Animals (Nov 2022)

Effects of Restricted Availability of Drinking Water on Blood Characteristics and Constituents in Dorper, Katahdin, and St. Croix Sheep from Different Regions of the USA

  • Ali Hussein Hussein,
  • Amlan Kumar Patra,
  • Ryszard Puchala,
  • Blake Kenyon Wilson,
  • Arthur Louis Goetsch

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12223167
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 22
p. 3167

Abstract

Read online

Different hair sheep breeds originated from diverse climatic regions of the USA may show varying adaptability to water deprivation. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the effects of restricted availability of drinking water on blood characteristics and constituent concentrations in different breeds of hair sheep from various regions the USA. For this study, 45 Dorper (initial age = 3.7 ± 0.34 yr), 45 Katahdin (3.9 ± 0.36 yr), and 44 St. Croix (2.7 ± 0.29 yr) sheep from 45 farms in 4 regions of the USA (Midwest, Northwest, Southeast, and central Texas) were used. Ad libitum water intake was determined during wk 2 of period one, with 75% of ad libitum water intake offered during wk 2 of period two, and 50% of ad libitum water intake offered for 5 wk (i.e., wk 5–9) in period three. Water was offered at 07:00 or 07:30 h, with blood samples collected at 08:00 and(or) 14:00 h in wk 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, and 9 for variables such as hemoglobin and oxygen saturation and wk 2, 4, 6, 8, and 9 for concentrations of glucose and other constituents. The blood oxygen concentration at 08:00 h was 4.86, 4.93, and 5.25 mmol/L in period one and 4.89, 4.81, and 5.74 mmol/L in period three for Dorper, Katahdin, and St. Croix, respectively (SEM = 0.160; p = 0.001). Blood oxygen at 14:00 h was 4.37, 4.61, and 4.74 mmol/L in period one and 4.66, 4.81, and 5.46 mmol/L in period three for Dorper, Katahdin, and St. Croix, respectively (SEM = 0.154; p = 0.003). St. Croix were able to maintain a higher (p p > 0.05) between periods one and three. Conversely, concentrations of cholesterol (56.2 and 69.3 mg/dL; SEM = 1.33) and triglycerides (28.6 and 34.5 mg/dL in wk 2 and 9, respectively; SEM = 0.98) were greater (p < 0.05) in period three vs. 1. In conclusion, water restriction altered almost all the blood variables depending upon severity and duration of restriction, but the hair sheep breeds used from different regions of the USA, especially St. Croix, displayed considerable capacity to adapt to limited drinking water availability.

Keywords