In the dry tropics, yields ruminants generally are affected by heat stress, which can be mitigated in wooded rangelands. The purpose of this was to evaluate the behavior of ewes with different colored layers (white and red). Both, under grazing on two fields -a silvopastoral system with citrus trees (SSPC) and a conventional paddock (SPC)- in the dry tropics of the warm valley of Tolima. The thermal response of 12 ewes Katahdin F1 (six white layer and six red layer) was evaluated. Body temperatures at 6,00, 12.00 and 16.00 hours were recorded using an implanted data logger Subcue®, into the perianal area of the animal. The temperature and humidity were recorded by environmental data loggers HOBO®, located in each system evaluated. A completely randomized 2x2x3 factorial design was performed, where the factors were production system (SSPC and SPC); color of layers (white and red) and time (6,00, 12.00 and 16.00). The data were analyzed under a general linear mixed model. Relevant results indicate significant differences in the perianal temperature of white ewes, during midday hours, between SSPC and SPC. On the afternoon (16.00 h) significant differences were found between the experimental fields in white ewes on SSPC, while in SPC they reached a higher temperature. It can be concluded that the shady of citrus offer more comfort to ewes of white layers, which could generate better growth performance. Besides offer additional products for the producer, such as citrus.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.