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Ideal Housing Systems for Sheep to Cope with Climate Change

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Sheep Production Adapting to Climate Change

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Abstract

Defining single unequivocal means of housing requirement for sheep is difficult as sheep is a versatile species in terms of geographical distribution and morphological conformation. However, many of the environmental components such as solar radiation, temperature, humidity, wind velocity, and precipitation have serious effects on sheep productivity. Under the changing climatic scenario, the impact may be erratic and accentuated especially in the warm tropical regions. Further, sheep rearing based on pastoral and mixed farming system will be more affected by global warming than the industrialized system. Concentration of sheep is relatively congregated at hot arid and semi-arid regions of the tropics, where nomadic grazing type is the predominant sheep rearing system. Nonetheless, practices of providing shelter to sheep around the globe are highly varying in feature, which range from folding of sheep at open space with or without fencing to insulated shed that controls ventilation, lighting, feeding, and watering artificially. Spatial climatic conditions and socioeconomic status of the sheep farmers, including their legacy from community and tradition, are the major factors connected with the principles of housing requirement for sheep and the housing practices adopted by the sheep farmers. If spatial climate is the single most principal factor that decides the housing principles and practices, the types of sheep sheds can broadly be categorized as (1) open sheds, (2) semi-open sheds, and (3) enclosed sheds. However, in India and some other developing countries, different types of animal houses are constructed for sheep production without any careful planning and designing. Nonetheless, practically very little research work has been carried out especially in the tropics to assess the relative suitability of type of housing to sheep production. Though isolated reports on the effect of housing on physiological response, behavior, and growth are existing, no long-term studies on housing system with respect to the production of sheep and economy of flock production have been conducted. Whatever little evidence is available indicated that providing suitable shelter during warm climate may provide more comfort to the animals by protecting them from direct solar radiation and improve their productive performance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICAR-Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute, Avikanagar, Malpura, 304501, Rajasthan, India

    Kalyan De, Davendra Kumar, Palanisamy Thirumurugan & Artabandhoo Sahoo

  2. Division of Physiology of Biochemistry, ICAR-Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute, Avikanagar, Malpura, 304501, Rajasthan, India

    S. M. K. Naqvi

Authors
  1. Kalyan De
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  2. Davendra Kumar
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  3. Palanisamy Thirumurugan
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  4. Artabandhoo Sahoo
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  5. S. M. K. Naqvi
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Correspondence to Kalyan De .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Animal Physiology Division, ICAR-National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Bangalore, Karnataka, India

    Veerasamy Sejian

  2. ICAR-National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Bangalore, Karnataka, India

    Raghavendra Bhatta

  3. School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, Australia

    John Gaughan

  4. Bioenergetics and Environmental Sciences Division, ICAR-National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Bangalore, Karnataka, India

    Pradeep Kumar Malik

  5. Division of Physiology of Biochemistry, ICAR-Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute, Avikanagar, Malpura, Rajasthan, India

    S.M.K Naqvi

  6. Carbon Management and Sequestration Centre, School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA

    Rattan Lal

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De, K., Kumar, D., Thirumurugan, P., Sahoo, A., Naqvi, S.M.K. (2017). Ideal Housing Systems for Sheep to Cope with Climate Change. In: Sejian, V., Bhatta, R., Gaughan, J., Malik, P., Naqvi, S., Lal, R. (eds) Sheep Production Adapting to Climate Change. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4714-5_16

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