Comparison of three cooling management systems to reduce heat stress in lactating Holstein cows during hot and dry ambient conditions

Avendaño‐Reyes, Leonel; Álvarez-Valenzuela, F. D.; Correa‐Calderón, Abelardo; Algándar-Sandoval, A.; Rodrı́guez-González, E.; Pérez-Velázquez, R.; Macías‐Cruz, Ulises; Díaz-Molina, Raúl; Robinson, P.H.; Fadel, James G.

doi:10.1016/j.livsci.2010.04.020

Cited by 35 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Additionally when TA is equal to body temperature, heat loss via evaporation becomes the predominant method of heat dissipation (Esmay, 1969), where at 32 °C evaporative heat loss accounts for 85 % of an animals' total heat loss (Avendaño-Reyes et al, 2010). However a reduction in TA does not necessarily indicate that there will be an automatic increase in heat dissipation (Gaughan et al, 2008a), as there are numerous other factors that influence heat dissipation from the animal.…”

Section: Ambient Temperaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mader et al (2010a) indicated that as TA approaches body temperature, sweating becomes a key physiological mechanism for heat dissipation. Additionally when TA is equal to body temperature, heat loss via evaporation becomes the predominant method of heat dissipation (Esmay, 1969), where at 32 °C evaporative heat loss accounts for 85 % of an animal's total heat loss (Avendaño-Reyes et al, 2010). Additionally heat load is associated with increases in salivation, sweating and urination .…”

Section: Sodiummentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biological responses of feedlot cattle to heat load

Lees¹

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Heat load is a significant animal welfare and cost of production issue worldwide. In the US alone heat load is reported to have an annual economic burden of > $300 million in the beef sector.Furthermore animal growth is often depressed during summer resulting in heat related decreases in weight gain of approximately 10 kg which coincides with a 7 day increase in days on feed. The reduced growth rate increases days on feed, thereby increasing the cost of production. Whilst the effects of heat load on cattle has been researched for a number of years, there is speculation as to the interactions between hot environmental conditions and livestock performance, reproduction, health and overall wellbeing. Therefore there is a need to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the dynamic responses of animals to heat load. The key focus of heat load research is to develop effective management strategies to support animal comfort and performance during hot periods.While heat load can occur in pasture raised cattle, it is mostly observed within the intensive grain feed feedlot industry. Heat load occurs where a combination of environmental conditions exceed the animals ability to regulate body temperature, thus impacting on homeostasis. However how an animal responds to heat load is also dependent on a number of individual characteristics, including genotype, coat characteristics, health status and days on feed. Therefore no two animals will respond to hot climatic conditions in exactly the same manner. There are numerous responses to heat load that can be measured and/or observed in cattle, including changes in behaviour, respiratory dynamics, blood metabolites and body temperature. The experiments within this thesis were focused on investigating the; A key aspect in managing heat load is that feedlot personnel are able to recognise the responses of cattle to high heat load. Improvements in animal management have contributed to alleviating some of the negative effects of heat load. However summer conditions are still responsible for significant production losses and welfare concerns worldwide. Furthermore heat load cannot be completely eradicated where there are animal production operations in tropical and sub-tropical regions.Therefore the primary purpose of heat load research becomes focused on the effective use of mitigation strategies prior to and during heat related stress events, thus improving animal survivability and welfare during these events.iii Declaration by author Publications included in this thesisNo publications included. Contributions by others to the thesis

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Section: Ambient Temperaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sodiummentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological responses of feedlot cattle to heat load

Lees¹

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“…Some papers studied the effects of systems made by sprinklers and fans for the direct wetting of the animals coupled with forced ventilation on both cow physiology (e.g., reduction in rectal temperature, respiratory rate, dry matter intake, rumination time, lying time) and cow lactation performance (milk quality and yield) (Avendaño-Reyes et al, 2010;Berman, 2008Berman, , 2010Avendaño-Reyes et al, 2012). In these studies the cooling systems were installed in the holding pen and cows returned to their pen, or went in the milking area, after the cooling treatments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the influence of the alternation of two different cooling systems on dairy cow daily activities

Porto

D'Emilio

Cascone

2017

J Agricult Engineer

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Among the causes that influence cow welfare, heat stress induced by microclimatic conditions is one of the most relevant and many studies have investigated the efficacy of different cooling systems on animal health status. Nevertheless, the direct influence of the cooling systems on possible modifications of dairy cow behaviour has been addressed in a few studies and the related results were affected by the presence of a paddock, which gave a refuge from hot temperature. Since an alteration of the daily time budget spent by dairy cows in their usual activities can be associated with changes in their health status, this study investigated the effects of the alternation of two different cooling systems on lying, standing, and feeding behaviour of a group of dairy cows bred in a free-stall dairy house where animals had no access to a paddock. The barn was equipped with a fogging system associated with forced ventilation installed in the resting area and a sprinkler system associated with forced ventilation installed in the feeding area. The two systems were activated alternately. The results demonstrated that the management of the two cooling systems affected the analysed behaviours. Though the activation of the cooling system installed in the resting area encouraged the decubitus of animals in the stalls, the activation of that one of the feeding alley could not be able to influence the standing behaviour and had only a moderate positive influence on the feeding activity.

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“…For mitigating cow heat stress, different kinds of cooling systems are used and among them, sprinklers for the direct wetting of the animal body coupled with forced ventilation have positive influence on both cow physiology (e.g., reduction in rectal temperature, respiration rate, dry matter intake), behaviour (e.g., rumination time, lying time) and lactation performance (milk quality and yield) (Avendaño-Reyes et al, 2010;Berman, 2008Berman, , 2010Porto et al, 2017). The direct wetting of the animal and the contemporary evaporation of the water due to intense forced ventilation induce the dissipation of a huge quantity of latent heat with relief for the animal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In some research studies, the herd was cooled in the holding pen before the milking time (Avendaño-Reyes et al, 2010Honig et al, 2012). In these cases, cows returned to their pen, or went in the milking area, after the cooling treatments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mitigating heat stress of dairy cows bred in a free-stall barn by sprinkler systems coupled with forced ventilation

D'Emilio¹,

Porto²,

Cascone³

et al. 2017

J Agricult Engineer

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This paper presents the results of a research study which had the objective of investigating the effect of a sprinkler system coupled with forced ventilation on the heat stress of dairy cows bred in a free stall barn without paddock. To this aim, an experiment was carried out inside a free-stall dairy house equipped with two different cooling systems: a fogging system associated with forced ventilation in the resting area and a sprinkler system associated with forced ventilation in the feeding alley. The experiment regarded two adjacent pens of the barn and was constituted by three different trials carried out in the following periods: 27 th June -7 th July (P1), 25 th July -4 th August (P2), 24 th August -3 rd September (P3). The experimental protocol of each trial required that the treatment group was housed in one pen where the two cooling systems were always activated following an established timetable, whereas the control group was housed in the other pen, where the sprinkler system associated with forced ventilation was always deactivated. Climatic parameters were measured inside each pen of the barn and outside. Then, thermal humidity index (THI) was calculated. Rectal temperature and respiration rate of a sample of dairy cows were monitored each day during the three periods considered (P1, P2 and P3). During the three trials the cows of both groups were subjected to climatic conditions that resulted in average daily THI values between 72.8 and 74.7, corresponding to mild or moderate heat stress. However, during daytime, air temperature and relative humidity reached values corresponding to a severe heat stress, as attested by the maximum THI values that were higher than or very close to 80. Furthermore, it was observed that the sprinklers do not influence the microclimatic conditions. However, the physiological parameters values of the treatment group were always significantly lower than the corresponding ones of the control group. Specifically, the system especially influenced the respiration rate that, in the treatment group, was close to 50 breath/min, while in the control group it reached 70 breath/min. The sprinkler system had more limited effects on rectal temperature that, however, in the treatment group was significantly lower than in the control group (38.7°C to 38.8°C vs 39.1°C to 39.4°C) in all the three periods of the experiment. These results show that the sprinkler system could be useful to mitigate heat stress in dairy cows.

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Comparison of three cooling management systems to reduce heat stress in lactating Holstein cows during hot and dry ambient conditions

Cited by 35 publications

References 15 publications

Biological responses of feedlot cattle to heat load

Biological responses of feedlot cattle to heat load

On the influence of the alternation of two different cooling systems on dairy cow daily activities

Mitigating heat stress of dairy cows bred in a free-stall barn by sprinkler systems coupled with forced ventilation

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