The objective of this study was to evaluate the morphology and biometrics of female Amiata donkeys reared in four different areas of southern Tuscany, Italy, to determine the differentiation degree of animals. Four southern Tuscan areas were investigated: two mountainous zones (East and West Amiata) and two flatter areas (Coastal area and Siena surrounding). Morphology and biometrics of adult female Amiata donkeys were collected to determine the homogeneity of the population. Primitive coat markings typical of the breed (shoulder and leg stripes) were found in Amiata donkey. Jennets from Siena surrounding were more dolichomorphic, while West Amiata individuals were smaller. The Principal Component Analysis and the Discriminant Analysis separated the Siena surrounding jennets from the other populations. This result was confirmed through the heatmap representation. The biometrics found in this research confirm that Amiata donkey is a small-medium sized breed suitable for different purposes.

In this work were studied morphological characteristics and biometric parameters of the Amiata donkey. The Amiata donkey is a local endangered breed and derives from the homonym mountain in Tuscany. This donkey, which was used, over the past, like pack animal in farms and in mines, is now involved in milk production, onotherapy and trekking. The averages and the standard deviations of the biometric parameters and the frequency of the morphological characters of foals, adult females and stallions were calculated. The measures of the adult females were estimated by ANOVA considering three different classes of age: 3-4, 5-6, over 6 years old. The average sizes were: height at withers of 129.8±4.7 and 125.8±5.6 cm, thorax circumference of 145.6±7.8 and 145.0±7.8 cm, front shank circumference of 18.3±0.8 and 16.9±1.5 cm, for stallions and adult females respectively. All the observed donkeys presented dark grey coat with the shoulder stripe. The zoometric indices of the adult females did not differ betw...

Preliminary studies on hoof characteristics in Amiata donkey

Productive performances of Maremmana young bulls reared following organic rules and slaughtered at 18 and 24 months of age

The Maremmana breed is characterised by rusticity, resistance to harsh environments and good growth ability and it could be considered as one of the most suited breeds for extensive rearing in Italy. Moreover, Maremmana presents high fertility and good fostering ability but, on the other hand, the age at first calving appears quite high. This could probably be due to reduced feed availability to which animals are frequently subjected. The aim of this paper was to determine the age at puberty in Maremmana heifers, the repeatability of the reproductive cycles along the seasons and to verify the possibility to anticipate the age at first service. Haematic levels of progesterone and 17-β-estradiol were determined weekly in 6 heifers raised in pens and fed with 0.70 Milk FU/kg DM and 121 g of gross protein/kg d.m, starting from 9 up to 25 months of age. Metabolic profile was determined monthly to highlight possible metabolic unbalances that could affect reproductive activity. Plasma was submitted to RIA analysis in order to measure steroidal hormones. Puberty was considered reached when two subsequent measures of progesterone resulted higher than 1 ng/ml of plasma. This happened in 5 out of 6 heifers at an average age of 17 months. The fluctuation of the hormonal levels throughout the year seems to exclude the seasonality of the oestrous cycle. The results showed that the level of the most important metabolites is within the normal range and it does not seem to interfere with the choice to anticipate the first service by one year. Possible periods of anoestrus noticed in some herds could be linked to the reduced availability of pastures in a few months of the year