Summer Management Tips of Dairy Animals

Team Pashudhan Praharee

June 16, 2021

1835

Summer Management of Dairy Animals

Heat stress occurs when the combination of environmental temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation and air movement cause the temperature of the cow to exceed its zone of thermo neutrality • The best way to deal with heat stress is to prevent it from occurring. • The objective of the management tools are to prevent heat stress from occurring.
https://www.pashudhanpraharee.com/farmers-tips-for-summer-management-in-layer-farms/
As the environmental temperature increases, the reliance on evaporative cooling (sweating and panting) to dissipate body heat increases. • However, high relative humidity reduces the effectiveness of evaporative cooling and during hot, humid summer weather dairy animals can’t eliminate sufficient body heat and body temperatures raise.
Lactating buffaloes and cows create a large quantity of metabolic heat and accumulate additional heat from radiant energy. Buffaloes tend to be more uncomfortable because they have fewer sweat glands under the skin than cows. • Thermal environment is a major factor that can negatively affect production and reproduction in dairy animals, especially in animals of high genetic merit
High ambient temperature is also one of the major factors for reproductive failures and embryonic mortality, especially in buffaloes. • Feed intake is reduced and milk yield is alarmingly decreased. • The scarcity of fodder and milk make summer season lean for the dairy farmers and they are unable to keep pace with the demands of milk
DIRECT IMPACT OF HEAT STRESS AND ITS SIGNS • Depressed feed intake • Decreased milk yield • Milk fats and protein % • Elevated somatic cell counts as well as increased risk of mastitis • Weight loss and reduced reproduction.
Once the heat load on a dairy animal becomes severe the animal may show signs of distress like • Seeking shade • Refusing to lie down • Reducing feed intake • Crowding water holes • Splashing water from toughs • Labored breathing • Excessive salivation • Convulsions and even death.
Under heat stress, particularly buffaloes show the following signs • Increased reddening of hide on the brisket, under the belly and between the legs • Protruded tongue • Panting • Salivation • Obvious blood shot eyes • Reduced feed intake • Reduced milk yield • Very hot to touch and increased rectal temperaturev
The body temperature of a buffalo is lower than that of a cow in spite of the fact that its black skin absorbs much heat and its skin has only one-sixth the density of sweat glands that a cow skin has. This explains why buffalo like to wallow in water when the temperature and humidity are high • The rectal temperature and respiratory rates were significantly higher during direct exposure to solar radiation in the noon time than the values obtained when the animals were kept under shade in the barn • Pregnancy rate was decreased from 90% in winter to 62.5% in summer
EFFECT OF HEAT STRESS ON FEED INTAKE, DIGESTION AND FEED UTILIZATION • Feed intake is reduced due increased ambient temperature. • High environmental temperature may affect the rumen micro organisms that synthesize Vitamin B complex, amino acids and fatty acids on which the nutrition of ruminants largely depends. • In addition, reduction of blood flow to rumen epithelium and reduction of rumination is noticed during dehydration and heat stress
EFFECT OF HEAT STRESS ON PRODUCTION • The high temperature causes stress due to increased body heat leading to low heat dissipation from the body surface. High heat load in lactating buffaloes reduces their milk production and shorten duration of lactation periods • The incidence of silent heat or poor expression will be more common at high temperatures during summer particularly in buffaloes that have limited access to water for either drinking and/ or wallowing. • These buffaloes at high temperatures may also fail to conceive due to silent heat or poor expression of heat, loss of conception, causing long dry periods and inter calving intervals ultimately affecting milk production
EFFECT OF HEAT STRESS ON REPRODUCTION • Heat stress causes infertility in farm animals and represents a major source of economic loss • Heat stress affects reproduction in all major farm species. Dairy buffalo and cattle are particularly sensitive to heat stress because of the metabolic heat produced
MEASURES TO OVERCOME HEAT STRESS COOLING BY REDUCING AMBIENT AIR TEMPERATURE Misters High Pressure Foggers Evaporative Cooling Pads and Fans ENHANCING THE COW’S NATURAL MECHANISM OF HEAT LOSS Sprinkler and Fan Cooling Systems (Direct Evaporative Cooling) Sprayers in Parlor Exit Lanes Cooling Ponds Shades Artificial Shade Permanent Shade Structures Portable shades Natural Shade
COOLING BY REDUCING AMBIENT AIR TEMPERATURE • Misters • High Pressure Foggers • Evaporative Cooling Pads and Fans
Misters • The use of misters reduced water intake of the misted cows versus the unmisted controls. • This was probably because the misted cows were not as hot and so transpired, sweated, less water than the unmisted controls.
Fans • The use of fans, particularly in areas of poor ventilation, is generally considered beneficial in preventing cows from becoming hot.
Sprinkling • Sprinkling (not misting) the cow with water to fully wet her body and using fans to evaporate the water cools the cow and encourages greater feed intake and milk production
ENHANCING THE COW’S NATURAL MECHANISM OF HEAT LOSS • Cooling Ponds/ Wallowing tanks • Cooled Water • Shades i. Natural shade ii. Artificial shade
Cooled Water: • It should be available as fresh and clean. Drinking water three-four times a day is a need in summer months in general farm practice. • Showering/splashing of water on the body thrice a day (morning, noon and afternoon) decreases heat stress.
Wallowing : • Wallowing is the cheapest and least laborious device to beat the heat in summer. Buffaloes are made to wallow in clusters in ponds, rivers, tanks or other water bodies for hours together. • Wallowing is an important route of heat loss in view of the labile body temperature which enables the animal to store body temperature.
Natural Shade • Trees are an excellent source of shade and if given the choice cows will generally seek the protection of trees rather than man-made structures.
Artificial Shade • These shades should be oriented in a North/South direction, provide about 40 to 45 square feet of shade per cow, and be about 12 to 13 feet high. There should be a raised dirt mound under the shades to prevent accumulation of moisture, and it should be groomed regularly.
Changes in feeding: • Cow maintenance requirements increase with heat stress while dry matter intake goes down. Consider increasing feeding frequency (an extra feeding or two), feeding at a cooler time of day, or even changing the ration. Summer rations will require a buffer and better forage quality.
DROUGHT MANAGEMENT • During a drought situation, every measure needs to be taken to save useful cattle from mortality or distress sale by making arrangements for drinking water, fodder and medicines etc
Feeding Management • Emphasis on green fodder conservation in view of looming threat of drought becomes important. • However, in the face of unpreparedness, appropriate feed enrichment and supplementation strategies become more imperative. • Choice of supplements is critical. • Feed ingredients bearing high energy/ protein are preferred with minerals. • .
Lack of green fodder causes vitamin deficiency (particularly Vit. A & E), therefore, supplementation becomes essential. • A buffalo producing 15 to 18 Liters milk per day, requires 60 to 75 thousand, 15 to 20 thousand, 400 to 500 IU of vitamin A, D3, E, respectively, which can be met by feeding 10g Brivita • Supplementary feeding of grains / oil cakes can be given twice a week
Use of grain as supplement for animals is hard to justify because of scarce availability and long- time storage problem so, feeds during drought for animals include fodder trees and urea-treated straw [4% urea with Molasses]. • By-products such as oil seed cake should be used • Urea molasses enrichment of straw can be done using 1.00 quintal straw, sprinkled with 20 Liter water containing 10 kg molasses, 1 kg urea, 500 gm mineral mixture, 50 g Brivita (Vitamin A, D3 and E) and 1 kg salt for supplementing the feeding of affected the animals economically
Maize stovers/ soybean chaff etc. can be given upto 30% in ration. • Sugarcane tops (contain 2.3% DCP and 49% TDN) supplemented with limestone powder. • Leaves of mango, papal, banyan, babul, subabul, mahua, Israili babool, kabuli kikar, vegetable leaves, fruit pulp and waste; and dry sugarcane leaves are some unconventional fodders for difficult drought period, provided in gradient dose. • Tree leaves 50%, mixed with 5% cake, 25% available pods (Israili babool, Kabuli kikar) 15% molasses with 1 % urea with 2 % mineral mixture and 2% salt can be fed. • Banana stem and leaves {containing 6.5% DCP and 75% TDN (based on DN)} can be used as animal feed @ 15 to 20 kg per animal per day.
Grazing of poisonous plants and resulting toxicity problems become more common in the absence of quality fodder. • Awareness in farmers is essential, especially with regard to anti-nutritional / toxic factors as nitrate/ nitrite and HCN poisoning. • To avoid HCN poisoning farmers should not try to take a cut before Jowar (sorghum) reaches the height of at least 24 inches (at initiation of milks stage). • In available fallow lands, with any rainfall, farmers should grow short duration drought tolerant arid type crops like pearl millet (Bajra, Sorghum PC6 and MP Chari) and legumes (Moong, Moth, Cowpea BL1 and BL2) as fodder and fodder grasses (like stylo, cenchrus ciliaris, athropogan etc.) should be cultivated
In sugarcane growing areas, sugarcane tops and dry sugarcane leaves can be utilized, enriched for crude protein content and fed in scarcity areas. • 50% sugarcane bagasse (3% CP and 40% TDN) + 17% oil cake + 25% molasses mixed with 4% bran, 1% salt, 2% mineral mixture and 1% urea is promising maintenance ration for adult animals. • Partially damaged / discarded wheat / other grains may be diverted for feeding to productive animals. • Urea Mineral Molasses Block (UMMB) can be effectively utilized as a combined source of protein, energy and mineral during drought situations. • UMMB also help in preventing loss of fertility in case of prolonged drought. These blocks can be easily transported over long distances.
https://www.nddb.coop/farmer/animal-breeding/general/summer-stress