Access to reticulated water in late-pregnancy: impacts on ewe productivity, drinking behaviour and some physiological indicators of dehydration
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Date
2025-03-02
Open Access Location
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor and Francis Group on behalf of the Royal Society of New Zealand
Rights
(c) 2025 The Author/s
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Abstract
There has been industry debate regarding sheep access to waterways, although there is little information available on the impact of access to water on sheep productivity. It is theoretically possible for actively growing pasture to provide sufficient moisture to meet the daily water intake requirements of sheep. A study was conducted in the Manawatu region during winter across two years with single- (n = 40) and twin-bearing ewes (n = 40) in late-pregnancy. Ewes were restricted from accessing a reticulated water source (no water) or given access (water). Herbage moisture was 81.5 ± 0.7% and 84.8 ± 0.4% in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Of the 40 water treatment ewes, 45% and 55% in 2017 and 2018, respectively, were never observed to drink water. Packed cell volume and total protein concentrations remained within the normal range throughout each study. Ewe liveweight and BCS increased (P < 0.05) throughout the study period but did not differ between treatments except among single-bearing ewes in 2018. The litter weight of single- and twin-bearing ewes in the water and no water treatments did not differ (P > 0.05). These results suggest that under the conditions of the current study, ewes in late pregnancy did not require access to reticulated water.
Description
Keywords
Water trough, pregnancy, live weight, body condition score, drinking
Citation
Corner-Thomas R, Stafford K, Winchester N, Kenyon P. (2025). Access to reticulated water in late-pregnancy: impacts on ewe productivity, drinking behaviour and some physiological indicators of dehydration. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research. Latest Articles. (pp. 1-14).