OKLAHOMA CITY - You can buy all kinds of "milk" these days.
There's almond and rice milk, which the dairy industry says is not milk at all. Then traditional cow and even goat's milk.
But this one could be a first for many.
2 Works for You anchor Lisa Jones went on the road to meet the "donkey milkers."
You heard right - donkey milk.
It's big in the rest of the world but it hasn't become popular in the U.S. just yet. But, for one family in the Oklahoma City area, well, they have turned to donkey milk to save their daughter.
On any farm, all animals serve a purpose. Ducks and chickens eat ticks and other insects, and so on. But mammoth donkeys are really good at multi-tasking. They are laid back and gentle and provide lots of entertainment. . .But what else they provide may surprise you.
"People look at us like, 'What?' " said Saundra Traywick. "And they think we're joking and we're like no! We really do milk donkeys!"
The Traywicks have 14 donkeys on their farm east of Oklahoma City - three jacks, or males, and 11 jinnys, the females. They are all American mammoth donkeys, originally bred by first President George Washington, who got his first one from the King of Spain. Washington bred them to be big and strong for farm work.
"He actually had two, but one of them died on a sea voyage," said the little girl, Hannah Traywick. "The other one's name was Royal Gift and that was the first mammoth donkey that came to America."
Donkey milk is used all around the world and is slowly catching on here in the states. Doctors in other countries prescribe it for asthma, breast cancer, colic and dozens of other diseases and ailments. Some studies show donkey milk has 60 times the vitamin C of cow milk and is much easier for us to digest.
Saundra Traywick believes donkey milk saved Hannah. When she was 6, Hannah developed an autoimmune strep disease that attacks the brain. Doctors prescribed years of massive doses of strong antiobiotics, something the Traywicks didn't want, so they started researching alternatives and heard about donkey milk.
"So we got some donkey milk and within 24 hours she was back to 100 percent herself," said Saundra. "It was amazing and literally that fast!"
Hannah recovered and neither her or sister, Elaina, have been sick since. The Traywicks started a Facebook page to share their donkey's milk with other sick kids.
"It's been a godsend for us and for a lot of other kids, too," said Saundra. "We gave some to a little girl with asthma and her mom said that worked faster than her nebulizer or her inhaler."
The Traywicks give sick children the first jar free.
Turns out these mammoth donkeys don't give much milk at all and it takes a lot to feed and care for them. These endangered animals only provide one to six cups a day, and each cup sells for about ten dollars.
The Traywicks aren't looking to get rich, but they figured if donkey milk was good internally they would make all natural skincare products with it, because, what goes on our skin always ends up internally.
"In Europe, it's so well known in the luxury skin care for eczema, psoriasis," she said.
Anchor Lisa Jones and her photographer, John Guthery, couldn't leave without sampling the milk.
"Cheers!" Guthery declared.
"You did it like a shot," Jones laughed at Guthery.
"I thought we were doing shots," he said. "It's very good! It is sweet. It's a lot lighter, too."
The Traywicks say they're not doctors. They can't tell you donkey milk will cure you or your child. But they say it worked for them and hear every day from parents who say it did for them as well.
The traywicks are one of just a couple of donkey dairies in the country. By law, they can't ship any of the milk, you have to go to their farm to get it.
If you'd like more information or are interested in getting some donkey milk, go to dulcededonke.com.
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