Silvopastoral Systems Contribute to Water Buffalo Welfare and Normal Behavior Pattern Under Eastern Amazon Conditions

Núbia de Fátima Alves dos Santos, Jamile Andréa Rodrigues da Silva, Airton Alencar de Araujo, Rinaldo Batista Viana, Alexandre Rossetto Garcia, Andréia Santana Bezerra, Benjamim de Souza Nahúm and Jose de Brito Lourenço Júnior

Journal of Agricultural Studies, 2021, vol. 9, issue 2, 260-271

Abstract: This research aimed to study the behavior of female Murrah buffaloes in a silvopastoral system. The trial was carried out at Embrapa Eastern Amazon, under Afi climate according to the Köppen classification, between August and November 2009, during the less rainy season. Three different periods of the day were considered during activity evaluation- morning period – between 6-00 AM and 9-55 AM; intermediary period – between 10-00 AM and 1-55 PM; and afternoon period – between 2-00 PM and 5-55 PM. The animals were maintained in a silvopastoral system (SPS) (ST; n=10) with shade from Racosperma mangium. The meteorological variables of temperature and relative air humidity were measured, as well as the following animal behavior variables- time grazing, ruminating and idling, time standing and lying, and time in shaded and non-shaded areas. These variables were compared by T test (P<0.05). Air temperatures were higher in the non-shaded area of the SPS. All activities were reduced in the intermediary period, except idling. The grazing and rumination times in the morning were longer in non-shaded areas, while the time idling standing was longer during the intermediary period in shaded areas as a way of avoiding the harmful effects of the intense solar radiation and high air temperatures of the Amazonian humid climate. Hence, SPSs may contribute to animal welfare and increase their productive behavior.

Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.macrothink.org/journal/index.php/jas/article/download/18022/14472 (application/pdf)
http://www.macrothink.org/journal/index.php/jas/article/view/18022 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mth:jas888:v:9:y:2021:i:2:p:260-271

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Agricultural Studies is currently edited by Richard Williams

More articles in Journal of Agricultural Studies from Macrothink Institute
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Technical Support Office ( this e-mail address is bad, please contact ).