Heat stress and thermoregulatory responses of goats: a review

Good health is central to animal welfare as it indicates their physiological functioning. Sustainability of livestock is largely affected by prevailing climatic conditions. Animals undergo a variety of stress, among which heat stress is the most concerning. The vulnerability of animals to heat stress varies according to species, genetic potential, management system and nutritional status. The ability of goats to cope with heat stress without harming their health and production performance has been often glorified. Although goats are resistant to heat stress at a greater extent but they suffer from heat stress beyond their comfort zone. An imbalance between metabolic heat production inside their body and its dissipation to the surroundings leads to heat stress. The foremost reaction of goats includes behavioral changes, increases in respiration rate, rectal temperature and heart rate. It directly affects feed intake thereby, lowers growth rate, production, reproduction, and even death in severe cases. The purpose of the present review is to provide an integrative explanation of thermoregulatory responses of goats at behavioral, physiological, biochemical, productive and reproductive level during heat stress and also the strategies for its alleviation.