The influence of the sex and height at the withers on pelvis size of donkeys in Austria

Abstract

During the recent decades, the donkey, as an ever-employed labour animal, is slowly but steadily losing its value. The agricultural industrialization, mechanization of many processes at the mountain and valley farms led to rejection of the donkeys as a livestock. This reduction in donkey numbers evokes some concerns. This fact is a good reason to study all aspects of these domestic animals, in order to revive their role and to restart their livestock growth in the familiar habitat, and bring them into the new environmental conditions. For the recent research, 35 donkeys (23 males and 12 females) were chosen. All animals lived on Styria terrain in Austria. The following morphometric parameters were analysed: height at the withers (VG), pelvis length (DK), pelvis width (SK), and point of buttock width (SSK). For the males, the average height at the withers was 116.70 cm and the average pelvis length – 40.13 cm. The average pelvis width was 38.56 cm, and the average point of buttock width – 16.39 cm. For the females the average height at the withers was 101.48 cm, the average pelvis length – 36.00 cm, pelvis width was 35.41 cm. The average point of buttock width was 13.66 cm. These measurements show the influence of the height at the withers on the development of the pelvis, particularly on its width and height for both males and females. Comparatively to other donkey populations of the world, the Austrian donkey has an average size.