Seasonal variation of stress response parameters due to induced transportation stress in goats supplemented with vitamin C and jaggery under tropical Indian climatic conditions.

Abstract

The study was conducted to investigate the seasonal variation of stress response parameters due to induced transportation stress in goats during different seasons, i.e. winter, hot dry and hot humid, and to find out a novel approach to minimize the transportation and seasonal effect on goats by supplementing them with vitamin C and jaggery before transportation. Fifty goats were selected and divided into five groups, with 10 animals in each group during each season. Group 1 goats served as negative control and were neither supplemented nor transported, whereas goats in groups 2 to group 5 were transported for 10 h on the day of transportation. Group 2 goats were not supplemented; group 3 goats were supplemented with vitamin C @ 180 mg/kg bd. wt/day; group 4 goats were supplemented with jaggery @ 200g/day/animal; group 5 was supplemented with both vitamin C and jaggery for 5 days before transportation. Transportation caused stress in goats during all the seasons as represented by changes in different physiological parameters and body weight shrinkages; however, hot-humid and hotdry seasons were more critical for reducing the physiological performance of transported goats as compared to winter season. Supplementation of vitamin C and jaggery reduced the transportation stress with variable effects on stress response parameters in goats during different seasons.