Water is a nutrient of extreme importance for animals and must be considered vital in any rearing phase. The increasing scarcity of this precious natural resource has concerned different segments of society in order to find solutions for rational and sustainable use of this nutrient. Small ruminants, especially sheep and goats, have social and economic importance due to their great ability in adapting to adverse environmental conditions and using water efficiently. Thus, they might be a good alternative to mitigate the climate change effects and to generate foreign exchange and improving life condition in many places of the world. The concept of water productivity for livestock production is relatively new and there are few studies in the world, especially in Brazil. More researches and new technologies for water use in livestock production are indispensable.

The effect of increasing phosphorus (P) intake on P utilization was investigated in balance experiments using 12 Saanen goats, 4 to 5 mo of age and weighing 20 to 30 kg. The goats were given similar diets with various concentrations of P, and ³²P was injected to trace the movement of P in the body. A P metabolism model with four pools was developed to compute P exchanges in the system. The results showed that P absorption, bone resorption, and excretion of urinary P and endogenous and fecal P all play a part in the homeostatic control of P. Endogenous fecal output was positively correlated to P intake (P < .01). Bone resorption of P was not influenced by intake of P, and P recycling from tissues to the blood pool was lesser for low P intake. Endogenous P loss occurred even in animals fed an inadequate P diet, resulting in a negative P balance. The extrapolated minimum endogenous loss in feces was .067 g of P/d. The minimum P intake for maintenance in Saanen goats was calculated to be .61 g of P/d or .055 g of P/(kg^.75·d) at 25 kg BW. Model outputs indicate greater P flow from the blood pool to the gut and vice versa as P intake increased. Intake of P did not significantly affect P flow from bone and soft tissue to blood. The kinetic model and regressions could be used to estimate P requirement and the fate of P in goats and could also be extrapolated to both sheep and cattle.

As características de carcaça, o rendimento dos cortes e os constituintes corporais foram determinados em função dos diferentes níveis de energia na dieta. Utilizaram-se 18 ovinos da raça Santa Inês, machos não-castrados, com idade média de seis meses e peso vivo médio de 20 kg, alimentados com dietas que continham 2,42; 2,66; e 2,83 Mcal de energia metabolizável (EM)/kg de matéria seca (MS). O peso de abate estabelecido foi de 33 kg de peso vivo (PV). Os animais foram distribuídos em delineamento em blocos casualizados, com três tratamentos e seis repetições. Houve efeito linear decrescente para perda de peso no jejum (PJ) e linear crescente para pesos das carcaças quente (PCQ) e fria (PCF), rendimentos de carcaças quente (RCQ) e fria (RCF) e peso do corpo vazio (PCV). No entanto, a perda no resfriamento (PR) e o rendimento verdadeiro (RV) não foram influenciados pelos níveis de energia na dieta. Para os cortes e seus respectivos rendimentos, em relação ao peso da carcaça fria (PCF), não houve efeito para nenhuma das variáveis analisadas, exceto para os pesos de paleta e costela superior, que mostraram efeito linear crescente com o aumento nos níveis de energia na dieta. Os índices de compacidade de carcaça e perna não foram influenciados pelo incremento energético na dieta. Quanto à espessura de gordura e área de olho de lombo, não foram encontrados efeitos significativos. Não foi observado efeito significativo para os constituintes não-carcaça, exceto para gordura interna-GI e para conteúdo do trato gastrintestinal - CTGI e rúmen/retículo - R/R, que mostraram efeito linear crescente e decrescente, respectivamente.