Scientific Breeding Methods and Technical Key Points for Meat Donkeys
Donkeys are herbivorous animals, tolerant of coarse feed, highly resistant to stress, easy to raise, fast to reproduce, small in feed intake, strong in disease resistance, and easy to manage (both free-range and pen-raising are possible). The whole body of the meat donkey is a treasure. Donkey meat has very high nutritional and medicinal value, featuring more lean meat and less fat; the fat contains a relatively high proportion of unsaturated fatty acids, and it has the effect of enriching the blood and boosting qi. Moreover, the meat is tender and delicious, making it a health food that is quite popular with consumers, and it has long enjoyed the fine reputation of "dragon meat in heaven, donkey meat on earth." Donkey penis has the effect of tonifying the kidney and strengthening the tendons, and is mainly used to treat impotence, soreness and weakness of the tendons and bones, bone tuberculosis, osteomyelitis, and blood deficiency, among other conditions. The solid obtained by decoction and concentration of donkey hide is called ejiao (a traditional Chinese medicinal material), which is composed of hydrolysis products of gelatin and ossein together with sulfur, calcium, and other substances; hydrolysis produces various amino acids such as lysine, arginine, and methionine, and it has the effects of enriching the blood and nourishing yin, moistening dryness, and stopping bleeding. It can improve calcium balance in the body, promote calcium absorption, and also has an auxiliary role in treating cancer.
1 Scientific Feeding and Management
In the artificial breeding of meat donkeys, the donkey shed should meet the requirements of being ventilated and dry, hygienic and clean, warm in winter and cool in summer. It is best to choose a building that is sheltered from the wind, faces the sun, and is dry, warm yet cool, and it can be designed as semi-enclosed. Meat donkeys are generally raised under housed feeding, with feeding and other work all carried out in the donkey shed. For intensive meat donkey fattening, pen-stall raising is preferable. An ordinary pen stall only needs to be able to keep out rain from above and block wind from below. Feeding troughs for food should be installed inside the pen, and each donkey should be allotted enough feeding space of 60-80 cm. Between adult donkeys, sturdy fences should be set up as barriers according to the spacing of the feeding positions, to prevent them from disturbing one another. A exercise yard should be set up outside the donkey shed so the donkeys can roll around or move freely in it. The area of the exercise yard should be about 2 times the area of the donkey shed. In order to prevent disease outbreaks in the meat donkey herd, attention must be paid to and daily management of the donkey shed must be strengthened. The daily management of the donkey shed mainly involves always keeping the donkey shed and exercise yard clean, and also disinfecting regularly. The disinfectant solutions generally used are 2% caustic soda and a 1:130 Yikang disinfectant solution, and these two solutions should be used alternately. When disinfecting, the prepared disinfectant solution can be sprayed directly onto the ground and walls inside the donkey shed as well as the exercise yard outside the shed, once a week.
2 Managing the Fattening Period Well
Meat donkeys should be fed in separate troughs according to age, body condition, sex, and strength, and should not be grazed, so as to reduce feed consumption and facilitate rapid fattening. The fattening process of meat donkeys can be divided into 3 stages: the adaptation period, the weight-gain period, and the forcing period. Therefore, the management of the meat donkey fattening period should be carried out well according to the fattening process.
2.1 Management during the adaptation period
Newly purchased donkeys should first be dewormed, and then raised in separate troughs according to sex and body weight. For newborn donkeys, starting from 15 days of age, feed them thin porridge made by boiling equal parts of corn, wheat, and millet mixed evenly, with a little sugar added (sugar should not be fed too much; generally sugar is used as a feeding lure). Concentrate feeding starts at 10 g per day and then gradually increases. After 22 days of age, feed 80-100 g of mixed concentrate per day, with a formula of 50% soybean meal plus cottonseed meal, 29% cornmeal, 20% wheat bran, and 1% salt. At 1 month of age, feed 100-200 g per donkey per day; at 2 months of age, feed 500-1000 g per day. If they are newly purchased adult donkeys or culled draft donkeys, they should first be fed easily digestible hay, green grass, and bran; after several days of observation and once normal, then feed mixed feed. The roughage is mainly cottonseed hulls, corn stalk powder, millet straw, bean pod skins, or various other kinds of green grass and hay, and the concentrate is prepared with 50% cottonseed cake (soybean cake, peanut cake), 30% cornmeal (barley, millet), and 20% wheat bran (bean dregs). When feeding, pay attention to feeding small amounts frequently, provide enough clean water, and supplement salt in appropriate amounts.
2.2 Management during the weight-gain period
The feed given to adult donkeys is the same as that in the adaptation period. For young donkeys, the daily concentrate supplement starts from 100-200 g, and after 2 months of age the daily supplement is 500-1000 g, then increasing month by month thereafter. By 9 months of age, the daily concentrate feed can reach 3.0-3.5 kg. The whole fattening period consumes a total of 500 kg of concentrate. If cottonseed is fried until yellow or cooked until it swells and cracks open, feeding 1000 g per donkey per day gives an even better fattening effect.
2.3 Management during the forcing period
The forcing period is 2-3 months, mainly to promote plumpness of the donkey's body and meat and deposition of fat. In addition to the above daily ration, the following forcing methods can also be adopted: (1) Dissolve 100 g of white sugar or 150 g of brown sugar per donkey per day in warm water and let the donkey drink it freely for 10-20 consecutive days. (2) Take 250 g of lard, 860 g of fresh chives, and 10 g of salt per donkey, stir-fry until cooked, and feed once a day for 7 consecutive days. (3) Fry cottonseed until yellow and cooked until it swells and cracks open, and feed 1000 g per donkey per day for 15 consecutive days. During the fattening process, adding an appropriate amount of zinc can prevent hair loss and skin diseases. Housed meat donkeys must be supplied feed at fixed times and in fixed amounts, fed 4 times a day in the morning, at noon, in the evening, and at night. In spring and summer, one more feeding can be given during the day, and in autumn and winter one fewer feeding can be given during the day, but one feeding at night is essential.
3 Doing a Good Job in the Breeding Environment and Disease Prevention
Like mules and horses, meat donkeys are prone to infectious anemia, glanders, and tetanus. In intensive meat donkey breeding, the principle of "combining prevention and treatment, with prevention first" must be adhered to even more, paying attention to environmental hygiene and preventing the occurrence of epidemics. To truly raise meat donkeys well, the following points should be noted: (1) When meat donkeys leave the trough and pen, they should be allowed to drink enough clean water, and drinking polluted water or dirty water is strictly prohibited. (2) Do a good job in shed hygiene; no overnight manure should be left in the pen, and feeding troughs and water vats should be cleaned and disinfected regularly. The pen should be built far away from villages to avoid infection from epidemics. (3) Each time meat donkeys enter or leave the pen, especially after finishing work, they should be allowed to roll around to their heart's content for a few rolls and be brushed one by one. Doing so is not only beneficial for skin cleanliness but can also promote blood circulation, strengthen physiological functions, and improve physical health. (4) Observe frequently. Once a meat donkey is found to be unwell or showing reduced feed intake, a veterinarian should be called immediately for treatment. Never be negligent and delay the timing; ensure the health of the meat donkeys. (5) When setting up feeding-position partition fences, the sturdier the better, so as to avoid accidental injuries caused by mutual biting and collisions in pens where males and females are mixed, which could induce tetanus.