Editing Donkey (section)

===Breeding===
[[File:Equus asinus Kadzidłowo 001.jpg|thumb|A three-week-old donkey foal]]

A jenny is normally pregnant for about 12 months, though the gestation period varies from 11 to 14 months,<ref name=alberta /><ref name="Sewell">{{Cite web |url=http://www.albertadonkeyandmule.com/pdfs/foaling-out-the-jennet.pdf |title=Sewell, Sybil E. "Foaling out the Donkey Jennet", ''Alberta Donkey and Mule.com''. Web page accessed March 4, 2008 |access-date=August 25, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150825135639/http://www.albertadonkeyandmule.com/pdfs/foaling-out-the-jennet.pdf |archive-date=August 25, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and usually gives birth to a single foal. Births of twins are rare, though less so than in horses.<ref name=alberta/> About 1.7 percent of donkey pregnancies result in twins; both foals survive in about 14 percent of those.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.ramshornstudio.com/donkeys.htm|title = Twins and Donkeys|access-date = May 4, 2015|website = Rams Horn Studio|archive-date = January 26, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150126041837/http://www.ramshornstudio.com/donkeys.htm|url-status = live}}</ref> In general jennies have a conception rate that is lower than that of horses (i.e., less than the 60–65% rate for mares).<ref name=alberta />

Although jennies come into heat within 9 or 10 days of giving birth, their fertility remains low, and it is likely the reproductive tract has not returned to normal.<ref name=alberta/> Thus it is usual to wait one or two further [[oestrous]] cycles before rebreeding, unlike the practice with mares. Jennies are usually very protective of their [[foal]]s, and some will not come into estrus while they have a foal at side.<ref name="Rachau">{{Cite web |url=http://www.oregonvos.net/~jrachau/pregnant.htm |title=Rachau, Jeanine A. "Gestation and Foaling of Donkeys" |access-date=2015-08-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090412031614/http://www.oregonvos.net/~jrachau/pregnant.htm |archive-date=2009-04-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The time lapse involved in rebreeding, and the length of a jenny's gestation, means that a jenny will have fewer than one foal per year. Because of this and the longer gestation period, donkey breeders do not expect to obtain a foal every year, as horse breeders often do, but may plan for three foals in four years.<ref name=alberta/>

Donkeys can interbreed with other members of the family Equidae, and are commonly interbred with horses. The [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrid]] between a jack and a [[mare]] is a [[mule]], valued as a working and riding animal in many countries. Some large donkey breeds such as the [[Asino di Martina Franca]], the [[Baudet du Poitou]] and the [[American mammoth donkey|Mammoth Jack]] are raised only for mule production. The hybrid between a [[stallion]] and a jenny is a [[hinny]], and is less common. Like other inter-species hybrids, mules and hinnies are usually sterile.<ref name=alberta/> Donkeys can also breed with [[zebra]]s, in which case the offspring is called a [[Zebroid|zonkey]] (among other names).