Morphology of coat and skin of small ruminants reared in the Brazilian semi-arid region

The structure of the coat and integument of small ruminants reared in semi-arid regions have valuable characteristics that favor their adaptation to the region. The objective of this study was to evaluate the structural characteristics of the coat and integument and sweating capacity of goats and sheep in the Brazilian semi-arid region, using 20 animals, 10 of each breed, 5 males and 5 females of each species, grouped in a completely randomized design in a 2 x 2 factorial scheme (2 species and 2 genders) with 5 replicates. The animals were already being kept under the influence of high temperatures and levels of direct solar radiation before the day of the collections. At the time of the evaluations, ambient temperature was high, with low relative humidity. The pattern of epidermal thickness and sweat glands per body region was superior in sheep (P < 0.05), and the number of hair follicles and sweat rate were similar (P > 0.05) between the species. There was no difference (P > 0.05) in the evaluated characteristics between the genders, showing that they are not influenced by hormones. The morphology of the coat and skin of these animals showed a superiority of goats compared to sheep.

Coat and skin morphology of hair sheep breeds in an equatorial semi-arid environment

This study aims to address if are there annual changes in the hair coat traits and skin morphology of hair sheep breeds raised in an equatorial semi-arid region? Coat and skin samples were taken from thirty Morada Nova (4 ± 2 years old; red coat; ±SD) and twenty Santa Inês multiparous ewes (5 ± 2 years old; brown and black coat; ±SD) every 3 months over a year. Hair coat traits included thickness (mm), density (number of hairs cm^-2), length (mm), and diameter (mm), plus epidermal and dermal thickness (μm), sweat glands and blood capillaries area (μm cm^-2) were determined. Means of solar irradiance and ambient air temperature were higher between September and December. Annual changes (P < 0.05) in hair density, diameter, length and thickness, as well as the skin blood capillaries and sweat gland area differed between breeds. The modifications on hair coat traits resulted in minor changes on the effective thermal conductivity of the hair coat surface both for Morada Nova and Santa Ines sheep. Nevertheless, it was clearly evident that the overall cutaneous thermal insulation for Morada Nova sheep was lowest in September that was coupled with lower hair density, coat thickness, and higher sweat gland and blood capillary area (P < 0.05). In conclusion, even in an equatorial region, phenotypic acclimatization on morphological traits of cutaneous surface and skin traits can modify the overall thermal insulation of sheep breeds.