Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effect of walking stress on growth, physiological adaptability and endocrine responses in Malpura ewes in a semi-arid tropical environment

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
International Journal of Biometeorology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Sheep in hot semi-arid environments are mostly reared using extensive systems. In addition to thermal stress and feed scarcity, the animals need to walk long distances for grazing in this ecological zone. A study was conducted to assess the effect of long-distance walking on adaptive capability in terms of physiological, biochemical and endocrine responses in Malpura ewes. Fourteen adult Malpura non-pregnant ewes weighing between 33 and 35 kg were used in the study. The ewes were randomly allocated into two groups of seven animals each: GI (n = 7; Control), and GII (n = 7; walking stress). The animals were stall-fed with a diet consisting of 70% roughage and 30% concentrate. Both GI and GII ewes had uniform access to feed and water. The walking stress group (GII) ewes were made to walk 14 km in two spans between 0900 and 1500 hours with 1 h 30 min for each span (7 km) of walking. The ewes subjected to walking stress (GII) were prevented from grazing by applying a face mask made of cotton thread. The study was conducted for a period of two estrous cycles (35 days) during the autumn season (October–November). Physiological responses were recorded twice daily at 0800 and 1400 hours at weekly intervals. Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein at weekly intervals to study the effects of walking stress on blood biochemical and endocrine parameters. The results indicate that walking stress had significant (P < 0.05) influence on body weight, average daily gain, respiration rate (RR), rectal temperature (RT), haemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), plasma glucose, calcium, phosphorus, aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), tri-iodo-thyronine (T3), thyroxin (T4), and cortisol. However, walking stress did not influence the reproductive hormone levels. The significant changes in RR, RT, plasma cortisol, T3 and T4 show that Malpura ewes have the capability to adapt to long-distance walking, and that adrenal and thyroid gland hormones play a significant role in such adaptation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anderson MJ, Lamb R, Walters JL (1979) Effect of prepartum exercise on feed intake and milk production of multiparous cows. J Dairy Sci 62:1420–1423

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allain CC, Poon LS, Chan CSG, Richmond W, Fu PC (1974) Enzymatic determination of total serum cholesterol. Clin Chem 20:470–475

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Balasubramaniam P, Malathi A (1992) Comparative study of hemoglobin estimated by Drabkin’s and Sahli’s methods. J Postgrad Med 38:8–9

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Berhan T, Puchala R, Goetsch AL, Merkel RC (2006) Effects of walking speed and forage consumption on energy expenditure and heart rate by Alpine does. Small Rumin Res 63(1–2):119–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burtis CA, Ashwood ER (eds) (1999) Tietz textbook of clinical chemistry, 3rd edn. Saunders, Philadelphia

  • Coulon JB, Pradel P (1997) Effect of walking on roughage intake and milk yield and composition of Montbeliarde and Tarentaise dairy cows. Ann Zootech 46:139–146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coulon JB, Pradel P, Cochard T, Poutrel B (1998) Effect of extreme walking conditions for dairy cows on milk yield, chemical composition, and somatic cell count. J Dairy Sci 81:994–1003

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Daramola JO, Adeloye AA (2009) Physiological adaptation to humid tropics with special references to the West African Dwarf (WAD) goat. Trop Anim Health Prod 41:1005–1016

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • D’Hour P, Hauwuy A, Coulon JB, Garel JP (1994) Walking and dairy cattle performance. Ann Zootech 43:369–378

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farley CT, Glasheen J, McMahon TA (1993) Running springs speed and animal size. J Exp Biol 185:71–86

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Garcia-Belenguer S, Palacio J, Gascon M, Acena C, Revilla R, Mormede P (1996) Differences in the biological stress responses of two cattle breeds to walking up to mountain pastures in the Pyrenees. Vet Res 7:515–526

    Google Scholar 

  • Gindler EM, King JD (1972) Rapid colorimetric determination of calcium in biologic fluids with methylthymol blue. Am J Clin Pathol 58:376–382

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gustafson GM, Luthman J, Burstedt E (1993) Effect of daily exercise on perfonnance, feed efficiency and energy balance of tied dairy cows. Acta Agric Scand 43:219–227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henning PH (1987) The effect of increased energy demand through walking exercise on intake and ruminal characteristics of sheep fed a roughage diet. J Agric Sci 109:53–59

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jain NC (1986) Schalm’s veterinary haematology. Lea and Febiger, Philadelphia

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasa IW, Hill MK, Thwaites CJ, Baillie ND (1995) Physiological effects of exercise in male and female Saanen goats at the same body weight but different feed intake. Small Rumin Res 16:83–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kramer CY (1957) Extension of multiple range tests to group correlated adjusted means. Biometrics 13:13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kramer JW (2000) Normal hematology of cattle, sheep and goats. In: Feldman BF, Zinkl JG, Jain NC (eds) Schalm's veterinary henattology, 5th edn. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, pp 1075–1084

    Google Scholar 

  • Lachica M, Prieto C, Aguilera JF (1997) The energy costs of walking on the level and on negative and positive slopes in the Granadina goat (Copra hircus). Br J Nutr 77:73–81

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lachica M, Aguilera JF (2005) Energy expenditure of walk in grassland for small ruminants. Small Rumin Res 59:105–121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lamb RC, Barker BO, Anderson MJ, Walters JL (1979) Effects of forced exercise on two-year-old Holstein hcifers. J Dairy Sci 62:1791–1797

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manteca X, Smith AJ (1994) Effects of poor forage conditions on the behaviour of grazing ruminants. Trop Anim Health Prod 26:129–138

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Marai IFM, El-Darawany AA, Fadiel A, Abdel-Hafez MAM (2007) Physiological traits as affected by heat stress in sheep – a review. Small Rumin Res 71:1–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maurya VP, Naqvi SMK, Mittal JP (2004) Effect of dietary energy level on physiological responses and reproductive performance of Malpura sheep in the hot semi-arid regions of India. Small Rumin Res 55:117–122

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maurya VP, Sejian V, Kumar D, Naqvi SMK (2010) Effect of induced body condition score differences on sexual behavior, scrotal measurements, semen attributes, and endocrine responses in Malpura rams under hot semi-arid environment. J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr 94:e308–e317. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0396.2010.01012.x

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McManus C, Paluda GR, Louvandini H, Gugel R, Sasaki LCB, Paiva SR (2009) Heat tolerance in Brazilian sheep: physiological and blood parameters. Trop Anim Health Prod 41:95–101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller GW (1994) Mineral and bone metabolism. In: Burtis CA, Ashwood ER (eds) Tietz textbook of clinical chemistry, 3rd edn. Saunders, Philadelphia, pp 1395–1457

    Google Scholar 

  • Moss DW, Henderson AK (1994) Tietz textbook of clinical chemistry, 3rd edn. Saunders, Philadelphia

    Google Scholar 

  • Naqvi SMK, Hooda OK, Saxena P (1991) Some plasma enzymes of sheep under thermal, nutritional and exercise stresses. Indian Vet J 68:1045–1047

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Naqvi SMK, Joshi A, Das GK, Mittal JP (2001) Development and application of ovine reproductive technologies: an Indian experience. Small Rumin Res 39:199–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Payne JM, Payne S (1987) The metabolic profile test. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Pollock CM, Shadwick RE (1994) Allometry of muscle, tendon, and elastic energy storage capacity in mammals. Am J Physiol 266:1022–1031

    Google Scholar 

  • Samuelsson B, Uvnas-Moberg K, Gorewit RC, Svennersten-Sjaunja K (1996) Profiles of the hormones somatostatin, gastrin, CCK, prolactin, growth hormone, oxytocin and cortisol. II. In dairy cows that are milked during food deprivation. Livest Prod Sci 46:57–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sano H, Takahashi K, Fujita M, Ambo K, Tsuda T (1979) Effect of environmental heat exposure on physiological responses, blood constituents and parameters of blood glucose metabolism in sheep. Tohoku J Agric Res 30(2):76–86

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sejian V, Maurya VP, Naqvi SMK, Kumar D, Joshi A (2010a) Effect of induced body condition score differences on physiological response, productive and reproductive performances of Malpura ewes kept in a hot, semi-arid environment. J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr 94:154–161

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sejian V, Maurya VP, Naqvi SMK (2010b) Effect of thermal, nutritional and combined (thermal and nutritional) stresses on growth and reproductive performance of Malpura ewes under semi-arid tropical environment. J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0396.2010.01048.x

    Google Scholar 

  • Sejian V, Maurya VP, Naqvi SMK (2010c) Physiological adaptability and growth performance of Malpura ewes subjected to thermal and nutritional stress under semi-arid tropical environment. Trop Anim Health Prod 42:1763–1770. doi:10.1007/s11250-010-9633-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sejian V, Maurya VP, Naqvi SMK (2010d) Adaptive capability as indicated by endocrine and biochemical responses of Malpura ewes subjected to combined stresses (thermal and nutritional) under semi-arid tropical environment. Int J Biometeorol. doi:10.1007/s00484-010-0341-1

    Google Scholar 

  • Sejian V, Srivastava RS (2010e) Pineal-adrenal-immune system relationship under thermal stress: effect on physiological, endocrine and non-specific immune response in goats. J Physiol Biochem 66:339–349. doi:10.1007/s13105-010-0040-8

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tietz NW (1970) Fundamentals of clinical chemistry. Saunders, Philadelphia

    Google Scholar 

  • Tietz NW (1976) Clinical guide to laboratory tests. Saunders, Philadelphia

    Google Scholar 

  • Tietz NW (1995) Clinical guide to laboratory tests, 3rd edn. Saunders, Philadelphia

    Google Scholar 

  • Toro G, Ackermann PG (1975) Practical clinical chemistry. Little, Brown, Boston

  • Varley H (1980) Practical clinical biochemistry, vol 1, 5th edn. Heinemann, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Veissier I, Andanson S, Dubroeucq H, Pomies D (2008) The motivation of cows to walk as thwarted by tethering. J Anim Sci 86:2723–2729

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ward JR, Henricks DM, Jenkins TC, Bridges WC (1992) Serum hormone and metabolite concentrations in fasted young bulls and steers. Domest Anim Endocrinol 9:97–103

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wasserman DH, Williams PE, Lacy DB, Goldstein RE, Cherrington AD (1989) Exercise-induced fall in insulin and hepatic carbohydrate metabolism during muscular work. Am J Physiol 256:500–509

    Google Scholar 

  • Wybenga DR, Di Glorgio J, Pileggi VJ (1971) Manual and automated methods for urea nitrogen measurement in whole serum. Clin Chem 17:891–895

    CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgement

The authors are more grateful to the Director of the Institute for providing the research facilities and to Shri K.C. Sharma and Shri Kamal Kumar for their technical help during the experiment.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Adaptation physiology Laboratory, Division of Physiology & Biochemistry, Central Sheep & Wool Research Institute, Avikanagar, Via-Jaipur, Rajsthan, 304501, India

    Veerasamy Sejian, Vijai P. Maurya & Syed M. K. Naqvi

Authors
  1. Veerasamy Sejian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Vijai P. Maurya
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Syed M. K. Naqvi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Veerasamy Sejian.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sejian, V., Maurya, V.P. & Naqvi, S.M.K. Effect of walking stress on growth, physiological adaptability and endocrine responses in Malpura ewes in a semi-arid tropical environment. Int J Biometeorol 56, 243–252 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-011-0420-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-011-0420-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation