Confinement and Pollution-Free Feeding Management of Commercial Meat Donkeys

With the improvement of people's living standards, the demand for animal-based foods has gradually become more diversified and premium, and must also be green. Donkey meat and offal products are very popular. They are high in protein, low in fat, and delicious, and can be cooked into a variety of dishes. Since ancient times in China there has been a saying that "dragon meat in heaven, donkey meat on earth," which shows that people have long recognized donkey products. Donkey meat restaurants can be seen everywhere in some large, medium and small cities, but donkey meat has not yet made it onto ordinary people's dining tables. The reasons: first, resources are too few; second, very few are raised on a large scale; third, the benefits of @#@249@#@ are not yet recognized. At the current level of raising, only 30% of the market can be satisfied. The prospects for developing the donkey-raising industry are very considerable: low raising costs and wide sources of feed, including straw, rice straw, tree leaves and alfalfa grass, etc. Farmers have even better conditions for raising donkeys; 95% of the feed can be self-produced, and the feeding cost will be even lower, making it a very good sideline. Raising donkeys is also a good project for urban @#@168@#@ workers and demobilized military personnel re-@#@1@#@. It can convert straw and forage into meat, return manure to the field through the animal's belly as high-quality farmyard manure, and can also be used to grow green, pollution-free vegetables and grain. The donkey is a very easy livestock to raise, with strong disease resistance, a small appetite, and it is not a picky eater; its feed consumption is about one-half that of a horse. It does not linger at the trough and leaves once full. It tolerates heat, but its cold tolerance is relatively poor.

1 Selection, Breeding and Feeding of Breeding Donkeys

1.1 Selection

It is best to choose the Dezhou donkey of Shandong Province. This breed is a large-type donkey breed and can be used for fattening meat donkeys, with good and delicious meat.

1.1.1 Breeding donkey standards (for reference): adult male height at withers 1.36 m, body length 1.36 m, chest circumference 1.49 m, cannon bone circumference 0.17 m, body weight 270 kg. Female height at withers 1.3 m, body length 1.3 m, chest circumference 1.49 m, cannon bone circumference 0.16 m, body weight 245 kg.

1.1.2 Reproductive performance: generally sexually mature at 12-15 months, mating begins at 25 months, average estrous cycle 21-23 d, estrus lasts 5-7 d, gestation period 360 d. The first postpartum estrus is at 15 d; total lifetime offspring 12-16; birth weight of foals 22-35 kg.

1.2 Breeding

From self-bred foals, select excellent ones year by year as reserve breeding donkeys. Be sure to observe carefully and select meticulously. Choose those with a broad and deep chest, rounded and arched tendons and bones, a straight back and loin, a full abdomen, distinct joints, a correct stance, thick and strong limbs, bright eyes, lively spirits, a relatively well-developed forehand in males, normal testicular development, and a relatively full hindquarters and well-developed udder in females. Continuously expand the herd and develop sustainably.

1.3 Feeding

The feeding of breeding donkeys must also be very careful. In the early stage, females should not be raised too fat; males must be plump and strong with vigorous energy in preparation for mating. Artificial insemination is best, but unlike with other livestock, only fresh semen can be used and not frozen semen, in order to improve the utilization rate of breeding donkeys and the conception rate. In places with grazing conditions, they can graze for about 2 h each day in summer and autumn, but they absolutely must not "run on green" (chase fresh grass excessively); in winter, the number and duration of grazing depend on the temperature.

In the late gestation period, females should be supplemented with 100 kg of carrots. At the time of giving birth, be sure to watch over them carefully; it is best to find professional personnel to deliver the foal to ensure no accidents occur.

Feeding by groups: breeding donkeys and fattening donkeys should be raised in separate groups, and males and females should be raised separately, only being put together when estrus and mating occur. The blood relationship between male and female breeding donkeys should be distant; only through continuous improvement will the quality of the offspring be good. If inbreeding continues all along, the offspring will continuously degenerate.

Weaned foals should be raised separately from fattening donkeys.

2 Feeding Costs

The average birth weight of foals is 28.5 kg. With scientific management and careful feeding, newborn foals can reach more than 35 kg. The suckling period is 60 d, and the fattening period is 120 d. Superior-grade ones can grow to 130 kg, grade 1 to 115 kg, grade 2 to 105 kg, grade 3 to 95 kg, with an average of 110 kg. The fattening period is 120 d and requires 45 kg of concentrate feed (including 12 kg of cakes and meals), with the rest being grains such as corn, barley, @#@245@#@ and bran, and 0.45 kg of salt. Special concentrated feed for fattening donkeys may also be used, supplemented with vitamins and trace elements, etc. Weaned foals need 25 kg of supplemental carrots and about 500 kg of roughage, mainly corn stalks and silage. Rice straw fed to them should be crushed and rubbed, with fine grass and fine feed. The total feed cost is about 125 yuan.

Farmers with more land or pastures with land can plant some alfalfa grass. This grass is a perennial legume, rich in nutrients and good in palatability, and is the highest-quality variety among forage grasses. It is rich in various nutrients, with a protein content of 14.9 in hay and 22.5 in dry leaves. Its feeding value is extremely high. In the north, varieties such as American Golden Queen, Canadian Reindeer, Gongnong No. 1 and Jiamusi can be planted. These varieties have strong cold resistance, an overwintering rate of more than 90%, and can be harvested 3 times a year. In the south, other high-quality varieties can also be planted, which can be harvested 5-6 times a year. With normal rainfall or water-saving irrigation, the yield per mu is 7500 kg of fresh grass and 1-1.5 kg of hay. Adding a portion of artificially planted high-quality forage grass will not increase costs much.

3 Feeding and Drinking Water

According to its habits of eating little, not lingering at the trough, and leaving the trough once full, feed it on time and in fixed amounts. Especially at night, be sure to feed well and do not just go through the motions. The donkey is an equine animal, and there is a folk saying that a horse will not fatten without night grass. Use soaked soybean cake, soybean meal and cornmeal water to mix the feed. In summer, be sure to watch the trough when feeding, master the feeding amount well, and keep the trough clean to avoid leftovers spoiling. In winter, leftovers are prone to thawing. Provide water in a timely manner; be sure to let them drink clean water, and in winter they should drink warm water.

4 Feeding and Management

4.1 @#@185@#@ and Layout of Pens

Medium and large breeding farms should be sited far from villages, large and small roads, on the windward side, where the water source cannot be polluted; in hilly areas they should be built on a sunny slope with good lighting. The length depends on the actual raising quantity; the width (span) is 3.0-3.2 m, the north wall 1.65 m, the south wall 1.80 m, and on average each donkey occupies 2 sq m of warm shed area. Whether for a breeding farm or a farmhouse building a shed in the yard, it must be built due south-to-north, with doors and windows facing the sun, and there should also be two north windows, with dimensions depending on the length of the shed, best opened toward the upper part at both ends, sealed shut in winter and used for ventilation in summer. In winter, plastic sheeting should be used to seal the windows tightly. Two 0.5 m x 0.5 m skylights that can be opened and closed at any time should be installed along the front edges of both sides of the donkey shed, so as to properly regulate temperature, humidity and ventilation in winter. Sufficient outdoor activity area for the donkeys should be left according to the raising quantity, and when donkeys are active outside the shed, strenuous activity should be avoided as much as possible. In winter, activity outside the shed should be minimized as much as possible, and grazing is not allowed during the fattening period, so as not to consume energy and affect weight gain. The feed trough must be placed on the sunny side and oriented east-west; scientific breeding requires changing old customs.

4.2 Epidemic Prevention

Epidemic prevention is the most important link in the breeding industry and is directly related to the success or failure of the undertaking. According to epidemic prevention requirements, vaccinate at the appropriate times (equine infectious anemia vaccine) and deworm twice. Every morning, the manure in the shed must be removed and washed clean, and the feed troughs must also be washed. The manure storage site must be far from the pens and on the downwind side. Keep the environment inside and outside the pens clean and hygienic. To kill flies, mosquitoes and horseflies, a 4% formalin solution plus sugar and rice that flies like to eat can be used to kill flies and horseflies. Rat poison can be used for rats, but donkeys absolutely must not eat it by mistake. If a dead rat is found, burn it immediately; if a rat hole is found, seal it immediately. Carry out thorough disinfection regularly to prevent the occurrence of infectious diseases.

4.3 Standardized Systems

Standardized feeding systems, feeding regimens, epidemic prevention systems, grazing systems and disinfection systems must be established, and scientific feeding must be implemented.

5 Benefit Analysis

At 180 d, the average weight is about 110 kg, yielding about 50 kg of net meat. At a wholesale price of 14 yuan/kg, that is 700 yuan. The hide, offal, etc. sell for about 260 yuan, totaling 960 yuan. Subtracting 200 yuan for feed, wages, water and electricity miscellaneous expenses, and vaccine costs, each donkey can yield a profit of about 760 yuan in 180 days, and the retail profit will be even higher. Gradually expand the scale; after slaughter, the quarantined-qualified meat and offal can be finely processed and finely packaged and sent to supermarkets and medium and large shopping malls for sale, and the profit will be higher. They can also be sold as live donkeys, with a selling price of about 650-700 yuan. Donkey hide is a high-quality material for leather making and can be made into products such as clothing, leather shoes, suitcases and bags. It is also the main raw material for the traditional Chinese medicine Ejiao. The male reproductive system can also be used as medicine.