Dezhou donkey
The Dezhou donkey originates from the counties along the Bohai Sea in Binzhou City and Dezhou City, Shandong Province, with the best quality found in Wudi County (also known as the Wudi donkey). It is one of China's large donkey breeds and an excellent local breed, and has currently been listed by the state in the local breed protection catalogue. In terms of appearance, it is divided into two major types: "Sanfen donkey" and "Wutou donkey".
The Dezhou donkey has strong adaptability, tolerates coarse feed, and has strong disease resistance, and is deeply loved by farmers everywhere. The Dezhou donkey has now been introduced as breeding stock by 24 provinces and cities including **, Shaanxi and Liaoning, and has also brought considerable economic benefits to breeders.
Body shape and appearance: large build, well-proportioned structure, good-looking appearance, square body type, with good connection between head, neck and torso. The coat colour is divided into two types: Sanfen (pinkish-white around the nose, around the eyes and under the belly, with the rest of the coat black) and Wutou (the whole coat black).
Body measurements of adult breeding donkeys: for the male donkey, body height is 142 cm, body length is 143.6 cm, chest circumference is 152.8 cm, and cannon circumference is 18.7 cm; for the female donkey the corresponding figures are 140, 137, 160 and 16.4 cm. The male donkey has a broad forehand, a high-carried head and neck, large eyes and an even mouth, a spirited bearing, a straight back and loin, a slightly sloping rump, rounded ribs, powerful limbs, clearly defined joints, and round, hard hooves.
The average body height of the Dezhou donkey is generally 130-135 cm, with the tallest reaching 155 cm.
Production performance: the Dezhou donkey grows and develops quickly, reaching sexual maturity at 12-15 months of age, and beginning mating at 2.5 years. At 1 year of age, the foal's body height and body length are over 85% of those of an adult donkey. Female donkeys generally come into oestrus very regularly, and can produce about 10 foals in their lifetime; a good donkey at 25 years of age can still produce foals. Male donkeys have a strong libido; under normal circumstances the ejaculate volume is 70 ml, sometimes reaching 180 ml, and semen quality is good. When raised as a meat donkey, the slaughter rate can reach as high as 53%, with a relatively high meat yield. It is an excellent sire breed for improving small donkeys.
A single donkey pulling a cart can carry 750 kg, travel 40-45 km per day, and keep this up for many days in succession. Maximum pulling force is 75% of body weight.
Development and utilisation: In terms of the development and utilisation of the Dezhou donkey, the first is to develop its medicinal value. The Dezhou donkey is large in size, has thick hide and a high glue yield, and is a top-grade raw material for making ejiao. The second is to develop its milk value. Donkey milk is extremely close to human milk, with its nutrient composition ratio accounting for almost 99% of the components contained in human milk, making it the best substitute for human milk; moreover, donkey milk has the effect of moisturising the skin and improving the facial environment. The average price of one kilogram of finished donkey milk in the mainland @#@136@#@ is around 35 yuan - 40 yuan. The third is to develop its meat value. As the saying goes: "dragon meat in heaven, donkey meat on earth." According to analysis, every 100 grams of donkey meat contains 18.6 grams of protein, 0.7 grams of fat, 10 mg of calcium, 144 mg of phosphorus and 13.6 mg of iron; its effective nutritional components are no inferior to those of beef, rabbit, dog and other meats, and it is a typical high-protein, low-fat meat food. Donkey meat also has health functions such as enriching the blood and tonifying qi and deficiency. The trend of eating donkey meat is also rising in Guangdong, Guangxi, Shaanxi, Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong and other places, which shows that developing and raising meat donkeys has great potential. In addition, the donkey's innate tolerance of harsh living conditions is the most outstanding among all livestock; once its living conditions are changed and a more favourable and suitable fattening method is applied, the benefits will increase by a relatively large margin. It is a new type of livestock farming worthy of attention and development.