thinking on it I dont know what ACE is but am assuming a tranqulizer of some sort?? Any telltale signs to watch for? Hopefully LCK will be along when I think I found one, But if not Id like to know the red flags thanks Ken

[pegleg]

yes it's a tranq and a good one unfortunately. drowsy, any animal at a sale should be at least alert if not a bit hot. eyes are the first to droop some.

[Hagerman]

Ken, tranqualizers can be had to see. Go to the sale early enough to walk the pens if possible. Check out the eyes and their reactions to other animals in the pens. Look for any skinned up places on the animal indicating it fought while being handled, legs, check for scours, etc.
Some friends brought a mule to me last year to work with that they had bought at the sale which had been tranked unbeknowing to them. They were not novices at buying from the sale.
Unfortunitly I did not have the time and was headed to San Angelo at the time.
(They didn't bring it to me because I'm an ass whisper, only because I had more time than they did and they hoped that I had at least as much intelligence as the mule..
I'm going to stop right there!)

[007pennpal]

Any update? Get that donkey yet? I wanted some minis that you can load in your pickup for game retrieval. To date, all my stock was for riding. Well, a couple probably were better for stew, laugh.
Sean

[2ndhound]

Sean, nope no donkey yet. I ran smack into a disaster on april 27, Long story short I ended up in the hospital and am still laid up pretty good, Thats the reason I seem to be lurking on this site so much lately I cant do much else I will get something going soon as Im able, Heck thats how I got the donkey idea in the first place. I had plenty of time to reflect on the way Ive been doing things,and what I could do to make it better, Also that whole mess kinda made me mad in a goofy way. It made me realize how many things I always wanted to try and never got around to doing, So whether it works out or not at least I will know I tried it, I can be hound stubborn when I get an idea in my head and with a little advice and guidance I will pull it off, unless these frigging medical bills kill me off first Take care Ken