Assessment of Fetal Aortic, Thoracic, and Heartbeat in Healthy Donkey Pregnancies

Practitioners are frequently requested to diagnose and stage pregnancy in donkeys with unknown breeding dates; however, scant work has been done to stage pregnancy in the species. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the association between measurements of fetal aortic, thoracic, and heartbeat with gestational age in donkeys carrying and delivering healthy foals. Multiparous Dezhou donkeys (n = 50) ranging from 4 to 16 years were enrolled in the study by 150 days of gestation. Transabdominal ultrasonography coupled with a 3.5 MHz sectorial convex transducer was performed at 30 day-intervals until delivery to obtain fetal aortic, thoracic, and fetal heartbeat measurements. Data were tested for normality with Shapiro- Wilk's test and then ANOVA and Tukey's. Statistical significance was set at P <.05. The mean duration of pregnancy was 356.6 ± 10.6 days (339–368). There were significant associations between gestational age and fetal aortic (r = 0.89) and thoracic (r = 0.88) measurements. Fetal heartbeat (r = -0.76) was negatively correlated with gestation length. The fetal aortic and thoracic measurements increased from the seventh month of gestation to the term (P <.001). The fetal heartbeat remained steady from 150 days to 270 days of gestation, then continuously decreased from 270 days until parturition (P <.001). In conclusion, fetal aortic and thoracic measurements are strongly associated with gestational age in donkeys. Fetal heartbeat decreases with advanced pregnancy.