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Asini Corii Collas (ACC; donkey glue) is a crude drug used to promote hematopoiesis and arrest bleeding. Because adulteration of the drug with substances from other animals such as horses, cattle, and pigs has been found, we examined PCR methods based on the sequence of the cytochrome b gene for source species identification. Two strategies for extracting DNA from ACC were compared, and the ion-exchange resin procedure was revealed to be more suitable than the silica-based one. Using DNA extracted from ACC by the ion-exchange resin procedure, PCR methods for species-specific detection of donkey, horse, cattle, and pig substances were established. When these species-specific PCR methods were applied to ACC, amplicons were obtained only by the donkey-specific PCR. Cattle-specific PCR detected as little as 0.1% admixture of cattle glue in the ACC. These results suggest that the species-specific PCR methods established in this study would be useful for simple and easy detection of adulteration of ACC.

The limited availability of food, together with the constraints that traditional management systems impose on the natural foraging behaviour of donkeys, often results in severe under-nutrition. Few studies have been conducted into the digestibility of different forages and little information exists on nutritional requirements of donkeys. In order to measure digestible energy requirements of donkeys under tropical conditions, an experiment was carried out at the Centre for Research in Agricultural Science (CICA) and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Universidad Aut6noma del Estado de México located in the Toluca valley, Central Mexico. Thirty-two donkeys of a body condition typical for Central Mexico were divided into four groups of 8 animals each according to their sex and live weight: group 1 (G1) comprised male donkeys below the average body weight (102+/-5 kg); group 2 (G2) comprised male donkeys of average body weight (121.5+/-4 kg); group 3 (G3) comprised female donkeys below average weight (111.8 +/- 5 kg); and group 4 (G4) comprised female donkeys of average weight (127.6 +/- 5 kg). A diet of oat straw or maize stover and 15% alfalfa hay was offered to meet exact maintenance requirements. The donkeys were monitored for 13 months. The live weight of all animals was recorded daily in order to monitor whether maintenance requirements were being met. Mean daily digestible energy (DE) requirements were measured during the winter, spring, summer and autumn of 2003-2004. Digestible energy requirements of all four sex and liveweight groups were significantly (p > 0.05) higher during the spring than during the other seasons of the year (13.5, 18.0, 10.4 and 14.3 MJ DE per day during winter, spring, summer and autumn, respectively). Predicted DE requirements of donkeys with a live weight range betweenn 90 and 150 kg using the data from the present study were less than those predicted using scaled-down horse feeding standards.

The aim of this work was to describe the feeding strategies for donkeys used by peasant farmers in central Mexico. Feeding strategies for the dry and wet seasons are described, as well as the nutritional characteristics of the main forages and supplements used by the farmers. The extent to which the feeding practices used by farmers matched the digestible energy and crude protein requirements of donkeys for maintenance and work was determined. It was concluded that grazing on native grassland could provide enough energy and protein for donkeys at maintenance level and for those performing only a moderate amount of work. More research in required in order to have better estimates of intake and plant species preferred by donkeys under prevailing grazing conditions.

Two experiments were designed to compare the energy used in carrying loads by donkeys and ponies. In the first experiment 3 donkeys and 3 ponies were compared on treadmills in the UK. Density of load (lead shot or straw) had no significant effect on the energy cost of carrying loads; however, the energy cost of carrying a load decreased significantly (p < 0.001) as the weight of the load increased (in donkeys 6.44, 4.35 and 3.03 J/kg load/m, in ponies 5.82, 3.75 and 3.68 J/kg load/m, for loads of 13, 20 and 27 kg/100 kg liveweight (M) respectively). Differences between species were not significant. In the second experiment energy expenditures were determined in 3 donkeys carrying loads equivalent to 40 kg/100 kg M over gently undulating gravel tracks in Tunisia. Energy costs of carrying the load were 2.34 (SE 0.07) J/kg load/m. The results of both experiments showed that provided the load is balanced, density does not significantly affect the energy cost of carrying; however, as the load increased then the unit energy cost of carrying it decreased. This suggest that it is more efficient in terms of energy used to carry loads equivalent to 27 to 40 kg/100 kg M than it is to carry lighter loads to less than 20 kg/100 kg M.