Prediction of Water Intake in Hair Sheep: Development of a New Model
TLDR A new model accurately predicts water intake in hair sheep using dry matter intake.
The study aimed to develop a model to predict water intake (WI) in hair sheep using data from 185 observations across eight studies. Significant correlations were found between WI and factors like metabolizable energy intake, body weight, dry matter, dry matter intake (DMI), and temperature-humidity index. The stepwise analysis identified dry matter and DMI as significant predictors of WI, while sex did not significantly affect the model. The resulting equation, WI (kg/day) = 0.1282 + 2.4186 x DMI, showed a strong predictive capability (R² = 0.70). The model was validated and found to accurately predict WI, suggesting it can improve water use efficiency in hair sheep management.