Heat Stress and Goat Welfare: Adaptation and Production Considerations

التفاصيل البيبلوغرافية
العنوان: Heat Stress and Goat Welfare: Adaptation and Production Considerations
المؤلفون: Rajendran U. Suganthi, Veerasamy Sejian, Madiajagan Bagath, M. V. Silpa, Raghavendra Bhatta, Surinder S Chauhan, Vinícius de França Carvalho Fonsêca, Govindan Krishnan, C. Devaraj, Frank R. Dunshea, John B. Gaughan, Mini Ravi Reshma Nair, Sven König
المصدر: Animals, Vol 11, Iss 1021, p 1021 (2021)
Animals : an Open Access Journal from MDPI
بيانات النشر: MDPI AG, 2021.
سنة النشر: 2021
مصطلحات موضوعية: 040301 veterinary sciences, Reproduction (economics), media_common.quotation_subject, Review, Biology, 0403 veterinary science, heat stress, Agricultural science, Stocking, Animal welfare, lcsh:Zoology, Production (economics), Quality (business), genetics, lcsh:QL1-991, climate, housing, media_common, transportation, lcsh:Veterinary medicine, General Veterinary, business.industry, goat, 0402 animal and dairy science, Subsistence agriculture, 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences, 040201 dairy & animal science, welfare, Agriculture, breeding, lcsh:SF600-1100, Animal Science and Zoology, business, Welfare
الوصف: Simple Summary This review attempts to provide information on the various impacts of heat stress on the production and welfare variables of goats. Goats are predominantly distributed in tropical regions, and hence they are considered a species readily able to survive and produce in these demanding environments. However, the production of goats can be compromised to a degree to survive in harsh environments. Hence, having an in-depth understanding of the various impacts of heat stress on goat production and adaptation may yield important biomarkers to assess welfare in goats. Such efforts may help in the future to breed goats, which could survive and produce optimally under harsh conditions. Abstract This review attempted to collate and synthesize information on goat welfare and production constraints during heat stress exposure. Among the farm animals, goats arguably are considered the best-suited animals to survive in tropical climates. Heat stress was found to negatively influence growth, milk and meat production and compromised the immune response, thereby significantly reducing goats’ welfare under extensive conditions and transportation. Although considered extremely adapted to tropical climates, their production can be compromised to cope with heat stress. Therefore, information on goat adaptation and production performance during heat exposure could help assess their welfare. Such information would be valuable as the farming communities are often struggling in their efforts to assess animal welfare, especially in tropical regions. Broadly three aspects must be considered to ensure appropriate welfare in goats, and these include (i) housing and environment; (ii) breeding and genetics and (iii) handling and transport. Apart from these, there are a few other negative welfare factors in goat rearing, which differ across the production system being followed. Such negative practices are predominant in extensive systems and include nutritional stress, limited supply of good quality water, climatic extremes, parasitic infestation and lameness, culminating in low production, reproduction and high mortality rates. Broadly two types of methodologies are available to assess welfare in goats in these systems: (i) animal-based measures include behavioral measurements, health and production records and disease symptoms; (ii) resources based and management-based measures include stocking density, manpower, housing conditions and health plans. Goat welfare could be assessed based on several indicators covering behavioral, physical, physiological and productive responses. The important indicators of goat welfare include agonistic behavior, vocalization, skin temperature, body condition score (BCS), hair coat conditions, rectal temperature, respiration rate, heart rate, sweating, reduced growth, reduced milk production and reduced reproductive efficiency. There are also different approaches available by which the welfare of goats could be assessed, such as naturalistic, functional and subjective approaches. Thus, assessing welfare in goats at every production stage is a prerequisite for ensuring appropriate production in this all-important species to guarantee optimum returns to the marginal and subsistence farmers.
وصف الملف: application/pdf
اللغة: English
تدمد: 2076-2615
URL الوصول: https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doi_dedup___::1fbe0a2eae02a8cc2eaa35d6ab3e35e0
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/4/1021
Rights: OPEN
رقم الانضمام: edsair.doi.dedup.....1fbe0a2eae02a8cc2eaa35d6ab3e35e0
قاعدة البيانات: OpenAIRE