Effects of diet and roughage quality, and period of the day on diurnal feeding behaviour patterns of sheep and goats under subtropical conditions

Moyo, Mehluli; Adebayo, Rasheed Adekunle; Nsahlai, I. V.

doi:10.5713/ajas.17.0901

Cited by 13 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…In the same way, [56] and [57] reported that Mg, which cannot be stored in the body are involved in energy generating reaction in the tissue of sheep, while Calcium and Potassium are involved in metabolism and body electrolytes balance that secure the health status of the animal vis-à-vis feed intakes. This agrees with the ndings of [58] and [59] who both reported that mineral supplementation has positive effects on feed preference vis-a vis the feed intake and the DMI. [42] also reported that addition of mineral supplement to the diets of sheep increases the preference of such feed by the animal.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Influence of Fossil Shell Flour Supplementation on Feed Preference, Body Condition Scores and Wool Parameters of Dohne Merino Wethers

Ikusika¹,

Fon²,

Zindove³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: The abundance of fossil shell flour (FSF) globally has resulted in an increased interest in its use as a feed additive in sheep diets. This study evaluated the effects of varying inclusion levels of FSF on feed preference, body condition scores and wool parameters of Dohne Merino (DM) wethers. Methods: Twenty-four wethers, weighing 20 ± 1·5 kg on average were fed dietary food-grade fossil shell flour in a completely randomized design of four treatment with six wethers in each treatment. The wethers were fed a basal diet without FSF addition (control, 0%), or with the addition of FSF (2%, 4% or 6%) into the diet for 105 days.Results: Average daily weight gain and body condition score of 2%, 4% and 6 % FSF inclusion levels were higher (P < 0.05) than the control 0%. Wool yield, staple length, coefficient variation of the fibre diameter and fibre <15% of wethers supplemented with FSF were higher (P < 0.05) compared to the diet without FSF. Fibre diameter of the wethers supplemented with FSF were the same (P>0.05) as the control.Wethers preferred FSF supplemented diets to the control. The inclusion of FSF in the diet of DM wethers up to 6% DM showed improvement in the average daily gain and body condition scores, feed intake through preference, wool yield, and quality. Conclusion: The addition of FSF in the diets could be advantageous in Dohne-Merino wethers performance and production with the potential of increasing both the quantity and quality of wool.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Influence of Fossil Shell Flour Supplementation on Feed Preference, Body Condition Scores and Wool Parameters of Dohne Merino Wethers

Ikusika¹,

Fon²,

Zindove³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…It has been reported that feed intake of lambs is reduced at night as a result of an instinctive fear of predation [ 30 ], so it would result in less excretion of faeces early in the morning. On the other hand, according to Sampaio et al [ 13 ], feed degradation and transit in the rumen are continuous but influenced by actual feed intake.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the contrary, in the growing period, P apparent digestibility was greater early in the morning (8:00 a.m.) while in the finishing period, this difference did not persist. As stated earlier, faecal P may include much of the P secreted by saliva that is not reabsorbed [ 35 ], and early morning faecal samples may reflect an increase in undigested P that would be linked to increased salivary P turnover, which is induced by rumination that is usually carried out at night [ 30 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Minimum Effects of Sampling Time on the Apparent Digestibility of Nutrients and Blood Protein Catabolites in Light Lambs

Pelegrin-Valls

Serrano-Pérez

Mata

et al. 2021

Animals

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This experiment aimed to evaluate the effects of sampling time on organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP) and phosphorous (P) apparent digestibility and plasma urea and creatinine concentration in growing and finishing male Ripollesa lambs fed different CP concentrations in the diet. Twenty-four male Ripollesa lambs with 14.5 kg body weight (BW) were randomly assigned to two groups differing in CP content in the growing (14 to 19 kg of BW) and finishing (19 to 25 kg of BW) phases (20% vs. 18% CP and 19% vs. 17% CP, respectively). Faeces collected from the rectum and blood samples collected from the jugular vein were taken at 8:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m. During the growing period, the OM, CP and P apparent digestibility were higher in the lower CP diet (p < 0.05), but only P was affected by the sampling time, being highest at 8:00 a.m. (p < 0.05) compared to other sampling hours. During the finishing period, there were no differences in these digestibility coefficients between diets or sampling times (p > 0.05). Sampling time did not affect (p > 0.05) plasma urea concentrations either in the growing or finishing period. Plasma creatinine concentrations did not differ (p > 0.05) between lambs receiving 18% or 20% CP diets, but during the finishing period, it was lower at 4:00 p.m. in lambs fed 17% CP (p < 0.05) than those offered 19% CP. Overall, the results suggest that the collection schedule to evaluate the protein nutritional status can be shortened through one spot sample of faeces or blood in the morning.

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“…It is possible that both species shared similar diurnal activity patterns as they share the same cues for grazing and rest, triggered by diurnal light fluctuations including dusk and dawn [24]. Shared activity patterns are common in flocking species, such as sheep, due to nutritional requirements after bouts of rest and in response to social facilitation where initiation or increase in a particular behaviour, such as grazing, can be prompted by increases in the same behaviour by other flock mates [12,[26][27][28][29]. Sharing the same activity patterns over the day as sheep could be seen as beneficial in relation to guarding as they are active at the same time as the flock and exhibit corresponding movement levels in their environments at the same time.…”

Section: Diurnal Activity Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In comparison, grazing at night, with accompanying lower levels of vigilance, may heighten the risk of predation and likely provides an advantage to nocturnal predator species such as foxes [46]. This preference for grazing during the day is seen in ruminants, such as sheep, that spent more time standing at night compared to the day enabling increases in levels of vigilance over the nocturnal hours [29]. Exhibiting this behaviour could aid the alpacas in their guardian role, allowing them to increase vigilant behaviours during the nocturnal hours where predation risk is higher.…”

Section: Daily Alpaca Behavioursmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alpaca Field Behaviour When Cohabitating with Lambing Ewes

Matthews

Barwick

Doughty

et al. 2020

Animals

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A common strategy to reduce predator attack on livestock is the deployment of guardian alpacas. However, little research has been conducted on the behaviour of this species while housed with other livestock. This study monitored two male alpacas cohabitating with 180 lambing ewes in order to quantify field behaviour in two phases. Phase one assessed diurnal patterns of alpacas and lambing ewes using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) collars recording data over 41 days, in combination with observational recordings. Phase two developed an alpaca behavioural ethogram through continuous observations from 05:30 to 19:30 h over a 3-day period. The two alpacas shared similar behaviours with commonality of distance travelled, and both species exhibited an increase in activity level based on speed between the times of 05:00 and 17:00 h. The GNSS data indicated that the alpacas flocked with the ewes at night sharing the same resting location, however, would spend time during the day on the outskirts of the paddock. Alpacas were observed to spend the majority of the observation period in two behavioural states: grazing (57%) and resting (27%). As a result of this study we were able to catalogue a range and frequency of field behaviours which alpacas exhibit while cohabitating with lambing ewes. However, further research is needed to determine in more detail how these behaviours correspond with the effectiveness of this species as a livestock guardian.

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Effects of diet and roughage quality, and period of the day on diurnal feeding behaviour patterns of sheep and goats under subtropical conditions

Abstract: Chewing time, number of eating and ruminating session, and duration of eating bouts are physiologically controlled in small ruminants, though chewing time requires isometric scaling during modelling of intake.

Cited by 13 publications

References 34 publications

Influence of Fossil Shell Flour Supplementation on Feed Preference, Body Condition Scores and Wool Parameters of Dohne Merino Wethers

Influence of Fossil Shell Flour Supplementation on Feed Preference, Body Condition Scores and Wool Parameters of Dohne Merino Wethers

Minimum Effects of Sampling Time on the Apparent Digestibility of Nutrients and Blood Protein Catabolites in Light Lambs

Alpaca Field Behaviour When Cohabitating with Lambing Ewes

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