# Anyone breeding for mini hinnies?



## MeadowRidge Farm (Feb 13, 2004)

I have 1 stallion that will settle any of my jennys fairly easy, but yet if I put another stallion in with the jenny he wont look at them twice or even try to go near her. I have heard from a few others that they have the same problem with there stallions. So I was wondering if anyone has any knowledge as to WHY some stallions act this way, and yet others will be a ready breeder to jennys. I do know that Cambridge University (England) and Cornell did a study on this and found over a 7 yr. period , and 160 attempts were being made to establish a hinny program only 14.4% ended up being bred, compared to a mule breeding ratio of 60-70%. So I'm just being curious as to your breeding practices and how easy it was for you to get a hinny. I do know that donkeys have 62 chromosomes, and horses have 64, mules and hinnys have 63, but still stallions are stallions and I hardly ever hear of a stallion refusing to bred a mare.


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## minimule (Feb 14, 2004)

Hey Corrine,

I'll let you know later this year. My friends that just got 4 mini jennys are going to try just for hinneys. Their little stallion just loves the long ears. He doesn't care how big or small the jenny is....just how long the ears are. This is only his second year of breeding anything so we'll have to wait and see how it goes.

I'm having trouble getting my Jack to breed jennys. He is more than happy to oblige a mare but all he wants to do with jennys is fight.


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## R3 (Feb 14, 2004)

I bought a little spotted jenny, hoping to get some hinnies, but I've had her for about four years now, and still no pregnancy. I have put her in pasture with all of my stallions at different times, and none of them found her 'attractive'.

I also read somewhere, that not many stallions will breed jennies, but that nearly all jacks will breed mares. They also said that, even when a stallion will breed a jenny, that the conception rate, per cycle, is very low, something like only 10%. Whereas, when a jack breeds a mare, the conception rate, per cycle, is quite high. I can't remember the exact numbers, but I think it was 75% or so.

I have pretty much given up that I will ever get a little hinny. I have considered taking her to a little spotted jack, to try to get another little donkey, but haven't so far. So, I'm not 100% certain whether her not having a baby is totally because of my stallions' lack of interest or whether she is actually fertile.


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## MeadowRidge Farm (Feb 14, 2004)

I have 7 stallions and out of all 7 I only have the one which gets the job done--and fast! There must be "something" to this. Geeez- if a university who is trying to start a hinny program only has a 14% conception rate out of 160 jennys, that is really pretty darn low- considering that they have the best of conditions and knowledge and top vets... it just still makes me wonder WHY hinnys are so hard to get over a mule.. I really do hope you get the hinny you would like sooner or later!!


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## Ashley (Feb 14, 2004)

We dont breed for them, nor would I ever as they make not so nice crosses from our experiance.

WE have in the past run a mare/stallion band in the same pasture as a jack/jennie band. None have cross bred.

In about 99% of the cases you need to raise the stallion/jack with what you want him to breed.


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## MeadowRidge Farm (Feb 14, 2004)

Ashley, I would really have to disagree with you on the statement that you made that from YOUR experience they do not make nice crosses. I know of a few mini hinnys now, and they are SUPER! Another thing Ashley, you have to remember that the prepotency of the stallion has influenceon the offspring. Prepotency IS the tendency for a stallion to dominate the gene pool received by the foal. It is possible IF you had a bad experience that the dominating stallion had a bad cross with the mare. Also, it is common that the vast majority of hinnys are almost indistinguishable from mules in either conformation or temperment, so you must feel the same about mules? If you know of any older MULE men, ask them what they feel about hinnys, most likely you will hear that they are superior preformance prospect, ONLY because a hinny will "give you more of what they have". As for the 99% being raised with WHAT you want them to bred, I believe that to be true in SOME exotics but certainly not all, you are giving it only a 1% chance here!!I do believe that gene imprinting plays a very important role here.


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## Ashley (Feb 14, 2004)

Ok i dont know NOTHING then. I wont be back to this board again, however do have to say this...................

I did state it was MY experiance, I did not state in every case.


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## MeadowRidge Farm (Feb 14, 2004)

Ashley, if you re-read my post you will see that I stated very clearly that it was from YOUR experience, all I did was disagree with you. I never said you dont know nothing....thats what these forums are here for--to learn, and hear of other experiences, that in NO way means that everyone is ALWAYS going to agree with everyone else, and dont you agree that if all the time everyone just agreed it would get kinda boring. These forums ARE for everyone to voice there opionins on subjects, weather they agree or disagree. SORRY you took this SO personal just because I dont agree with you...


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## Ashley (Feb 14, 2004)

I didnt take is SO personal, in fact you disagreeing with me didnt bother me a bit. WHat bothers me is comeing to this board and getting a instant impression that you know it all on them and that nobody else does.

THAT is why I wont be here, not because you didnt agree with me.


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## minifancier (Feb 14, 2004)

Ashley: If you would have just said "I have tried and it didn't work for me" and left it at that, it would have been cool..But to say it the way you did, and you said the same thing on another post about breeding for mules or and or hinneys the same wording also..It isn't what you said it is the way you saying it, that rubs a person the wrong way.. Thats all. What might not work for you might work for somebody else who has different blood lines.. This is a cool and friendly board lets keep it that way.


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## minifancier (Feb 15, 2004)

Mary Lou: I am trying to find out more info on why there conception rate is so low but I have not found a source yet..But if I remember correctly, the physical looks are different,in case you didn't know..The hinney has more "horse" looks and the mule looks more like a donkey..Then is gets complicated from there~! The Hinney and Henney or something like that one has the body of a horse and a head of a donkey and the other one has a head like a horse and a body like a donkey...Confused? Yes I know I am


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## minifancier (Feb 15, 2004)

Ok here maybe the reason why~!



> Hinnies do not differ from mules in endurance, or other useful traits, but are bred more rarely because the donkey dam tends to make the offspring smaller. Donkeys do not as readily conceive to horse stallion as to donkeys. The equine hybrid is easier to obtain when the lower chromosome count (the donkey) is in the male.


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## minimule (Feb 15, 2004)

My friends are going to try for a mini hinney. They have a mini stallion that is in love with "long ears". At this point he doesn't care how big or small they are as long as they have those EARS! They just picked up 4 jennys in Nebraska. They did bring one home for me but alas.....no room yet. They are going to try this spring and see if they can get at least one of them bred to the stallion.


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## rabbitsfizz (Feb 15, 2004)

I tried, many years ago and with non-mini stock, to breed Hinnies. We were hand breeding and the stallion (Welsh) was more than willing but the Jenny would NOT stand for him. (She was in season!!) We tried them loose, thinking maybe being held was upsetting her, but, No, no way. Neither of my Jennies would 'stand', and were becoming quite distressed, so I stopped trying. But I had found out the hard way that these animals don't speak the same language as I had to buy the second one to keep the one I had been given company, she was so lonely!! Maybe the stallion wasn't being polite enough, I know how much my ladies preferred to be asked, not told, things!


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## Bess Kelly (Mar 7, 2004)

It's true that all animals "prefer" their own kind. If no others are around, they will deal of the 'off brand'......but in these cases a one-on-one is normally best. When I pastured jennets and mares, they always formed their own herds. The foals would associate with others at weaning but, it wasn't as congenial as like kind. My first jennet was purchased singly and I felt so sorry for her that within 2 weeks I had bought her a friend and she was thrilled!



Then, true to form I bought more, more, more.



I was so lucky that most were sold to one family when I sold the herd and they own every one of them to this day! She sends me pics of foals each spring. I love it.


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