Assessment of thermal changes in water buffalo mobilized from the paddock and transported by short journeys

Abstract

Evaluating the welfare of buffaloes during transport is key to obtaining and commercializing high-quality meat products; however, effective assessments require recognizing several stressors that activate physiological mechanisms that can have repercussions on the health and productive performance of species. The aim of this study was to evaluate the surface temperatures of different body and head regions in this species during events prior, and posterior, to transport for short periods; that is, from paddock to loading. The second goal was to determine the level of correlation between thermal windows. This study used infrared thermography (IRT) to evaluate the surface temperature of 624 water buffaloes (Buffalypso breed) during 12 short trips (average duration = 2 h ± 20 min) by focusing on 11 regions of the body (Regio corporis), in the head regions (Regiones capitis) the face regions (Regiones faciei), Orbital region (Regio orbitalis) with special attention to structures such as the lacrimal caruncle, periocular area and lower eyelid (Regio palpebralis inferior); nasal region (Regio nasalis) with special attention to nostril thermal window; and regions of the skull (Regiones cranii) such as auricular region (Regio auricularis) with special attention to auditory canal and frontal–parietal region (Regio frontalis-parietalis) and trunk region (Truncus regionis) such as thoracic and abdominal regions, regions of the vertebral column (Columna vertebralis) with the thoracic vertebral region (Regio vertebralis thoracis) and lumbar region (Regio lumbalis); and regions of the pelvis limb (Regiones membri pelvini). Recordings were made during seven phases: paddock (P1), herding (P2), corral (P3), chute handling (P4), shipping (P5), pre- (P6), and post-transport (P7). A total of 48,048 readings were obtained from 11 thermal windows. The results showed that the surface temperatures of the windows increased by as much as 5°C during P2, P3, P5, P6, and P7 compared to P1 and P4 (p < 0.0001). Differences of at least 1°C were also observed between thermal windows in the craniofacial, lateral corporal, and peripheral zones (p < 0.0001). Finally, a strong positive correlation (r = 0.9, p < 0.0001) was found between the thermal windows. These findings lead to the conclusion that the surface temperature of the craniofacial and corporal regions of buffaloes transported for short periods varied in relation to the phase of mobilization (from paddock to post-transport), likely as a response to stressful factors, since herding and loading increased the thermal values in each window. The second conclusion is that there are strong positive correlations between central and peripheral thermal windows.

Utilization of Infrared Thermography in Assessing Thermal Responses of Farm Animals under Heat Stress

“…Vasomotor response is one of the compensatory mechanisms used by most animals because modifying the diameter of the peripheral vessels closest to the skin dissipates heat by promoting a greater thermal exchange with the environment [47]. This was studied in buffaloes during transport by our team in Rodríguez-Gonzáles et al [48], where IRT was used to evaluate the surface temperature in different body areas. We found an increase of up to 5 • C in the surface temperature of the pelvic limbs after transport.…”

“…Farm animals also adopt several thermoregulatory behaviors to increase heat dissipation by radiation, convection, or evaporation to cool themselves [5,48]. Shade seeking, changes in body posture (standing or lying time), reduced feed intake, wallowing, water intake, reduced activity, and urinating frequently are among the most frequent behavioral responses that livestock use to respond to HS [69,70].…”

“…Nonetheless, this stress response is not unique to thermal stress. It can be triggered by other stressors inherent in livestock farming, such as transport, social isolation, or having diseases [8,9,48]. This could be a potential limitation of using IRT to detect heat stress, since IRT may capture not only thermal stress but the generalized stress response.…”

Strategies and Mechanisms of Thermal Compensation in Newborn Water Buffaloes

“…Therefore, it is possible that one of the trends in future research will be the application of various thermal windows that provide information about the individual’s temperature in the presence of hypothermia in water buffalo. Several studies have been carried out in this regard in other species, finding that the surface temperatures of the abdominal, lateral, and dorsal thermal windows [ 81 ], as well as those of the pelvic area [ 3 , 56 ] or the periocular, can provide information about stressful events [ 193 ]. However, more research is needed in this regard in water buffaloes.…”

Thermal Balance in Male Water Buffaloes Transported by Long and Short Journeys

“…This might lead to the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis [3][4][5][6]. The activation of this axis causes physiological alterations such as tachycardia, changes in the respiratory pattern, and metabolic modifications that can impact animal health and meat quality, making it necessary to evaluate the stress level that buffaloes might perceive during transport [3][4][5][7][8][9][10]. For example, increases in cortisol, lactate, serum protein, and hyperglycemia have been reported in cattle mobilized in larger distances of up to 16 h [11,12], together with behavioral alterations such as the increase in defecation, falls, and aggression [13,14].…”