Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-p2v8j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-09T03:00:28.826Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Thermoregulation and water balance in fat-tailed sheep and Kacang goat under sunlight exposure and water restriction in a hot and dry area

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 April 2011

D. P. Rahardja ,
A. L. Toleng  and
V. S. Lestari
D. P. Rahardja*
Affiliation:
Animal Physiology Laboratory, Animal Agriculture Faculty, Hasanuddin University – Makassar, 90245 South Sulawesi, Indonesia
A. L. Toleng
Affiliation:
Animal Physiology Laboratory, Animal Agriculture Faculty, Hasanuddin University – Makassar, 90245 South Sulawesi, Indonesia
V. S. Lestari
Affiliation:
Animal Physiology Laboratory, Animal Agriculture Faculty, Hasanuddin University – Makassar, 90245 South Sulawesi, Indonesia
*
†E-mail: djoniprawira@yahoo.com
Get access

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyze differences in thermoregulation and water balance under conditions of heat load and water restriction between fat-tailed sheep (S) and Kacang goats (G). The daily intakes of food and water, daily outputs of urine and feces, rectal temperature, respiration rates, hematocrit values and plasma volumes of five shorn S and five G were determined over 10 days of four consecutive experimental conditions: (1) indoor – unrestricted water; (2) indoor – restricted water; (3) 10 h sunlight exposure – unrestricted water; and (4) 10 h sunlight exposure – restricted water. There was a 6- to 7-day adjustment period between two consecutive conditions. The study was conducted during the dry season. The animals were placed in individual cages, fed chopped native grass ad libitum and had free access to a urea–molasses multi-nutrient block. Under sunlight exposure with unrestricted water availability, S and G record an increase in the maximum rectal temperatures from 39.2°C to 40.2°C and from 39.9°C to 41.8°C, respectively. The thermoregulatory strategy used by S for maintaining a lower rectal temperature mostly depends on increasing the respiration rate as the main cooling mechanism. On the other hand, G apparently used sweating as the predominant mechanism for cooling. Moreover, G seemed to be more tolerable to higher heat storage and body temperature than S with a significant increase in plasma volume (P < 0.01), and this may be beneficial to the animals for the prevention of water loss. Under restricted water condition in either indoor or outdoor environment, both species decreased their plasma volume significantly, but rectal temperatures were relatively maintained. In all experimental conditions, the daily total water exchanges (ml/kg0.82 per day) of S were significantly higher than G (P < 0.01). However, when the percentages of the total daily water exchange were considered, the water lost through urination (38% to 39%), defecation (11% to 14%) and evaporation (46% to 49%) by S and G was not significantly different. Therefore, the results from this study clearly showed that S and G have different homeostatic strategies for the regulation of body temperature and fluid to cope with heat load and water restriction. These differences may have an important impact on the production management of S and G.

Keywords

sheepgoatwater balancethermoregulationplasma volume
Type
Full Paper
Information
animal , Volume 5 , Issue 10 , 26 August 2011 , pp. 1587 - 1593
Copyright
Copyright © The Animal Consortium 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abdullah, R, Falconer, IR 1977. Response of thyroid activity to feed restriction in the goat. Australian Journal of Biological Sciences 30, 207–215.Google Scholar
Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) 1990. Official methods of analysis, 15th edition. AOAC, Washington, DC, USA.Google Scholar
Baker, MA, Nijland, MJM 1993. Selective brain cooling in goats – effects of exercise and dehydration. Journal of Physiology (London) 471, 679–692.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brody, S 1945. Bioenergetic and growth, with special reference to the efficiency complex in domestic animals. Reinhold Publishing Corporation, New York, NY, USA.Google Scholar
Chaiyabutr, N, Buranakarl, C, Muangcharoen, V, Loypetjra, P, Pichaichanarong, A 1987. Effects of acute heat stress on changes in the rate of liquid flow from the rumen and turnover of body water of swamp buffalo. Journal of Agricultural Science (Cambridge) 108, 549–553.Google Scholar
Christopherson, RJ, Kennedy, PM 1983. Effect of thermal environment on digestion in ruminants. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 63, 447–496.Google Scholar
Dmi'el, R 1986. Selective sweat secretion and panting modulation in dehydration goats. Journal of Thermal Biology 11, 157–692.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Degen, AA, Shkolnik, A 1978. Thermoregulation in fat-tailed Awassi, a desert sheep, in German mutton Merino, a mesic sheep. Physiological Zoology 51, 333–339.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
El Nouty, FD, Hassan, GA, Taher, TH, Samak, MA, Abo-Ellezz, Z, Salem, MH 1988. Water requirement and metabolism in Egyptian Barki and Rahmani sheep and Baladi goats during spring, summer and winter seasons. Journal of Agricultural Science (Cambridge) 111, 27–34.Google Scholar
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 2007. Feed supplementation block, urea–molasses multinutrient blocks: simple and effective feed supplement technology for ruminant agriculture, paper 164. FAO Animal Production and Health, Rome, Italy.Google Scholar
Joshi, BC, Aravindam, M, Singh, K, Bhattacharyya, NK 1977. Effect of high environmental stress on the physiological responses of bucks. Indian Journal of Animal Sciences 47, 200–202.Google Scholar
Meyer, AH, Langhans, W, Scharrer, E 1989. Vasopressin reduces food intake in goats. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology 74, 465–473.Google Scholar
Molony, DA, Reeves, WB, Hebert, SC, Androli, TE 1987. ADH increases apical Na+, K+, 2Cl− entry into mouse medullary thick ascending limbs of Henle. American Journal of Physiology 252, F177–F180.Google Scholar
Purohit, GR, Ghosh, PK, Taneja, GC 1972. Water metabolism in desert sheep, effects of various degrees of water restriction on the distribution of body water in Mawari sheep. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 23, 685–691.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robertshow, D 2004. Temperature regulation and thermal environment. In Duke's physiology of domestic animals (ed. WO Reece), pp. 962–973. Comstock Publishing Associates, Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London.Google Scholar
Robertson, GL 1984. Abnormalities of thirst regulation. Kidney International 25, 460–469.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sand, JM, Nonoguchi, H, Knepper, MA 1987. Vasopressin effects on urea and H2O transport in inner medullary collecting duct sub-segments. American Journal of Physiology 253, F823–F827.Google Scholar
Silanikove, N 1987. Impact of shelter in hot Mediterranean climate on feed intake, feed utilization and body fluid distribution in sheep. Appetite 9, 207–215.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Silanikove, N 1989. Inter-relationship between water, food and digestible energy intake in desert and temperate goats. Appetite 12, 163–170.Google Scholar
Silanikove, N 1992. Effects of water scarcity and hot environment on appetite and digestion in ruminants: a review. Livestock Production Science 30, 175–194.Google Scholar
Silanikove, N 2000a. The physiological basis of adaptation in goats to harsh environments. Small Ruminant Research 35, 181–193.Google Scholar
Silanikove, N 2000b. Effects of heat stress on the welfare of extensively managed domestic ruminants. Livestock Production Science 67, 1–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silanikove, N, Tadmore, A 1989. Rumen volume, saliva flow rate and systemic fluid homeostasis in dehydrated cattle. American Journal of Physiology 256, R809–R815.Google Scholar
Taymour, KH, Kamar, GAR, Gabr, HA, El-Masry, KM 1984. Water balance in goats maintained under mild and hot weather. Egyptian Journal of Animal Production 24, 237–246.Google Scholar
Wilkinson, L 1996. Statistics: Systat 6.0 for Windows. SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA.Google Scholar
Williams, AJ, Thornberry, KJ, Nicol, H 1991. A comparative investigation of the volume of plasma and extracellular fluids and renal clearance of urea and creatinine in Merino sheep from flock with genetic capacities for wool. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 42, 1311–1321.Google Scholar