Seasonal variation of physiological response in ewes of farmers’ flocks under semi-arid tropical environment

This study was conducted to document the seasonal variation in physiological responses of sheep in farmers' flocks under extreme climatic conditions of semi-arid tropical regions. The study was carried out for one year (2012-2013). Forty-eight ewes of 2-4 year age were selected from three villages (two farmers from each village, eight ewes from each farmer). All the ewes were maintained by the farmers in their own management system. They used to take the animals for grazing morning (07:30 h) to evening (17:30 h). No extra mineral and concentrate supplementation were provided to the animals by the farmers. Farmers used to keep the animals in open areas within a surrounding during the night without any shelter above head. Respiration rate (RR), pulse rate (PR), and rectal temperature (RT) were recorded at morning (08:00 h), after noon (14:00 h), and evening (19:00 h) in summer (May-June), autumn (September-October) and winter (December-January) seasons three times at 15 days interval. The meteorological data in the farmers field were recorded twice daily at 8:00 h and 14:00 h for the entire study period. The study indicated significant (p < 0.01) variation in RR and PR with respect to season. Further, the time of the day also had significant (p < 0.05) effect on RR, PR, and RT in all season. Hence, it is pertinent to conclude from this study that seasonal variation had severe impact on physiological responses of sheep in field conditions.