Detailed Explanation of Feeding and Fattening Techniques for Meat Donkey Breeding

Donkey raising is a traditional activity in China. In the past, donkeys were mainly raised for draft purposes. In recent years, with reform and opening up and the deepening development of the market economy, raising donkeys for meat and for both meat and draft purposes has become the main content of the donkey-raising industry.

Raising meat donkeys is a new item in recent years for farmer household breeding. Due to the lack of improved meat donkey breeds, the benefits of donkey raising in the past were not ideal. To improve the benefits of meat donkey breeding, selecting excellent donkey breeds or using improved donkeys crossed with local breeds for fattening is an important measure. Two larger improved meat donkey breeds are briefly introduced below:

1. Guanzhong donkey: This breed is produced in the Weihe River basin of the Guanzhong Plain in Shaanxi Province. The central production areas include Xianyang, Pingguan, Qianxian, Wugong, Liquan and other places. This donkey has a large body size, with a body height of about 130cm or more and a body weight of about 250kg-290kg. It has a robust constitution, small but firm hooves, strong disease resistance, good heredity and strong endurance. The coat color of the donkey is mainly black, but the eye rims, nose, mouth and lower abdomen are mostly white or grayish white. It is known as having a "powder nose, bright eyes and white belly," which is an important characteristic of this breed and also an essential condition for breeding donkeys. The Guanzhong donkey is a representative of China's breeding donkeys and is also one of the improved donkey breeds in the world.

2. Dezhou donkey: Dezhou, Huimin and the coast of the Bohai Sea in Shandong Province are the central production areas of the Dezhou donkey, also known as the Bohai donkey. The Dezhou donkey has a tall body and compact structure, with a body height of 130cm or more and a body weight of about 260kg. The coat color is mainly black (black-headed donkey) and pinkish black. Its draft performance is also good.

General feeding principles for meat donkeys:

For housed meat donkeys, first ensure the supply of sufficient nutrients, limit exercise and maintain environmental hygiene. They should be fed in separate troughs with fixed trough positions, with feed supplied at fixed times and in fixed amounts, feeding small amounts frequently, preparing coarse feed carefully, allowing night grazing, feeding coarse feed before concentrate and providing sufficient drinking water.

That is, they should be divided by age, body condition, sex and strength and tethered in separate troughs with fixed trough positions, and fed four times a day in the morning, noon, evening and at night (for both meat and draft use). In spring and summer when the days are long, they can be fed one more time, while in autumn and winter when the days are short, they can be fed one less meal. Coarse feed should be chopped short and cut fine, achieving "one cun of grass in three cuts"; concentrate should be flattened or ground, or soaked, fermented, roasted, boiled with salt, etc., to improve digestibility and palatability. Because the donkey's stomach is small, feed should be given in small amounts frequently, and feed should be supplied at night during time that does not interfere with rest to ensure nutritional needs. At the same time, donkeys need a large amount of digestive fluid, so sufficient clean drinking water and an appropriate amount of salt should be provided. Brush the skin every day.

Feeding of young donkeys:

In addition to normal feeding and management, newborn foals generally begin training to eat concentrate at 15 days of age. Corn, barley, millet, oats, etc. can be ground into flour, boiled into thin porridge and mixed with a little sugar to entice them to eat. At first, feed 10g-20g per day; after several days, feed 80g-100g; after one month, supplement with 100g-200g; after two months, supplement with 500g-1000g; thereafter increase gradually day by day. After 9 months, feed 3.5kg of concentrate, and about 500kg of concentrate is used in the whole fattening period.

The specific fattening of donkeys can adopt the following methods:

(1) Take 500g each of soybeans and rice (or millet), add water and grind them into a paste, add 250g of rice bran, mix well with an appropriate amount of salt, and feed to the foal after it eats grass. Feed continuously for 7 days-10 days.

(2) Dissolve 100g of white sugar, or 150g of brown sugar, in warm water and let each donkey drink it freely every day. After 10 days-20 days of free drinking, body condition can be restored.

(3) Take 250g of lard, 1kg of fresh chives and 10g of salt, stir-fry them and feed to the donkey once a day. Feed continuously for 7 days-10 days.

(4) Fry cottonseed until yellow and cooked, or cook it in a pot until it expands and splits. This can remove 90% of gossypol, and it is fragrant and tasty. Feed 1kg per donkey per day continuously for 15 days.

(5) Orally administer 10mg of diethylstilbestrol to the foal every day, which can increase daily weight gain by 12%. Implanting 24mg of diethylstilbestrol under the ear of the foal 100 days before slaughter can increase the daily weight gain of grazing donkeys by 15%. In addition, adding trace elements such as cobalt, iodine, copper and selenium can increase daily weight gain and feed utilization. Adding an appropriate amount of zinc during fattening can prevent hair loss and skin diseases in donkeys.

Fattening method for adult donkeys:

Newly purchased adult donkeys can first be fed some easily digestible green grass, bran, etc. When feeding, it is also necessary to give small amounts frequently, and feeding until 70% full is sufficient. After a few days of observation and confirming normality, the introduction-to-feeding period can begin. At this time, the coarse part of the mixed feed is mainly cottonseed hulls (or corn stalk powder), and the mixed concentrate is mainly 50% cottonseed kernel cake, 30% cornmeal and 20% bran. Donkeys newly purchased from other places generally do not like to eat or simply do not eat cottonseed hulls or cottonseed kernel cake, so a method of first acclimating them to the feed can be adopted, and after one week they can eat it automatically. Feed twice a day (at night only coarse feed may be given), and after about 2 months the donkey can be fed until 80% full. Local conditions can also be adapted by using soybean cake, peanut cake, tofu residue, as well as millet straw, corn stalk powder, bean pod hulls, etc. to replace the above concentrate and coarse feed. Use local materials and pay attention to feeding costs. At the same time, provide sufficient clean drinking water, limit exercise, brush the skin and maintain environmental hygiene to facilitate fattening.