Heat Stress Abatement in Dairy Facilities
When cows are heat stressed, they eat less, produce less milk, have reduced immune function and higher SCC, and show reduced fertility. A spike in lameness often follows the hot season.
Heat Stress
With summer comes heat and humidity. A successful dairy farm requires a healthy environment for cattle to thrive in; in the summertime, that means special care needs to be taken to ensure that calves, heifers, cows, and farm workers are not experiencing heat stress.
Here you will find strategies to prevent heat stress and improve the welfare of your cattle and farm workers including:
- Techniques and tools to reduce or abate heat stress in cattle and what impact heat stress has on developing heifers
- How to use Dairy Comp 305 and Bovisync, to identify times of heat stress so you can intervene early
- Feed management information and nutritional strategies to best manage through the summer heat
- Tips for farm workers and how to avoid heat stress
Articles
Reducción del estrés por calor en instalaciones lecheras
Cuando las vacas están estresadas por el calor, comen menos, producen menos leche, tienen una función inmune reducida y un conteo de células somáticas (SCC, por sus siglas en inglés) más alto, y muestran una fertilidad reducida.
Animal Handling During Heat Stress
Combating heat stress in the herd requires an action plan to prevent heat stress and address heat stress-related issues.
Manejo de animales durante el estrés por calor
Combatir el estrés por calor en el rebaño requiere un plan de acción para prevenirlo y abordar los problemas relacionados con el mismo.
Using Bovisync Reports to Assess Potential Impact of Heat Stress on a Dairy – Coding Supplement
Below is a visual representation of what to enter in the report screen to generate charts similar to what is shown in the companion factsheet: “Using Bovisync Reports to Assess Potential Impact of Heat Stress on a Dairy”. Milk Production Butterfat Percent Reproduction Milk Quality Clinical Mastitis and Transition Cow Health
Using Bovisync Reports to Assess Potential Impact of Heat Stress on a Dairy
Use ME 305 because it reflects seasonal changes. Milk fat varies depending on when the plant is testing—morning versus afternoon. Create a team to help you investigate seasonal depression in milk production. You can use your herd veterinarian, dairy and nutritional consultants, and herd manager. It is important to determine the economic impact of heat […]
Summer feed storage and feed bunk management
Hot summer weather can be hard on feed ingredients and total mixed rations (TMRs). It is vital that feed quality and aerobic stability be maintained during this challenging season. Doing so will minimize nutrient losses while optimizing cow intakes which are often compromised due to heat stress challenges.
Using DairyCOMP 305 to Assess the Potential Impact of Heat Stress on a Dairy
Dairy producers often struggle to quantify the impact of heat stress on their operations. The ability to use dairy management records to identify seasonal trends is critical to assess potential heat stress related losses. Diving into a dairy’s herd management software can help a producer quantify where the losses are occurring and, with some easy calculations, determine the profitability of investing in cow cooling measures.
Effects of Heat Stress on Dairy Reproduction
Heat stress not only affects the productive ability of your cattle but also their ability to conceive and sustain a pregnancy. It is important to understand the effect heat stress can have on reproduction and how you can help minimize the effect.
Impact of Heat Stress in Mammary Gland Development and Health in Dairy Cows
Heat stress occurs when an environment impacts the ability of a cow to get rid of body heat. Cows need to be raised in an environment where temperatures are within their thermoneutral zones to achieve their maximal genetic potential. Failures to establish adequate environmental temperatures can dramatically alter behavior, health, and productivity of cows.
