A study was developed in Quissamã, RJ, Brazil, with twenty two-year-old sheep of the Santa Inês with the objective of evaluating the animals' behavior in two raising system. The animals were maintained in two pickets with "capim-quicuio" pasture. The animals were separated in two groups, ten of which without shade and the other ten in a picket with a consortium of pasture and a coconut cultivation (Cocus nucifera). During a period of ten consecutive days, the animals had their behavior evaluated according to the time spent on feeding, rumination and resting time, checked every ten minutes, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The animals exposed to sunlight spent less time grazing, increased rumination time and resting time, and these activities were less stable when compared to the sheep under shade. Coconut cultivation, therefore, had a positive impact on the behavior of the animals.
Welfare; bahaviour; raising system
