Physiological and productive responses of multiparous lactating Holstein cows exposed to short-term cooling during severe summer conditions in an arid region of Mexico

Abstract

Heat stress generates a significant economic impact for the dairy industry in arid and semi-arid regions of the world, so that heat abatement is an important issue for dairy producers. The objective of this study was to evaluate effects of two short-term cooling periods on physiological and productive status of lactating Holstein cows during hot ambient temperatures. Thirty-nine multiparous cows were blocked by milk yield and assigned to one of three treatments including: control group (C), cows cooled before milking time (0500 and 1700 h daily, 1 h cooling); AM group, cows cooled at 1000 h and before milking (2 h cooling); and AM + PM group, cows cooled at 1100, 1500 and 2200 h, as well as before milking (4 h cooling). The cooling system was placed in the holding pen which the cows were moved through for cooling. Respiratory rate, and temperatures of thurl and right flank, were lower (P < 0.05) in cows from the AM + PM group than AM and C cows during the morning and afternoon. However, udder temperature was higher in the AM + PM group compared to AM and C groups during the afternoon, although lower than the AM group during the morning. Rectal temperature was similar in all groups. Thyroxin concentrations tended (P < 0.10) to be lower in AM + PM relative to the AM and C groups. The AM + PM group had higher (P < 0.05) milk production than C (18.70 vs. 17.43 kg, respectively), and AM + PM cows had a trend (P < 0.10) to increased milk energy output vs. the C and AM groups (13.75 vs. 13.18 and 13.15 Mcal, respectively). Protein and fat in milk, body condition score, glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides and triiodothyronine were similar among the groups. Four hours of cooling with spray and fans during severe summer temperatures only modestly improved milk yield of lactating Holstein cows.

Cooling cows efficiently with sprinklers: Physiological responses to water spray

“…Hernández-Rivera et al (2011) likewise recorded lower skin temperature on body parts further from the core (≤0.2°C lower on the thurl vs. flank), but the opposite pattern has also been reported for the same locations (Avendaño-Reyes et al, 2012). Sun exposure may affect these measurements: in our study, skin temperature was higher on the shoulder, which received direct sunlight during treatment, compared with the side, which was typically shaded by the body.…”

Cow cooling on commercial drylot dairies: A description of 10 farms in California

“…These values are within the range described in other studies in drylots during summer (Avendano-Reyes et al 2012;Correa-Calderon et al 2004;Tresoldi et al 2016); however, most of them are much higher than the < 60 breaths per minute obtained in a study designed to maximize cooling in cows (G. Tresoldi, unpublished data).…”

“…Differences across farms may be due to the heat abatement resources provided (CorreaCalderon et al 2004;Avendano-Reyes et al 2012), while individual variation in respiration rate may be partially explained by use of (or lack of) cooling resources at the dairies (Parola et al 2012).…”

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

“…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.…”