Abstract
BackgroundThe breeding of lactating donkeys is increasing in Western Europe; with it the evaluation of body condition is growing in importance since it is considered a key principle for their welfare. However, assessment of body condition is a complex task, since several factors are involved. The aim of the present study is to investigate which animal-based indicators are the most reliable to describe the body condition of lactating donkeys. For this purpose, new animal-based indicators, which are easy to measure in field conditions (including body measurements, fatty neck score (FNS), dental score), are recorded and their relationship with BCS (a proxy measure for overall adiposity) was assessed. The ones that reveal an association with the BCS are included in an integrated principal component analysis to understand which are the most related to BCS.MethodsFifty-three healthy lactating donkeys of various breeds, including 7 Martina Franca, 10 Ragusano, 2 Romagnolo and 34 crossbreeds, were evaluated. The animal-based indicators that were recorded were: length (OP, olecranon tuber-pinbone and SH, shoulder-hip), heart girth (HG), abdominal circumference (AC), neck length (NL), neck height (NH) and neck thickness (NT) at 0.50 and neck circumference (NC) at 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75, body condition score (BCS) and fatty neck score (FNS). The owners’ evaluation of the BCS was also considered. A dental assessment was performed and the month of lactation and age of each animal was recorded.ResultsNo correlation was found between BCS and the other morphometric body measurements. On the contrary the FNS was correlated with the morphometric measurements of the neck (positive correlation to 0.50 NH and 0.50 NT, 0.50 NC, 0.75 mean NC, and negative correlation to the mean NC:NH and mean NC:NT, 0.50 NC:NT and 0.50 NC:NH ratios). A significant inverse relationship was identified between BCS and dental score. A Principal Component analysis (PCA) separated the BCS classes on the first principal component (PC1). PC1 revealed a meaningful positive correlation between the BCS and the neck measurements (NT, NH and FNS), with high positive loadings, while a negative correlation was found for dental abnormalities. The owners’ evaluation of BCS was different from the expert evaluator’ assessment, since they tended to give higher score that was slightly but significantly correlated to AC.DiscussionA new scoring system, called Fatty Neck Score (FNS), has been proposed for the judgement of the adiposity status of donkey neck. The results suggest that caregivers might use the proposed animal based indicators (BCS, FNS and dental scores) together as a tool for the evaluation of the body condition of lactating donkeys. Our findings highlight that caregivers need to be trained in order to be able to properly record these indicators. Ultimately use of these indicators may help to improve the welfare of lactating donkeys.
Highlights
Donkey’s milk has long been used as a substitute for human milk, and its use is related to the countries in which donkeys are traditionally bred, such as Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe (Vincenzetti, Polidori & Vita, 2007)
In the present study, when the proposed animal-based morphometric indicators of the body were analysed, no correlation was found between them and the body condition score (BCS). This has led the authors to question the suitability of the morphometric measurements used in the study as indicators of the overall adiposity of this species. This lack of correlation could be due to several factors: when employing BCS to measure the overall adiposity of the animal, it is necessary to bear in mind that there is a certain level of subjectivity in the assignment of scores (Carter et al, 2009) and, according to Dugdale et al (2011), there is a loss of sensitivity of subjective BCS systems in overweight subjects
According to Principal Component analysis (PCA), it is necessary to evaluate fatty neck score (FNS), BCS and the present study suggest that the dental condition of donkeys should be considered as a farm-based indicator
Summary
Donkey’s milk has long been used as a substitute for human milk, and its use is related to the countries in which donkeys are traditionally bred, such as Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe (Vincenzetti, Polidori & Vita, 2007). In the last 10 years, the breeding of donkeys for the production of milk has increased, as has the number of published research papers on the use of donkey milk, especially in Western Europe (http://www.gopubmed.org/) This is due to the fact that donkey milk has been demonstrated to be a useful substitute for children who are affected by allergies to the milk proteins of cows, or who suffer from multiple food intolerances (Monti et al, 2007; Monti et al, 2012). The aim of the present study is to investigate which animal-based indicators are the most reliable to describe the body condition of lactating donkeys For this purpose, new animal-based indicators, which are easy to measure in field conditions (including body measurements, fatty neck score (FNS), dental score), are recorded and their relationship with BCS (a proxy measure for overall adiposity) was assessed. The owners’ evaluation of BCS was different from the expert evaluator’ assessment, since they tended to give higher score that was slightly but significantly correlated to AC
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