20/04/2024
Really good info donkey owners should know about taking vitals!
NORMAL VITAL PARAMETERS
Every donkey owner should learn how to check their donkey's vital health parameters so they can pass the info on to your vet should your donkey fall ill.
TEMPERATURE:
Use a thermometer (mercury, digital, etc.) that you would find at any local pharmacy. Use a small amount of lubricant (eg. Vasaline, KY jelly, etc.) and insert the thermometer into your donkey's a**s approximately 1 to 2 inches so that it rests against the re**al wall. Hold the thermometer in place for 1 minute (some digital thermometers signal when it's ready to be read).
Normal Temperature Ranges:
Adult Donkeys 98F - 101F
Newborn Foals 99F - 102F
NOTE: A temperature above 101.5F in an adult donkey is considered a fever.
HEART RATE:
If you have a stethoscope in your barn, place the bell of the stethoscope on the donkey's left side, right behind it's elbow. Listen for the heart sounds ba-bum, ba-bum, ba-bum. Each ba-bum sound counts as one beat. Count the total number of beats over one minute. This is the donkey's heart rate. If you don't have a stethoscope, you might be able feel the horse's heart beat with your hand held in the same spot..
Normal Heart Rate:
Adult Donkeys 28 - 44 beats/minute
Newborn Foals 80 - 100 beats/minute
RESPIRATORY RATE:
Watch your donkey's ribcage move in and out. Count the number of breaths it takes over one minute.
Normal Respiratory Rate:
Adult Donkeys 8 - 16 breaths/minute
Newborn Foals 20 - 40 breaths/minute
MUCOUS MEMBRANES:
Look at your donkey's gums. Note the color and the moisture. Press your finger against the gums and count how many seconds it takes to return to a pink color. This is called the capillary refill time and is an important parameter to check.
Normal Mucous Membranes: Pink, moist with a capillary refill time of less than 2 seconds.
Knowledge is the key to successful donkey ownership. Donkeys are not the same as horses. Although horses, donkeys and zebras all evolved from a common ancestor, divergence (the biological evolutionary process) indicates that the zebra and donkey are more closely related to each other than either is to the horse.
So start learning as much as you can. And the time to start is NOW! Healing Hearts Donkey Shelter And Refuge is offering a Donkey 101 feed, care, health and welfare symposium at our Spokane County branch and at our Okanogan County branch.
WATCH FOR THE ANNOUNCEMENT SOON!