EFFECT OF HOUSING SYSTEM ON PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES OF SHEEP DURING SUMMER

摘要

The basic justification for animal shelter is to alter or modify the environment for the benefit of animals (Muller et al., 1994). The adverse effects of high ambient temperature, humidity, solar radiation and wind velocity mediated through various physiological responses on animal productivity are well documented (Joshi et all991; Muller et al., 1994; Srivastava and Gupta, 1996), The objective of the present study was to investigate the beneficial effects of providing shelter to sheep during summer.Twenty adult Marwari and Patanwadi female sheep were exposed for a week to three covered and one open housing system before the start of experiment for acclimatization. The experimental animals were randomly divided in to four treatment groups and housed under different covered areas, namely, T_1: Asbestos sheet roofed house, T_2: Agro-net, T_3: under the trees shade and T_4: under open. The experimental animals were tied individually with cotton tope in front of galvanized manger in two covered and one open housing system and on pacca manger under asbestos housing system and were maintained on ICAR feeding standard (Ranjhan, 1998). The mangers were partitioned by constructing kachcha brick walls using mud and cow dung in order to provide comfortablefeeding to experimental animals. The chaffed green Lucerne and pelleted concentrate and mature pasture grass (Dicanthium annulatum) were offered to fulfill the requirement of DCP and TDN of animals. The physiological response viz., rectal temperature, heart beat and respiration rate of all the experimental animals were recorded every week at 07:30 h and 14:30 h. The experimental data were analyzed by two factorial cornplete randomized design individual analysis (Snedecor and Cochran, 1980).