Ingestive behavior and thermoregulation in sheep fed forage cactus silage undergoing intermittent water supply

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the effect of using forage cactus silage in the diet of sheep under intermittent water supply on its ingestive behavior and thermoregulation. We used in the experiment thirty-six intact male sheep of undefined genotype with an initial average weight of 19.8 ± 2.1 kg and age of approximately six months. The experimental design was a randomized block design in a 3 × 3 factorial scheme composed of three levels of forage cactus silage in the diet (0, 21, and 42%), three water supply periods (0, 24, and 48 hours), and four replications. For the ingestive behavior, observations were carried out every 5 minutes for 2 periods of 24 hours. Thermoregulatory responses were taken at 7:00 and 15:00 h on days other than those intended for ingestive behavior tests. Intermittent water supply did not affect any of the studied variables (P > 0.05). The use of forage cactus silage significantly influenced the ingestive behavior of animals (P < 0.05). Sheep fed forage cactus silage in the diet presented an average feeding efficiency of 255.77 g DM h −1 and an average rumination efficiency of 102.16 g DM h , respectively. Urinary frequency increased according to the levels of forage cactus silage in the diet, with 23.60 urination per day in animals fed diets with 42% of forage cactus silage and 10.83 urination per day in animals fed control diet. However, the search for water reduced, with averages of 2.73 and 0.54 per day for animals fed 0 and 42% forage cactus silage, respectively. The use of forage cactus silage also increased thermoregulatory responses of sheep, with an average respiratory rate of 103.35 mov. min −1 and heart rate of 140.08 mov. min−1 in the warmest period of the day (in the afternoon). Thus, sheep fed forage cactus silage increases its feeding and rumination efficiencies, decreases its search for water, and increases its thermoregulatory responses. The intermittent water supply within 48 hours does not influence the ingestive behavior and thermoregulation of confined sheep. Key words: Animal welfare. Physiological parameters. Thermoregulatory responses. Rumination. ResumoObjetivou-se avaliar o efeito da utilização de silagem de palma forrageira na dieta de ovinos submetidos a oferta intermitente de água sobre o comportamento ingestivo e a termorregulação de ovinos. Foram utilizados 36 ovinos machos não castrados sem padrão racial, com peso médio inicial de 19,8 + 2,1 kg e idade aproximada de seis meses, distribuídos em delineamento de blocos ao acaso, em esquema fatorial 3 x 3, composto por três proporções de silagem de palma na dieta (0; 21 e 42 %) e três períodos de oferta de água (0; 24 e 48 horas), com quatro repetições. Para o comportamento ingestivo foram realizadas observações a cada 5 minutos durante 2 períodos de 24 horas. As respostas termorregulatórias foram tomadas nos horários das 7 e 15 horas, em dias diferentes daqueles destinados ao comportamento. Observou-se que a oferta intermitente de água não afetou nenhuma das variáveis estudadas (P > 0,05). A utilização ...

Intake, nutrient digestibility, nitrogen balance, and microbial protein synthesis in sheep fed spineless-cactus silage and fresh spineless cactus

“…Thus, the improved intake of spineless cactus in the form of silage when compared with its fresh version is likely not related to the digestibility of the dietary nutrients, but rather to the fermentation products of cactus, which can influence its acceptability by the animals (Nobre et al, 2018;Albuquerque et al, 2020). Nobre et al (2018) evaluated nutrient intake in mixed-breed lambs fed diets with different proportions of spineless-cactus silage and found that the inclusion of 42 % of the ingredient (DM basis) provided DM and NDF intakes of 839.46 and 344.51 g/day, respectively. These results indicate a higher DM intake in comparison with the present experiment, but similar NDF intakes in relation to the CS and CSI diets.…”

“…The use of cactus-based silages in small ruminant diets is already being studied in different regions of the world such as Tunisia (Abidi et al, 2013), Mexico (Miranda-Romero et al, 2018), Zimbabwe (Gusha et al, 2015a, b), and Brazil (Macêdo et al, 2017(Macêdo et al, , 2018Nobre et al, 2018). These studies reported that cactus-based silages have a good fermentation pattern and can therefore properly preserve the ensiled material.…”

Silagem de palma forrageira com Gliricidia Sepium: alternativa alimentar para o Semiárido

“…Nesse sentido, vale ressaltar que além de poder ser fornecida in natura ou farelada (Almeida, 2012), outra estratégia pertinente é a de utilizá-la na forma de silagem, sendo esta tecnologia considerada de alto potencial para alimentação animal, especialmente em regiões com escassez hídrica e alimentar (Macêdo et al, 2017;Nobre et al 2018;Brito et al (2020).…”

The inclusion of cactus pear changes the fermentation process, chemical composition and aerobic stability of arboreal cotton silages

“…It is estimated a planting area that comprises between 500 and 600 thousand hectares of cactus pear cultivation (Dubeux-Junior et al, 2013;Dubeux-Junior, 2016). In this sense, several studies have demonstrated the importance and viability of preserving cactus pear as silage, whether combined with other crops or in the form of a total diet (Nobre et al, 2018;Borges et al, 2019;Pereira et al, 2019;Brito et al, 2020;Matias et al, 2020;Silva-Santos et al, 2020).…”