Adaptive Mechanisms of Sheep to Climate Change

Effect of Dry Season Supplementary Feeding and Parity on Performance of Desert Sheep in North Kordofan State, Sudan

“…Supplementation and steaming up with concentrate that given to desert ewes had improved the weight of the animals at mating, post lambing and weaning time, this increase in weight in supplemented and steaming up ewes had positive effect on weight change at lambing and post lambing, where those ewes were less weight lost during lactation and lambs suckling when body at negative energy balance. These results were in line with [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] and [17] who confirmed that a diet with 45% concentration supplementation significantly improves the weight and performance of Tibetan sheep. [18][19] stated that flushing and steaming-up affected ewe weight at lambing (p < 0.05) and reproductive performance, his results were noticed in this study.…”

“…The cumulative effects of nutritional and walking stress during grazing in the hotter parts of the year compromise the productive and reproductive performances of the sheep through reduced feed intake, modified endocrine profile, lower rumination and nutrient absorption and higher maintenance demands [7]. Variation in live weight change in the ewe flock during periods of poor nutrition can affect farm profitability through the effects of live weight loss on potential stocking rate, management interventions including supplementary feeding, and ewe and lamb survival and productivity [8].…”

“…Increasing the premating weight and parity or age of ewes could increase the pregnancy rate and multiple births [10][11]. Nutritional interventions involving season-specific feeding and micronutrient supplementation may help the animal to sustain its production during adverse environmental conditions [7]. In order to improve the productive and reproductive capacity of smallholder ruminant animals, there is a need to look at ways of extending the availability and quality of feedstuffs produced on smallholder farms using simple and cost effective options, to face the lack of feed due to climate change.…”