Access to reticulated water in late-pregnancy: impacts on ewe productivity, drinking behaviour and some physiological indicators of dehydration

Simple item page
dc.citation.volumeLatest Articles
dc.contributor.authorCorner-Thomas R
dc.contributor.authorStafford K
dc.contributor.authorWinchester N
dc.contributor.authorKenyon P
dc.contributor.editorSneddon N
dc.date.accessioned2025-04-30T02:53:07Z
dc.date.available2025-04-30T02:53:07Z
dc.date.issued2025-03-02
dc.description.abstractThere 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.
dc.description.confidentialfalse
dc.format.pagination1-14
dc.identifier.citationCorner-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).
dc.identifier.doi10.1080/00288233.2025.2469624
dc.identifier.eissn1175-8775
dc.identifier.elements-typejournal-article
dc.identifier.issn0028-8233
dc.identifier.urihttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/72823
dc.languageEnglish
dc.publisherTaylor and Francis Group on behalf of the Royal Society of New Zealand
dc.publisher.urihttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00288233.2025.2469624
dc.relation.isPartOfNew Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research
dc.rights(c) 2025 The Author/s
dc.rightsCC BY-NC-ND 4.0
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.subjectWater trough
dc.subjectpregnancy
dc.subjectlive weight
dc.subjectbody condition score
dc.subjectdrinking
dc.titleAccess to reticulated water in late-pregnancy: impacts on ewe productivity, drinking behaviour and some physiological indicators of dehydration
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.elements-id500281
pubs.organisational-groupOther
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
500281 PDF.pdf
Size:
1.24 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Published version.pdf
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
9.22 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download
Collections
Journal Articles