Estimated live weight of growing Pêga breed donkeys

Moreira, Cristiano G.; Balieiro, J. C. C.; Menezes, Manoel Lima de; Ribeiro, Gabriela de Cássia; Nascimento, Olivia Carmen de Araújo; Brandi, Roberta Ariboni

doi:10.1590/0103-8478cr20161120

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…The present study may be novel in being the first study to report the growth parameters of the largest number of local breeds of donkeys in China. Many investigations have reported a high correlation coefficient between body weight and body measurement ( 31 , 32 , 34 , 35 ). In our survey, the body weight of donkeys among different donkey original breeding farms were also compared, and the national and provincial donkey original breeding farms showed a higher growth performance than self-own farms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A survey report on the donkey original breeding farms in China: Current aspects and future prospective

Zhang

Huang²,

Wang³

et al. 2023

Front. Vet. Sci.

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IntroductionThe number of the large-scale donkey breeding farms in China has increased dramatically. However, information regarding the situation of a Chinese donkey population under large-scale donkey breeding farms is limited.MethodsThis survey report was conducted using questionnaires online to investigate the current situation of the donkey original breeding farms in China, in terms of donkey stock, local breeds, reproductive parameters, growth and lactation performance, and future perspectives. China has developed the donkey reserve system based on national, provincial and non-governmental (self-own) donkey original breeding farms.ResultsIn the present study, a total of 38 donkey original breeding farms concentrated in Northern of China were studied, and 52% of them keep their donkeys with a stocking density of 100–500 donkeys. China is rich in various local donkey breeds, and 16 local donkey breeds including large-sized, medium-sized and small-sized breeds were collected in our survey. Dezhou donkey are prevalent with a percentage of more than 57% of the total donkeys, while the Cullen donkeys belong to small-sized donkey breeds are scare. The reproductive efficiency and donkey productivity were different across donkey farms, indicating potential differences in management and breeding practices between different donkey original breeding farms. The artificial insemination has been performed in these donkey farms with an average proportion of 73%. Regarding the donkey productivity, the national and provincial donkey original breeding farms showed a higher birthweight and fat content in donkey milk than self-own farms. Furthermore, our results indicate that the donkey breeds with different body size also have important influence on the reproduction parameters and donkey productivity, with the large-sized donkeys had better performance compared to the small-sized donkeys.DiscussionIn summary, our survey provided valuable baseline information on the situation of donkey population dynamics in the donkey original breeding farms. However, further study is required in the future to investigate the factors such as donkey health care, management and nutrition during breeding, fattening and lactation that influence donkey productivity under large-scale farm systems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A survey report on the donkey original breeding farms in China: Current aspects and future prospective

Zhang

Huang²,

Wang³

et al. 2023

Front. Vet. Sci.

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“…Furthermore, of the non-pregnant subjects (male and female) in the 2017 study, 68% were under the age of five years (minimum of six months), so age-related conformational changes may not have been considered [ 25 ]. It has been suggested that a young age may influence bodyweight predictions based on heart girth in both horses and other animals, and that weigh tapes are typically designed for use in mature equines [ 29 , 30 ]. Therefore, more research may still be required into the influence of gender and age on weigh tape reading, and these would be factors to incorporate if this study was to be repeated.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Affecting Weigh Tape Reading in the Measurement of Equine Body Weight

Grimwood¹,

Lancaster

Handel

2023

Animals

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Accurate measurement of equine body weight is important for evaluating medication dosages and feed quantities. Different methods exist for measuring body weight, including weigh tapes (WT), though accuracy varies. Measurements could be affected by external variables, such as time of day, human error, or uneven surfaces, and also horse-based variables, such as height and body condition score (BCS). The aim of this study was to investigate how different horse-based variables affect WT reading. A retrospective analysis was performed using anonymised data from feed company nutrition consultations (Baileys Horse Feeds). Data included a range of horse-based variables, a WT reading, and true body weight measured on a weighbridge. All horses were over two years of age. Likelihood ratio tests were used to assess whether adding different horse-based variables significantly improved the fit of the quadratic regression model. The variables included were height, BCS, breed, muscle top-line score, and bone type. Exploratory analysis showed that the WT generally underestimated body weight, particularly for horses with higher body weight. Adding height and muscle top-line scores did not significantly improve the fit of the model, suggesting no influence on WT reading over and above actual body weight. Adding breed groupings, BCS, and bone density did improve the fit. Each 0.5 unit increase in BCS increased the WT estimate by 1.24 kg (p < 0.001). These results confirm that a WT does not provide accurate body weight measurements, and generally underestimates body weight, though more so for heavier horses, being more accurate in pony breeds.

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