Physiological responses of pre-ruminant kid goats and lambs to different environmental temperatures

The purpose of this study was to establish the metabolic behaviour of both preruminant kid goats and lambs, when they are kept at different environmental temperatures (12, 24 and 30 degrees C). The animals were fed ad libitum with a milk replacer for the first two months of life. Blood samples were taken from all the animals on days 30, 40, 50 and 60 post partum, to determine serum levels of glucose, insulin, free fatty acids, triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4), both when fasting and 4 hours after starting feeding. The high sensitivity of both kinds of animal to the lowest of the environmental temperatures used, particularly for the first periods of life here considered, was established from the glucose/insulin and T3/T4 molar ratios and from the concentrations of free fatty acids. The results obtained by species were also evidence of metabolic behaviour typical of leanner animals in kids.