# Wood Eating



## PaintedMeadows

Our 2 donkeys have taken to eating their particle board shelter. Started about 2 weeks ago and I can't figure out why. Even our vet finds it really strange. They are out in a big paddock, lots of feed, minerals, fresh water no stress. Weird. Any ideas why they would do this?


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## Emily's mom

For some reason my "kids" like to chew wood also. Like the barn door, and gate. Actually I think it is all Emily, and they both like to dig roots and eat them. After Christmas was over we put the fir tree in the pasture and they pulled at it, and they like to eat pine. Maybe it is boredom.....

I don't think eating particle board would be good for them, it would have glues and stuff in it!


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## Cara

sometimes they jsut get bored, we have a few big horses and mini horses that crib, we have cribing collars on the big horses, that stops them from cribing more or less, um im not sure how u stop a mini tho, i think theres a product you can like paint on the wood that isnt harmful to the horse but doesnt taste goood! good luck

ps also cribing isnt a good thing, they can collic from it and get slivers of wood stuck in there mouths, i would try to stop it as soon as possible


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## PaintedMeadows

Well, I think I got the wood chewing stopped with hot pepper sauce. They smelled it and off they went. i can't imagine they would be bored. They have 2 acres of pasture land and friends and they all run around, play with balls and get to go for walks with the kids and hang out with us while we work in the yard. Just strange but hopefully I have it stopped now.


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## MeadowRidge Farm

Donkeys can be notorious for chewing, not as in cribbing..but just plain chewing on wood. Cribbing is a completely different vice, from chewing.. and also hard to break. A cribbing donkey will swallow air, a CHEWING donkey wont..a chewing vice is when a donkey actually bites down and chews on the wood.

I have two stalls in our main barn that look HORRIBLE, both are now kept just for the donkeys because my hubby refuses to replace the boards anymore.



(boy...do I hope he reads this!



) I use hot pepper sauce or Tabasco, extra hot) on my boards for the stalls and that has helped alot.

I would be real careful with using particle board, especially if they chew on it. Particle board is made of discarded wood, wood shavings, chips and sawdust, then they use a strong resin or glue to keep it together..alot of the resins used are formaldehyde based, which is not safe for any animals to be eating.

Corinne


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