A conductive chilled-water mattress tested on three Friesian dry cows during a Polish summer heat wave lowered skin temperature by up to 8 C and significantly reduced reticulorumen temperature.
At -14.2 C, Holstein calves housed indoors in a lightweight building had higher skin temperature and spent more time standing, moving and drinking than calves in outdoor hutches under shelters.
A review of the temperature-humidity index (THI) as the key environmental indicator of heat stress in dairy cows, covering its calculation formulas and the interpretation of critical thresholds.
A four-week summer trial on 12 lactating Murrah buffaloes: drinking water pre-cooled in an earthen pot lowered serum cortisol by 44%, respiratory and pulse rates and rectal temperature, and raised milk yield by 29% compared with naturally warm farm water.
A 3-year study on four Northern Italian dairy farms found that ceiling-fan ventilation raised milk yield by 2.9 kg/cow/day and improved reproductive traits, with a benefit–cost ratio of 1.34–1.51 depending on heat-stress intensity.
A 445-sow commercial study in southern Brazil comparing two farrowing-room temperature programs. Raising the cooling setpoint by 2 °C cut total electrical energy use by 20.4% (≈ US$1.00/sow), but reduced sow lactation feed intake (6.5 vs 6.3 kg/day) and litter weaning weight by 5.8 kg, translating to a US$5.28/litter/sow economic loss — substantially outweighing the energy savings.
Bitopan Das, Polash Pratim Dutta, Monoj Bardalai , Partha Pratim DuttaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Tezpur University, Napaam, Assam, India. Proper ventilation in dairy barns is important in the summer as high temperatures and the accompanying heat stress can affect the…
Ashleigh Wildridge, S. Garcia, P. Thomson, C. Clark, E. Jongman and K. KerriskDairy Science Group, Faculty of Veterinary Science, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Camden, NSW, 2570, Australia.Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Camden, NSW,…
Ana Valeria González Pereyra, Verónica Maldonado May, Carlos Guillermo Catracchia,María Alejandra Herrero, Myriam Celina Flores, and Mariana Mazzini Grazing animals are exposed to heat stress and there should be conditions to facilitate water intake. Three experiments were carried out to…
Jennifer M. Chen, Karin E. Schütz, and Cassandra B. Tucker Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis 95616 AgResearch Ltd., Hamilton 3240, New Zealand Dairies in the United States commonly cool cattlewith sprinklers mounted over the feed bunk that…
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