Behavioral aspects of Santa Inês sheep kept in pasture in a tropical rainforest climate

ABSTRACT: This study aimed to evaluate behavioral aspects of Santa Inês sheep in pasture in humid tropical climate. In order to do so, nine Santa Inês sheep were kept on pasture, exposed to the climate directly, without shade, for 24 days, with 12 alternate days in each period (dry and raining) in 2015. The behavioral parameters evaluated were: food consumption, standing idleness, lying idle and rumination. Observations occurred from 08:00 A.M. to 05:55 P.M. The experimental was a completely randomized design (CRD) with two treatments (rainy season and dry period), nine replications, one animal per experimental unit. To understand the correlations of the behavioral parameters with the climatic variables, Pearson’s correlation was performed. Approximate average values between the rainy and dry periods for the behavioral variables were observed, but there was a greater intake in the volume of water in the dry period (9.59L/sheep). Also, there were significant differences in the behavior of the animals throughout the day. In the hottest time of the day, at 02:00 P.M., there was standing idle of 25.83min., lying idle of 1.21min., and spent less time-consuming food (27.08min.) in relation to other schedules. We concluded that the sheep had similar behavioral parameters in the rainy and dry periods, but when we observe the times of the days, the behaviors are different. The main activity recorded was grazing, and the variables, temperature and relative humidity of the air influence differently between the seasons, being more marked in the dry period.

摘要：本研究旨在评估湿润热带气候下牧场中圣塔内斯羊（Santa Inês sheep）的行为特征。为开展此项研究，2015年选取9只圣塔内斯羊，置于无遮阴的露天牧场连续饲养24天，其中干季与雨季各占12天，分阶段轮换饲养。本次评估的行为参数包括：采食量、站立静息、趴卧静息与反刍行为。观察时段为每日上午8:00至下午5:55。本实验采用完全随机设计（completely randomized design, CRD），设置2个处理组（雨季与干季），共9次重复，每头羊作为独立实验单元。为探究行为参数与气候变量间的相关性，本研究开展了皮尔逊相关分析（Pearson’s correlation）。结果显示，雨季与干季的行为变量近似平均值相近，但干季单只羊日均饮水量更高，达9.59升。此外，动物全天的行为模式存在显著差异：在当日最热时段（下午2:00），站立静息时长为25.83分钟，趴卧静息时长为1.21分钟，且用于采食的时间较其他时段更短，仅为27.08分钟。本研究最终得出结论：圣塔内斯羊在雨季与干季的整体行为参数相近，但单日不同时段的行为表现存在显著差异。本次记录的主要活动为放牧，且气温与空气相对湿度对行为的影响随季节有所不同，在干季表现更为显著。