EFEITO DO AMBIENTE E DA SUPLEMENTAÇÃO NO COMPORTAMENTO ALIMENTAR E NO DESEMPENHO DE CORDEIROS NO SEMIÁRIDO

Abstract

This work aimed to evaluate the alimentary behavior of grazing lamps. Twenty-seven Santa Ines males, weighting 21.5 kg and 120 days old, were distributed in three different groups: no shade (NS), under shade (S) and under artificial shade (AS), receiving increasing levels of concentrate (0.0; 1.0 and 1.5% of corporal weight). It was observed no interaction between the studied factors. The variance analysis showed significant effect of supplementation in time for grazing by the animals which received 1.5% of corporal weight for supplementation. The resting time at AS was different (P<0.05) of the others p groups NS and S, which were similar between each other. Animals from NS looked for shade 2.3 times, differing (P<0.05) from AS group that looked for shade only 1.29 times. In conclusion, supplementation and use of shade systems affect the alimentary behavior and the performance of Santa Ines sheep grazing in the semiarid. The animals looked for more natural shade than for artificial shade, although, the total time that animals stayed under natural or artificial shade was the same, indicating the possible use of artificial shade systems to improve animals¿ thermal comfort in pastures with no shades.