In order to verify the influence of the use of polypropylene fabric with light retention 80 in physiological responses of Santa Inês sheep under grazing, an experiment was conducted in Petrolina, PE, between June to November of 2010. Two treatments (with and without shading) were adopted with 20 animals in each. Rectal temperature, skin surface temperature and respiratory rate at 7:00 am and 3:00 pm twice a week were measured. Meteorological data were recorded for the determinations of the temperature index of black globe and humidity, every 2:00 hours during 24 hours, throughout the experiment. It was verified after analysis of the data that sheep under shade treatment had suffered reductions in all physiological variables evaluated, when compared with the treatment without shade. The use of shading is justified, in particular in the afternoon, since all variables showed greater change.
ambience; physiology; radiation; rectal temperature; thermoregulation
