Donkeys are increasingly popular as companion and working animals. Originating from the African Wild Donkey in hot, semi-arid climates, donkeys have evolved to thrive on low-energy, highly fibrous forages. This article provides a comprehensive guide to donkey diet and nutrition, covering everything from their unique digestive system to practical feeding strategies.
Introduction to Donkey Nutrition
The donkey is a herbivore, meaning its diet consists of plants. These plants provide the energy, protein, minerals, and vitamins necessary for maintenance, work, growth, pregnancy, and lactation. Contrary to the common assumption that donkeys can survive solely on grazing, their nutritional needs vary depending on their activity level, reproductive status, and the quality of available forage. Understanding these requirements is crucial for ensuring the well-being of these animals.
Why Proper Feeding Matters
Proper nutrition is essential for maintaining a donkey's health and well-being. It helps maintain good body condition, reducing the risk of harness and saddle sores in working animals. Good nutrition can also reduce the occurrence and severity of disease, promote growth in young animals, and extend lifespan. Additionally, adequate feeding of female donkeys ensures healthy foals for replacements or income. A thin donkey is more susceptible to disease, harness sores, and reduced productivity.
Understanding the Donkey's Digestive System
Donkeys and horses are non-ruminant herbivores, meaning they digest fiber in the hindgut, unlike ruminants (cattle and buffalo) that digest it in the foregut (rumen). Non-ruminant herbivores compensate by having a greater throughput of food, extracting fewer nutrients compared to ruminants. This explains why donkeys consume more roughage per unit of live weight than cattle, but a lower proportion of the dry matter they eat is digested.
Key Differences from Horses
Compared to horses, donkeys are more efficient at digesting roughage. Studies have shown that food moves through a donkey's digestive tract slower than in a horse's, allowing for better nutrient extraction. While the exact reasons are still debated, it's believed that differences in hindgut microorganisms and a proportionately larger digestive tract contribute to this enhanced ability.
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Anatomy of the Digestive Tract
The donkey's digestive system is similar to that of the horse, comprising the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine (cecum and colon), and rectum.
The Mouth: Lips and Teeth
Donkeys have sensitive and mobile lips that allow them to selectively graze and browse. Their teeth are essential for processing feed, as donkeys cannot ruminate. They bite off grass or roughage and chew it thoroughly, mixing it with saliva to aid breakdown and initiate digestion.
Teeth Development and Care
Young donkeys have deciduous teeth that are replaced by permanent teeth between 2.5 and 4 years of age. The dental formula for permanent teeth is:
2 x (Incisors 3; Canines 1 [males]; Premolars 3 (4); Molars 3) Total = 40
Incisors are used for cutting, while premolars and molars grind food. These teeth grow continuously throughout life. Uneven wear can lead to sharp edges, causing mouth sores and difficulty eating. Regular dental check-ups and rasping (filing) of teeth are crucial for maintaining optimal dental health.
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Stomach: Small and Frequent Meals
The donkey's stomach has a relatively small capacity (8-9 liters). Food passes through quickly (1-2 hours), necessitating frequent small meals (3-4 times a day) for working animals. Infrequent feeding can increase the risk of digestive upsets and colic.
Small Intestine: Nutrient Absorption
The small intestine is the primary site of digestion, where food mixes with enzymes from the pancreas and intestinal glands, as well as bile from the liver. Here, the non-fibrous components of the diet are digested and absorbed, including monosaccharides, amino acids, fatty acids, water, vitamins, and minerals.
Large Intestine: Fiber Fermentation
The large intestine, consisting of the cecum and colon, houses a large population of microorganisms that ferment undigested food and unabsorbed nutrients. These microorganisms break down fiber, releasing volatile fatty acids (acetate, propionate, and butyrate) that the donkey uses for energy. The composition of these microorganisms is influenced by diet, so dietary changes should be gradual to prevent digestive upset.
Rectum: Waste Elimination
The rectum stores feces, which are expelled through the anus along with methane gas and some microbes. Young donkeys acquire cellulose-digesting microorganisms by consuming grass soiled by other donkeys' feces.
Nutrient Requirements and Provision
Donkeys require water, energy, protein, minerals, and vitamins for optimal health.
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Water: Essential for Hydration
Water is often overlooked, but it's crucial for donkey health. Donkeys, having evolved in desert environments, generally require less water per unit of live weight than other large mammals, except camels. Water requirements depend on diet, work level, physiological state, and ambient temperature.
Energy: Fueling Activity
Energy requirements depend on the donkey's size, activity level, and physiological state (e.g., pregnancy, lactation). Digestible energy (DE) is the amount of energy in feed minus what's lost in feces. Donkeys typically require about 75% of the DE needed by a horse of the same size due to their efficient hindgut fermentation.
Protein: Building Blocks for the Body
Proteins are composed of amino acids used in various bodily functions. Donkeys are more efficient at utilizing dietary protein than horses and require less protein in their diet.
Carbohydrates: Structural and Nonstructural
Carbohydrates are classified as structural (fiber) and nonstructural (NSC). Structural carbohydrates (cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin) are fermented in the hindgut, while nonstructural carbohydrates (sugars, starch) are broken down in the small intestine. A traditional donkey diet is high in fiber and low in NSC.
Fat: Limit Intake
Fat is a calorically dense nutrient that should be limited in most donkey diets.
Vitamins and Minerals: Essential Micronutrients
Donkeys require vitamins and minerals that are often not adequately met by a forage-only diet. A loose vitamin and mineral supplement or a low-NSC ration balancer can provide these essential nutrients without adding excess calories. Salt blocks can also be provided, but intake can be variable.
Practical Feeding Strategies
Forage: The Foundation of the Diet
Forage should be the foundation of a donkey's diet. Straw is an ideal choice due to its high fiber and low NSC content. If straw is unavailable, mature grass hay with low digestible energy, protein, and NSC, and high neutral detergent fiber (NDF; around 70% as-fed) is suitable. Hay analysis is essential to confirm nutrient levels.
Avoiding Problematic Feeds
Legume hay (alfalfa, clover) should be avoided due to its high protein and digestible energy content, which can lead to obesity and related health issues. Pasture grasses should be limited due to varying nutritional values, especially NSC. Grazing muzzles can help reduce intake while still allowing exercise and social interaction.
Supplementation
A loose vitamin and mineral supplement can be added to provide essential nutrients without added calories. A salt block can also be provided. Low-NSC concentrates can be used for donkeys needing extra calories, but sweet feeds and high-NSC concentrates should be avoided.
Addressing Chewing Difficulties
If a donkey has chewing problems or cannot digest long-stem forage, pelleted or cubed forage can be used with a ration balancer or low-NSC concentrate. Complete feeds, which are concentrates providing the total ration in pelleted or extruded form, are also an option. A nutritionist can help balance these diets.
Feeding Rates
For ration balancers, commercial concentrates, and complete feeds, always follow the feeding rates on the bag. Donkeys generally require about 25% less feed than horses of the same size.
Managing Your Donkeyâs Dietary Needs
Maintaining a diet that mimics a donkey's natural grazing habits is essential for their overall health. Here are some key guidelines:
Quality Hay and Forage
High-fiber forage, such as grass hay, plays a vital role in the diet of donkeys. It provides the necessary fiber content that aids in healthy digestion and prevents issues such as colic. The indigestible fiber helps regulate the movement of food through their digestive system, promoting a healthy gut environment.
Note: Stay away from legume hay such as alfalfa and clover as it is too rich for donkeys.
Providing access to clean, dust and mold free hay helps maintain their digestive health and ensures they receive the necessary nutrients. The general rule of thumb is feed 2% of the donkey's body weight in dry forage.
Healthy donkeys do not need packaged feeds and grain. Because these feeds are typically designed for horses or other types of livestock, they are typically too rich, too high in sugar and fat, and too low in fiber for donkeys. One of the worst things you can feed a donkey is sweet feed, or sugary treats, including apples and carrots. However, donkeys with health or low weight issues, can be fed properly formulated feeds that are low in sugar, low in fat, and high in fiber. A donkey knowledgeable vet or equine nutritionist should be consulted first.
Monitoring and Limiting Grazing Time
While donkeys enjoy grazing on grass, it's essential to be cautious about overconsumption, especially when it comes to lush, green grass. An excess of rich, green grass can lead to health issues such as founder (laminitis), a painful condition caused by inflammation of the sensitive laminae inside the hoof. Laminitis can result in lameness and even long-term damage if not managed effectively. Green grass also can lead to donkeys becoming overweight and all the related issues that can go along with that, including metabolic diseases such as cushings. The smaller the donkey, such as miniatures, the more pronounced these issues become.
The best way to prevent the overconsumption of green grass is to remove it from the donkey's diet completely. Dry lotâs or paddocks with very limited grass are ideal. If thatâs not possible, minimizing the impact of grass becomes crucial, especially during periods of rapid grass growth when the sugar content in the grass increases. This poses a higher risk of issues like founder.
Mineral and Salt Supplementation
These can be found in block or loose form. They provide essential nutrients that may be lacking in their forage, ensuring they receive a well-balanced diet.
Veterinary Check-Ups and Nutritionist Consultation
Regular veterinary check-ups and advice from a knowledgeable equine nutritionist are essential to tailor the donkey's diet to their specific needs. This also helps in identifying any health issues early and making necessary adjustments to their dietary plan.
Specific Considerations
Working Donkeys
Working donkeys require adequate rest periods and should be offered water and a little feed during breaks. Remember that donkeys may not eat or drink while in harness.
Young Donkeys
Young donkeys obtain cellulose-digesting microorganisms by eating grass soiled by the feces of other donkeys. Coprophagy (eating feces) can also occur in bored or hungry donkeys.
Donkeys in Arid Areas
In arid and semi-arid areas, donkeys graze, eat forbs and shrubs, and strip bark from trees. They should be allowed to graze for 6-7 hours daily on free range. Supplementary feeds may be necessary during the dry season or drought years to maintain body condition.
Poisonous Plants
Be aware of plants poisonous to donkeys, such as cherry trees and black walnut.
Body Condition Scoring
The donkey body condition scale ranges from 1â5, with 1 being emaciated, 3 being ideal, and 5 being extremely obese. Evaluating body condition involves feeling the amount of fat and muscle coverage along the neck, shoulders, withers, ribs and belly, back and loins, and hindquarters.
Feeding Donkeys vs. Horses
Overall, the donkey requires less nutrients compared to the horse and is typically fed about 25% less than a horse of the same size.