Physiological responses of naimey sheep to heat stress challenge under semi-arid environments

Abstract

Eight Naimey sheep were used in this study to determine the effect of heat stress on body temperature, heart rate and some blood constituents. The results show that exposure to heat stress challenge resulted in a significant increase in RT, RR, and skin temperature sites. Heart rate rhythm exhibit a circadian rhythm and exposure to heat stress reduce the heart rate mainly during the hottest part of the day. The effect of heat stress was also observed on total serum thyroxin and triiodothyronine