Detailed Explanation of Key Technical Points for Scientific Fattening Management of Meat Donkeys

Meat donkeys grow and develop quickly, reaching sexual maturity at 12-15 months of age, and begin breeding at 2.5 years of age. At 1 year old, the body height and body length of a foal are more than 85% of those of an adult donkey. When raised as a meat donkey, the slaughter rate can reach as high as 53%, with a relatively high meat yield. Donkeys have strong disease resistance, tolerate roughage, are easy to raise, easy to manage, and reproduce quickly. They can be raised either by grazing or in pens, and the investment is small, making them very suitable for small-scale raising by farming households.

1. Selecting Excellent Breeds. China's improved donkey breeds fall into three categories: large, medium, and small. Among them, the Guanzhong donkey and the Dezhou donkey are China's famous large improved breeds. The Guanzhong donkey is mainly produced in the Guanzhong Plain area of Shaanxi Province, with Xianyang, Pingguan, Wugong and other cities and counties as the central production areas. This breed has a tall and large build, with a body height of 130 cm and a body weight of 250-290 kg. The Dezhou donkey has Hui County and other areas of Dezhou City, Shandong Province, as well as the counties along the Bohai coast, as its central production areas. It is also known as the “Bohai donkey”, with a body height of 130 cm and a body weight of about 260 kg.

2. Scientific Feeding Principles for Meat Donkeys. When raising meat donkeys, the first step is to feed them in separate troughs according to age, sex, body condition, body weight, and so on. The trough position should be fixed, and a short halter rope should be used. Feed 4 times a day, in the morning, midday, evening, and at night (for the dual-purpose draft and meat type). In summer, when the days are long, one more feeding can be given during the day; in winter, one fewer feeding can be given during the day. Coarse feed should be chopped short and fine, achieving the standard of “cutting 7 cm grass with three cuts”; concentrate should be selectively processed by crushing, flattening, soaking, fermenting, roasting, and other methods to improve its palatability and feed intake and to promote digestion and absorption. A complete formula feed should be provided, because the donkey's stomach capacity is small, so feed in small amounts and add frequently, with supplementary feeding at night. When donkeys eat dry hay, they need a large amount of digestive fluid, so it is necessary to ensure an adequate supply of clean drinking water and an appropriate amount of salt. Salt can increase appetite and promote digestion and absorption. Every day, the donkey's skin and coat should be brushed on schedule to promote blood circulation and metabolism, keep the donkey's body clean, and promote the donkey's growth and development.

3. Raising Young Donkeys. A newborn foal should first be allowed to drink enough colostrum as soon as possible to increase disease resistance and speed up growth and development. In addition to normal management, at 15 days of age the young donkey should be trained to eat concentrate. Corn, wheat, millet, and so on can be ground into powder, boiled into a thin porridge, and then a little sugar added to entice it to eat. At the beginning, feed each young donkey 10-20 grams of concentrate per day; after several days, feed 80-100 grams per day; after one month, feed 100-200 grams per head; after 2 months, feed 500-1000 grams per day; thereafter gradually increase it until, after 9 months, feeding 3.5 kg per day is appropriate. The whole fattening period uses a total of 500 kg of concentrate.

4. Fattening Methods for Adult Donkeys. For donkeys newly purchased from other places, first feed some green grass, bran, and other easily digestible feed, and feed in small amounts and add frequently, with each feeding reaching only 60-70% fullness. After a few days, once they eat grass normally, they enter the lead-feeding period. During this period, the mixed coarse feed is mainly millet straw, soybean stalk powder, and corn stalk powder, and the mixed concentrate includes: 50% soybean cake, 30% cornmeal, and 20% bran. Fattening donkeys just purchased from other places may not like the above feed or may not eat it at all, so they can first be trained to eat, and after 7 days they will eat it automatically. Fattening donkeys bought specifically for this purpose can be fed 2 times a day, and feeding to 80% fullness is sufficient. After 2 months of raising, they should be slaughtered or sold at the appropriate time according to the donkey's body condition and market price. In addition, the concentrate and roughage used during the fattening period for adult donkeys should also be selected according to local natural resources and market conditions. For roughage, cottonseed hulls, millet straw, soybean stalk powder, corn stalk powder, and so on can be used; for concentrate, soybean meal, peanut cake, soybean cake, or cooked sorghum, or soybean ground into powder and mixed with grass can be used for feeding. In short, use local materials and carry out cost accounting. During the fattening period, the donkey's movement should be restricted, an adequate supply of clean drinking water should be provided, an appropriate amount of salt should be given, the donkey's skin and coat should be brushed frequently, and the pen and environment should be kept clean, dry, and hygienic.