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The donkeys, together with other labor animals (mules and hinnies) are the domestic animals that are losing their popularity continually among the rural population in Bulgaria. For the last decades the population of donkeys in Bulgaria, decreased nearly 10 times, from 328 587 donkey registered in 1990 to 35 000 in 2013. For some obvious reasons they were pushed aside, as in recent times it is much easier for a smallholder farming to cultivate the land with modern machinery than with animal power. Nevertheless, in the last few years many organizations in Europe and even in Bulgaria recall their attention to donkeys as an important genetic resource, an animal that needs to be protected, and revived into the modern times. The objective of the experiment was to estimate and compare the body measurements of male and female donkeys reared in Bulgaria. The coat color of the animals was also recorded in order to estimate the variation of it inside the groups. A total number of 198 donkeys (74 males and 124 females) were included in the study. The animals were located in different regions of Bulgaria. From each individual the main four body measurements were taken: height at the withers, body length, chest circumference and cannon bone circumference. The average height at the withers for male donkeys was 120.40±7.13 cm as for the females it was 119.75±6.83 cm. Body length for males and female was respectively 124.47±7.62 and 123.71±8.01 cm on average. Mean values for chest and cannon bone circumferences for male individuals were 137.08±9.64 and 16.15±1.21 cm, the same traits on female donkeys were on average 134.16±8.11 and 15.65±1.27 cm. |
