By two years of the oslyat ripen for schooling to work. Three-year-old donkeys often begin to be used regularly, but do not burden them with hard work.
The efficiency of donkeys decreases in the absence of their hoof care. For the purpose of maintenance of a desirable shape of hooves constantly monitor their growth and in due time correct curvatures of a horn boot clearing (at least once a month). At hard work on stony soil the donkey is grounded, in all other cases of a hoof it is possible to refuse forging, hooves of donkeys differ in enviable fortress. During the work it is necessary to avoid excessive loadings and, especially, to the maximum at bad feeding. So, when a donkey work couple of days in 7-8 days or use him for casual trips or deliveries of cargo under a load-pack, it is possible to support an animal only on a pasture, but regular work will demand plentiful and full feeding. In case of transition to average loadings to a diet it is necessary to include concentrates, and on heavy – a rough forage and concentrates. Diet: adobe – 2 kg; wheat bran – 1 kg, hay – not less than 2 kg, shredded barley – 1-2 kg. If donkeys at the established feeding keep average fatness and normal working capacity, then it is possible to speak about sufficient feeding safely. Weight loss of an animal will indicate insufficient feeding.
It is possible to prolong high efficiency of a donkey by means of the correct operating mode. The stomach of these animals is small, for this reason the feeding at least has to be triple. If the animal is excited, then he cannot be given to drink. Not given to drink donkey is not attracted by a rough forage. It is impossible to feed grain with a simultaneous poyeniye also. Therefore the working donkey should be given to drink approximately in 30 minutes prior to completion of work.
The donkey productively works 8-10 hours. Under a load-pack for an under-sized donkey, accustomed to work, the normal loading is equal to 60 kg, for average animals – 80-85 kg, and for large individuals – 95 kg. With such load-pack the animal can cover the distance equal of 35 km in a day. During the work on the flat road the donkey can haul freight to harnesses three times bigger, than under a load-pack, but the transition distance with such cargo decreases a little. It is necessary to consider that shafts at a team of donkeys have to go parallel to the earth, then draft power is used especially fully. The efficiency of donkeys decreases with emergence at them of nagnet which can reach very big sizes. Nagneta appear from behind a bad harness and to avoid their emergence, it is necessary to watch a harness carefully. Potnik has to be rather fat, soft, without roughnesses and hardenings. The girth has to be rather wide; it is impossible to use a rope instead of a girth as at a strong inhaling it rubs a breast, and at weak forms will bend on a back. At emergence of the nagnet it is necessary to take urgently measures for treatment of an animal until damage reached the big sizes. To warn stertost and nagneta, it is necessary to examine daily all working donkeys, and at emergence of the first signs of the desease it is necessary to establish the reason of its emergence, and then if it is required, to ask for the veterinary help and to exempt a donkey for several days from work.