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Tips for Managing Heat Stress

July 21, 2005 — Kansas State University (K-State) livestock specialists say that just like humans, animals can experience heat stress. Heat stress decreases animal performance and can result in death if serious enough, said Clifford Spaeth, sheep production specialist with K-State Research and Extension.

Heat stress cannot be prevented. As long as it is hot outside, animals will experience some stress and their performance will decrease, said John Smith, K-State Research and Extension dairy specialist. There are ways, however, that producers can reduce the amount of stress placed upon animals so that they stay healthy and are able to maintain performance.

Water is the most important factor when it comes to animal production. It is not only important that animals have plenty of water during the summer, but that it is clean.

“Another way to prevent heat stress is shade and air movement,” said Scott Beyer, Extension poultry specialist. “For birds, keeping the air moving at all times is important. Bird exhibits held during the summer should keep the air moving as much as possible.”

Animals need protection from direct sunlight during the summer, and adequate ventilation or fans should be available for animals housed inside barns. Low pressure misters are another option available to keep animals that are housed inside of barns cool.

“The effectiveness of these systems can be seen by visiting the local pool on a hot windy day,” Smith said. “Children will leave the pool and become cold as the water evaporates off their skin. Once they dry off they become warm and jump back in the pool to start the cycle again.”

Signs of heat stress include a decrease in growth performance in market animals and a decrease in milk production in dairy cattle. Other signs are heavy breathing, increased water intake, decreased feed intake and poor reproductive performance, Smith said.

While plenty of water, shade and ventilation are needed to keep heat stress at a minimum for any species, there are some techniques that are specific to one specie, too.

Dairy cattle should always have fresh feed available, Smith said. By feeding smaller amounts, more frequently throughout the day, feed will stay fresh.

Sheep should be sheared and rams separated from ewes in early July, Spaeth said. Market lambs should be fed high-energy diets during the cooler times of day to maintain feed intake.

Beyer recommends feeding poultry at night so that birds have at least four hours of feeding time before the temperature rises. Birds should be spread out to allow for more space and they should have access to bedding into which they can scratch and find a cool spot to lie.

Intermittent sprinkler systems are efficient at cooling hogs since they cannot sweat. The process of wetting the skin and allowing it to dry before wetting it again works better than a continuous mist, said K-State animal science professor Dave Nichols. He also recommends providing plenty of shade for cattle, noting that because of their size, a lot of water would be needed to cool them with misters.


— by Leah Bond of K-State Research and Extension News, which supplied this article.

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