Raising donkeys still requires a certain amount of experience and skills.
(1) Selection. Donkeys in my country are divided into three categories according to their body size: large donkeys include Shaanxi Guanzhong donkeys and Shandong Dezhou donkeys (Bohai donkeys), weighing between 250 kg and 290 kg, and breeding male donkeys also weigh more than 350 kg; medium-sized donkeys include Shanxi donkeys Jinnan donkeys, Guangling donkeys, Henan Huaiyang donkeys, and Gansu Qingyang donkeys weigh between 220 and 250 kilograms, and some male breeding donkeys weigh more than 300 kilograms; small donkeys include Henan donkeys, Shaanxi Gunsha donkeys, Inner Mongolia Kulun donkeys, Ningxia Xiji donkeys, Gansu Liangzhou donkeys, Sichuan donkeys, Yunnan donkeys, Tibetan donkeys, and Liaoning donkeys weigh between 160 kg and 220 kg, and some male donkeys weigh more than 250 kg. When raising meat donkeys, it is better to select medium-sized donkeys, followed by large donkeys. Small donkeys are mostly used for making donkey hide gelatin, and their meat is also put on the market.
1. Choose female donkeys with good parental strains
2. Choose female donkeys that have a strong appetite, grow quickly, are over 2 years old, and weigh more than 100kg.
(2) Breeding
1. The female donkey for breeding must be 2 years old and weigh more than 150kg.
2. According to the estrus period of the female donkey, adopt the principle of "pair the old donkey early, the young donkey late, and neither old nor young".
3. Female donkeys must give birth to foals in the mild spring, that is, breeding from June to July and foals from March to April.
(3) Feeding
Adult donkey fattening
1. Newly purchased donkeys should drink only water on the first day; drink water on the second day, and feed green grass or Hay; drink water on the 3rd day, eat grass or hay ad libitum, and add 0.5 kg of wheat bran; the same as above on the 4th to 6th day, add 1 kg of corn.
2. After a 6-day transition period, you can enter the fattening period, and feed roughage cereal grass, cottonseed hulls, soybean straw, corn stalks, etc. freely; feed 3.5 kg to 4 kg of mixed concentrate per head per day , its composition is: cottonseed cake or soybean meal, peanut cake 50%, corn flour 29%, wheat bran 20%, salt 1%, and each head is fed with 20 grams of sodium bicarbonate every day.
3. During the fattening period, exercise should be restricted, clean drinking water should be provided, the donkey body should be brushed every day, and the pen and surrounding environment should be kept dry and hygienic. They can be slaughtered after 60 to 70 days of fattening.
Fattening of young donkeys
1. The purchased donkeys are dewormed, not castrated, and raised in separate troughs according to gender and weight.
2. Newborn donkeys eat colostrum for 6 days and then breastfeed after 7 days. After 15 days of training, they eat gruel made by mixing corn, wheat, and millet in equal parts, and adding a little sugar to induce it. For food intake, feed 10 to 20 grams per day.
3. After 22 days of age, feed 80g to 100g of mixed concentrate. The formula is: soybean meal plus 50% cotton kernel cake, 29% cornmeal, 20% wheat bran, 1% salt, 1 Each donkey is fed 100g to 200g per day when it is one month old, 500g to 1000g per day when it is 2 months old, and 3.5kg per day after 9 months of age. The entire fattening period consumes 500kg of concentrate. For example, if cottonseed is fried yellow or cooked until it swells and cracks, and each donkey is fed 1 kilogram per day, the fattening effect will be better.
4. Feed roughage ad libitum, and use cereal grass, soybean straw, peanut seedlings, sweet potato vines, eared silage corn, and high-quality pasture, and the guillotine should be short.
5. Feed 4 times in the morning, noon and night. The farmer’s proverb says, “Horses will not be fat without night grass.” The same is true for donkeys. It is emphasized that they should be fed with night grass. The farmer's proverb "Grass feeds water and helps the spirit", which means eating more grass will make you gain weight.
6. When feeding, pay attention to feeding less and adding more often, stir the four corners, drink enough water, and add appropriate amount of salt.
7. Brush the donkey’s body every day, remove feces and urine, and clean the food trough.
8. There are 20 to 25 donkeys in each group. They can move freely, eat roughage, drink water and salt freely.