Ergonomic study of donkeys administered with Pycnogenol® and subjected to packing during the hot-dry season in Northern Nigeria

The aim of the study was to determine some ergonomic parameters of donkeys administered with Pycnogenol (R) (PYC) and subjected to packing during the hot-dry season in northern Nigeria. Fifteen donkeys served as experimental subjects. Group 1 (n=5)donkeys were subjected to trekking only (control), group 2 (n=5)donkeys were subjected to packing (P-PYC), and group 3 (n=5) were administered with PYC (10mg/kg) and subjected to packing (P+PYC). Each group covered a distance of 10km. Some ergonomic parameters were evaluated. The duration of work in control, P-PYC, and P+PYCdonkeys were 170.0 +/- 10 min (2.8h), 126.6 +/- 6.7 min (2.1h), and 112.0 +/- 3.9 min (1.9h), respectively. The energy expenditure obtained for P-PYC group (88.3 +/- 9.8KJ/s) was significantly higher than the values of 28.3 +/- 3.7KJ/s and 73.5 +/- 9.9KJ/s obtained in control and P+PYC groups, respectively. The output was significantly higher in P+PYC group with the value of 5263.2 +/- 135m/h. In conclusion, packing the donkeys during the hot-dry season was stressful; however, PYC may have served as a potent antifatigue agent to reduce the stress.