What Forage Makes Donkeys Grow Fast? Getting the Concentrate Mix Right Matters

Donkeys are monogastric herbivores, and their digestive capacity is far inferior to that of ruminant herbivores such as cattle and sheep, so donkeys have relatively high feed requirements. In donkey farming, only by meeting their intake and nutritional needs can they grow quickly! So what forage makes donkeys grow fast? How should concentrate feed be mixed?

1. Selection of roughage

After donkeys eat forage, it is temporarily stored and initially broken down in the stomach before passing directly into the intestines for fermentation, decomposition and absorption. Since they cannot fully break down forage through rumination and rumen microbial flora like cattle and sheep, forage that is too soft tends to form clumps in the intestines and cause intestinal obstruction (commonly known as “impaction”). Forage eaten by donkeys must be dry, hard and crisp.

Reed: Reed is a green forage rich in various vitamins and minerals, with a strong grassy aroma, low moisture content, high hardness and good crispness, making it the best forage resource for raising donkeys. In places such as Dongying, Shandong and Baoding, Hebei, abundant local reed resources have driven the rapid development of small and medium-sized donkey farms.

Millet straw: Millet straw, namely the stalks of cereal crops, has the characteristics of being dry, hard and crisp, making it the most suitable crop straw for raising donkeys. In cereal crop-producing areas such as Shanxi and Shaanxi, millet straw resources are relatively abundant, and local farmers can make full use of them to develop donkey farming.

Soybean straw: Because soybeans are planted over a wide area and soybean straw also more or less has the characteristics of being dry, hard and crisp, it is the most commonly used forage resource for raising donkeys. However, it is too hard and must be crushed before being fed to donkeys, generally to a crushed length of 2~4 mm.

Silage corn straw: Although silage corn straw is not the best forage for raising donkeys, it has hard and crisp characteristics and high yield, so it can be mixed with other forage for feeding. However, dry corn straw is generally not suitable as donkey feed because its outer skin is too hard while the inside is relatively soft.

2. Selection of concentrate feed

Roughage alone cannot provide donkeys with too many nutrients, so a certain amount of concentrate feed must also be added. Generally, the concentrate feed amount for breeding donkeys accounts for 15%~30% of the total daily ration, while the concentrate feed amount for fattening donkeys accounts for 40%~60% of the total daily ration.

Concentrate feed formula (breeding donkeys): corn 59%, soybean meal 20%, wheat bran 15%, premix 4%, salt 0.8%, shell powder 1.2%.

Concentrate feed formula (fattening donkeys): corn 55%, soybean meal 25%, wheat bran 14%, premix 4%, salt 0.5%, shell powder 1.5%.

Substitute feed: There are few finished donkey feeds on the market. If you do not want to mix feed yourself, cattle, sheep or pig feed can be used as a substitute.

Choose excellent donkey breeds and use high-quality feed to feed donkeys, and donkeys will certainly grow quickly!