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Discussion on Nutritional Requirements for Donkeys
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New Member:
Pbarlow
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Posted on Thursday, Jun 30, 2005 - 8:34 am:
I am trying to calculate balanced diets for the long eared residents of my paddock. NRC does not provide info on donkeys in Nutrient Requirements of Horses in so far as I can tell.
This article https://www.cipav.org.co/lrrd/lrrd12/2/agan122.htm
says:"Digestible energy (DE) requirement of donkeys per unit of weight are about 75 percent those of horses and similar to those of ponies and small horses. DE requirement can be estimated at 465 W0.75 KJ/day where W is the live weight of the donkey in kg" but this doesn't provide the standard info that I know how to use.
How can I find out the nutrient requirements for donkeys?
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Member:
Christos
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Posted on Friday, Jul 1, 2005 - 12:09 am:
Hi, Patricia,
Keep in mind that nutrient requirement estimates and averages are just this, estimates and averages to help you get an idea of what amount of feed you need to store in the first year.
Your actual feeding plan can start around these guidelines, but should then be adjusted to each single animal's condition and individual requirements.
What is the info format you're used to?
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New Member:
Pbarlow
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Posted on Friday, Jul 1, 2005 - 1:08 am:
Christos,
Good advice but my burro collection includes two with special problems. Zekey is 22 years old and appears to have cushings disease. Tobiah is 7 and too plump. Soloman is normal. It is too easy to throw just a bit extra into their pens because they are cute. I would like to use the guidelines to set a maximum amount of feed so no one gets overfed. If you set that "scientifically" at least you have a good reason to stick to your guns when they start calling for more.
I can convert metric to english, so no problem with that. I am using Nicco's feed analyzer to get the data on the feeds.
https://gift-estate.com/feed.exe
What ever info I can get on donkeys will be appreciated.
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Member:
Christos
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Posted on Friday, Jul 1, 2005 - 3:24 am:
Your animals are an excellent example, Patricia. Just 3 animals, and still, 3 different approaches required.
That's exactly why the scientific way of feeding equines is by judging their condition and adjusting the feeding regimen accordingly.
I'd just reduce Tobiah's intake by 10%, adjust Zekey's diet per DrO's suggestions for Cushings and reevaluate/readjust every 10 days until they are stabilised in the desired condition.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Saturday, Jul 2, 2005 - 9:53 am:
Just to emphasize what Christos is saying, you feed equines of any type, age, sex, etc...by judging condition and adjusting feed. The recommendations in the article on Overview of Nutrtion applies to everything from minis to zebras. There is no minimum and maximums, there are average ranges but when you understand that the low range of the average amount of energy needed to maintain condition can be 1/3 the upper range you realize that any particular number is without any meaning for a particular horse. For more see the overview article.
DrO
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