Studies on drinking water intake of fallow deer, sheep and mouflon under semi-natural pasture conditions

The aim of the investigation was to determine the water requirements of adult fallow deer (Dama dama), Skudde sheep (Ovis ammon) and mouflon (Ovis orientalis musimon) kept under the same conditions. This study was intended to allow the development of basic principles and recommendations for improving drinking water management in the production of fallow deer, sheep, and mouflon, taking into account the different reproductive statuses of these three species. At a fen, the water intake of the animals was recorded for three consecutive years (2011–2013) during the grazing period (1 May–31 October). The results were based on the regular measurement of the animals’ water intake under pasture management. Three herd repetitions were carried out per species during early and late summer and autumn. Each test group consisted of 10 adult female animals. To enable a comparison of the drinking water consumption among species of different weights, the water intake of each animal was converted into the water intake per kg of metabolic live weight (W0.75). During the early summer fallow deer and sheep consumed a similar amount of water. The mouflon had relatively low water consumption; in the late summer and autumn (September and October), these animals drank only sporadically. All three species consumed more water in the first 3 months of the grazing period than in the last 3 months. Daily water consumption by sheep and deer increased with heat stress caused by higher temperatures and relative humidity, whereas mouflon were relatively immune to such environmental influences. It is recommended that the small ruminant species investigated should be offered a constant supply of drinking water when under pasture management.