Detailed Explanation of the Characteristics and Diagnostic Methods of Donkey Diseases

Characteristics of Donkey Diseases

Donkeys and horses are animals of the same genus but different species. Therefore, the biological characteristics and physiological structure of donkeys are basically similar to those of horses. However, there are also considerable differences between them, so the manifestations of diseases also differ.

The types of diseases that donkeys suffer from, whether internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics, infectious diseases and parasitic diseases, are all similar to those of horses, such as the common gastric dilation, constipation, colic, strangles, etc. Because of the biological characteristics of donkeys, they differ from horses in disease resistance, clinical manifestations and responses to drugs, and therefore donkey diseases also have certain unique characteristics in terms of their causes, severity, pathological changes and symptoms. For example, in the clinical manifestations of colic, horses show it very obviously, especially light horses; while donkeys mostly show it mildly, and may even show no external symptoms. Donkeys are sensitive to glanders, and after infection are prone to septicemia or pyosepticemia, while they have relatively strong resistance to infectious anemia.

Under the same conditions, donkeys do not suffer from sunstroke and heatstroke, while horses do. Of course, donkeys also have some unique specific diseases they are prone to, such as moldy corn poisoning and prepartum anorexia in jennies carrying mule fetuses. Therefore, when diagnosing and treating donkey diseases, attention must be paid to this, and one must not rigidly apply the treatment experience for horses, but should treat according to the characteristics of donkeys.

Distinguishing Healthy Donkeys from Abnormal Donkeys

Healthy donkeys, whether at ordinary times or while grazing, always have both ears erect, move freely, hold the head and neck high, and are full of energy. Especially male donkeys, when they meet or spot others of the same kind in the distance, will raise the head and stare, bray loudly, jump and try to approach. When a healthy donkey eats grass, it chews powerfully, making a "ge ge" sound. If someone walks past the trough, it brays incessantly. A healthy donkey has a fresh and glossy mouth color, and warm nose and ears. The dung balls are moderate in hardness, moist and shiny on the surface, grass-yellow when fresh, and turn brown after a while. From time to time it moves its nostrils, that is, snorts. As the saying goes, "When a donkey snorts and an ox slobbers, there is not much of an illness."

Abnormal Donkeys Donkeys have relatively strong tolerance to general diseases, and even when sick they can still eat some grass and drink some water. If one does not pay attention to observation, by the time they stop eating and drinking and completely refuse food and water, the disease is already quite serious. To judge whether a donkey is normal, one can also observe and compare from aspects such as usual grass eating, water drinking, mental state and changes in the temperature of the nose and ears. If a donkey lowers its head and droops its ears, is listless, and its nose and ears are cold or overly hot, and although it eats some grass it does not drink water, this indicates that the donkey is already ill and should be treated promptly.

The amount of water drunk is of great significance for judging whether a donkey is ill. If a donkey eats little grass but drinks no small amount of water, it can be known that the donkey is not ill; if the grass intake does not decrease but water intake decreases or it stops drinking for several consecutive days, one can predict that the donkey is about to become ill. If the dung balls are dry and hard, with a small amount of mucus on the outside, and water intake decreases, gastroenteritis may occur after several days. If pica occurs during feeding, with occasional gnawing on wooden posts or the edge of the trough, without much water drinking and without decline in spirits, acute gastritis may occur.

Although a donkey does not eat all night and stands back from the trough, as long as its nose and ears are warm and its body temperature is normal, it can be regarded as not ill. It can eat again at dawn or the next day, which the feeders call "staring at the trough." The occurrence of donkey diseases is often closely related to factors such as weather, season, changes in forage, grass quality and feeding methods. Therefore, only by carefully observing according to the general principles of feeding management and the different requirements for feeding management under different physiological conditions can one achieve "prevention before illness, early treatment when ill, and having a clear understanding."

In addition, if a donkey lies down and cannot get up after becoming ill, or although it does not lie down it is dispirited and clings to the feeder without leaving, these are manifestations of serious illness and should be given special attention.