MINIATURE MEDITERRANEAN DONKEY ASSOCIATION
Incorporating THE MINIATURE DONKEY STUD BOOK & REGISTRY OF THE UK

BREEDING AND TEMPERAMENT

The choice of breeding stock needs to be made with care. Different breeders have different goals but by far the most important factor must always be good conformation. Temperament is frequently genetic and must also rank as important. Colour is also a sought after preference but must never take priority and finally never forget that smaller is not necessarily better.

Miniature Mediterranean Donkeys, as with all breeds of donkey, have a gestation period of between 11-13 months and almost without exception have a single offspring. Jenny (female) miniature donkeys should not be mated until they are three years old, (3 1/2 yrs is better). Before 3 years they are still growing and developing themselves and can be physically and mentally immature. This can give rise to a weak and weedy foal and the jenny could make a very poor mother. Lifespan of a miniature is 35+ years, so there is plenty of time to become a parent!

Jack (male) donkeys are capable of breeding at approximately one year of age (sometimes 18 months), although some have been known to become sexually active as early as 7 months, thus it is important to separate a colt from his mother and other jenny foals at this time.

There is no need to give extra food for the pregnant jenny until 3 months before the foal is due, when at this time extra supplements of vitamins and minerals may be added. Jennys will require space on their own a couple of weeks before the birth and of course a stable or loose box should be thoroughly cleaned ready for the birth. Most female miniatures make extremely good mothers and will usually manage to give birth without any help, (small females below 30" can develop birthing problems and could require veterinary care).
One must ensure that as the time for giving birth draws near she can access the stable to do so in safety. The foal should stand and suckle within two hours and it is important to examine the afterbirth and foetal sack to check all has been expelled. Make sure the water container in the stable is not so big or low that the newly born foal can fall in and drown. Care should be taken if the weather is cold. Dry the foal and make up a deep bed of dry straw. The foal will need to sleep frequently as well as suckle and noisy visitors should be discouraged for the first couple of days. However if the weather is warm and sunny the foal will enjoy experimenting with its running techniques within hours of birth.

When looking for a Miniature Mediterranean Donkey to buy, it is important check that any foal or adult that is offered is registered with the Miniature Mediterranean Donkey Association and the buyer should ask to see the certificate of registration. This is the only way to ensure that you are purchasing a genuine Miniature Mediterranean Donkey. All registered mini donkeys have their own unique number on the certificate.

Conditions of entry into our General Register and Stud Book Register are detailed below.

Before purchasing breeding stock or importing breeding stock from North America, we recommend you study these conditions to save disappointment should your new stock be refused entry into the breed association registers.

The Miniature Mediterranean Donkey Association is dedicated to improvement of the breed without propagating any genetic faults which could be passed on to future generations.

MINIATURE MEDITERRANEAN DONKEY GENERAL REGISTER
UK bred Miniature Mediterranean donkeys will be admitted into the General Register provided the following four conditions are met:-
1) A foal or adult must be able to demonstrate Miniature Mediterranean Donkey breeding with a minimum of one generation of registered parentage.
2) A foal or adult must be able to demonstrate that no inbreeding/line breeding has been practised to produce that individual animal, unless a gelding (veterinary certificate to be submitted with application). i.e.. The individual's sire must not have been mated to it's sibling, the sire's dam, grand dam or their siblings. The individual's dam must not have been mated to it's sibling, the dam's sire, grandsire or their siblings.
3) An adult must be 36" or less.
4) The individual's dam should not have been mated before the age of three years old to produce the adult or foal. Any foal produced before the dam is 4 years old will eligible for the general register but not the stud book register upon maturity.
5) For all foreign imports to be accepted into any of the MMDA registers they must have a minimum of three registered generations and have their DNA checked and matched to the declared sire and dam BEFORE importation.

MINIATURE MEDITERRANEAN DONKEY STUD BOOK REGISTER
UK bred Miniature Mediterranean Donkeys will be admitted into the Stud Book Register provided the following conditions are met:-
1) A donkey must be a minimum of 3 years of age.
2) A male donkey must be ungelded.
3) A male donkey must be inspected by an equine veterinarian for fitness to breed and conformation of height of 36" or less certified by the chosen veterinarian. 
4) A female donkey must be inspected by an equine veterinarian for fitness to breed and conformation of height of 36" or less certified by the chosen veterinarian from April 2008.
5) For Stud Book entry only, a minimum height restriction also applies being 29" for jacks and 30" for Jennys.
6) A donkey must have three registered generations of Miniature Mediterranean Donkey breeding in their pedigree, i.e. parents, grandparents and great grandparents. American or Canadian registration will be accepted.
7) A donkey must be able to demonstrate that no inbreeding has been practiced to produce that individual animal.  i.e. The individual's sire must not have been mated to it's sibling, the sire's dam, grand dam or their siblings. The individual's dam must not have been mated to it's sibling, the dam's sire, grandsire or their siblings.
8) The foal or adult must not be the product of its dam being mated before three years of age.
9)For all foreign imports to be accepted into any of the MMDA registers they must have a minimum of three registered generations as in items 7,8 & 9 and have their DNA checked and matched to the declared sire and dam BEFORE importation.

BREEDING


Jennys
No female shall be mated before her third birthday. A foal produced by an earlier mating will be ineligible for the stud book register. To allow for premature births, gestation will be taken as not less than 11 months.
 

Stallions

All stallions should be 3 years of age before commencing duties covering females; however they may be used at 2 years to assess quality of their offspring and fertility but resultant foals will not have automatic stud book status at the age of three years unless the sire has been entered in the stud book.
Upgrading of foals born to Miniature Mediterranean Donkeys within the General Register who have insufficient registered pedigree, is encouraged. Any foal born to a parent entered in the General Register, who has one generation (i.e. great grandparent) missing from its pedigree will be eligible at the age of 3 years, for inclusion in the studbook provided all other criteria are met.