Study On The Production System For Donkeys In Small-holder Farms In Western Liaoning And Eastern Inner Mongolia

Donkeys have been widely used as important domestic animals in China.In recent years,the donkey industry has developed rapidly,donkey products such as donkey-hide gelatin,donkey meat,and high-grade donkey milk are in short supply.As one of the main donkey breeding areas in China,the donkey industry of western Liaoning Province and eastern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region affects the growth potential in China to some extent.However,few information such as feeding,management,breeding and reproductive efficiency of donkey were known in the area.The study was conducted by a cross-sectional random sampling questionnaire survey and on-site measurement.The aim was to investigate the production system of donkeys in small-holder farms in western Liaoning Province and eastern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.It mainly includes the productive and operational activities,the feeding and management,and the reproductive performance of the jenny donkeys.The donkeys were raised in small-holder farms which had 1 or 2 jenny donkeys with 3 family members per farm in average in western Liaoning Province and eastern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.The arable land per farm was different significantly,north Fumeng county was 35.7±15.4 mu and southwest Liaoning was 10.3±4.7 mu.The average age of the main breeders was 58.7±9.6 years old,and education level was 6 to 9 years.The economic structure of small-holder farms was relatively single,and agriculture was the main source of economic income.The main purpose of raising donkeys was “working + breeding”,and the economic hadn't been valued by smallholders until now.The feeding and management of donkeys in small-holder farmers were poor,the forage and concentrated feeds were closely related with the native crops.The main roughage were maize straw and millet straw,the concentrated feeds were single,which maize was the major source.In general,the intake of concentrated feeds was insufficient.The stable conditions for donkeys were poor,which in Jianping county was better than another areas.Small-holder farmers paid litter attention on prevention and control of donkey disease,hoof caring and deworming needed further being improved.The incidence of influenza,colic and skin disease were 18.1%,15.4% and 10.1%,respectively in north Jianping county,which were higher than another areas significantly and should been paid more attention.The population of donkeys were mainly jenny donkeys and foals.The most jenny donkeys were 3-8 years old(61.0%),and it showed that the population would increase in future.The reproductive technology was original,mainly donkeys were breeding by natural mating.Artificial insemination was used more popular in north Aohan county than another areas.Most jenny donkeys were bred in February to May in 2014 to 2016,in contrast the pregnancy rates were lower than the other months.The breeding rate and foaling rate in 2014 and 2015 were 78.1% and 61.1%,respectively.In addition,the foaling interval was 501.6±146.3d,which showed that the reproductive efficiency could be improved in future.It is benefit for improving the level of technology and management of donkey industry in western Liaoning Province and eastern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.In addition,it provided support for the development policy on donkey industry for the local government.