Care & Management of Livestock & Pets During Summer

Care & Management of Livestock & Pets During Summer

Heat Stress indicates all high temperature related stress, which induces thermoregulatory changes in cattle. During the extreme hot humid or hot dry weather, this thermoregulatory capability of cattle to dissipate heat by sweating and panting is compromised and heat stress occurs. Severe heat stress can further lead to rise in body temperature, increased pulse rate, increased peripheral blood flow, reduced feed intake, and increased water intake.

When the environmental temperature goes beyond Upper critical temperature (24°-26°C for Exotic and crossbred cattle and 33°C for Zebu cattle and 36°C for buffaloes), body is unable to maintain the core body temperature through sweating and panting (evaporative heat loss mechanism). This when coupled with rising body heat production rate lead to hyperthermia in the animal .

Rising mercury has put lots of stress on dairy animals and it will be worst when relative humidity will exceed 90%. Under prevailing conditions milk production has also reduced due to lower feed intake and added heat load.

Due to scorching heat proper shelter and housing management, water application, changes in feeding regime, preventive health management etc. There are some of the techniques to minimize the effect of thermal stress.
Well ventilated shed with proper standing and resting space must be provided to dairy animals. Open end of the shed should be covered with thatched bamboo / jute / hessian curtains. Asbestos or sheet roof may be also being covered with thatch or top of the roof may be painted with white and under surface with dark colour. Shady trees should be planted around the sheds for further cooling. As water is the most essential input in summer special care should be given to this. Water splashing, showering, sprinkling and fogging of water on animals, inside the shed 3-4 times during hottest part of the day (11 AM to 4 PM), again reduces heat load and enhance productivity due to evaporative cooling.
These methods are more effective in buffaloes as they are having only one-sixth sweat gland in comparison to cattle. Animals should be wallowed in clean water ponds during extreme hot weather (between 11 AM to 4PM).
The Wallowing arrangement should be made on the farm itself as making them to walk to and from the pond in hot sun neutralizes beneficial effect of wallowing. On large commercial dairy farms various cooling devices viz. fans, wet curtain or panels, air cooler or conditioners etc. can be used during extreme hot condition. Provision of cooled potable drinking water (In earthen pitchers of the type commonly used in villages) also helps in reducing the heat load. Shaded water troughs in sufficient numbers should be provided to the animals at convenient place. Concentrate mixture containing more than 18% Digestible protein and 70% Energy contents along with palatable, digestible and laxative fodders should be offered to the animals.

The Proportion of green fodder should be increased and Long fodders must be chopped before feeding. If grazing is practiced, avoid grazing of animals from 10 AM to 5PM. The Soaking of concentrate in equal amount water for 20-30 minutes will increase nutrient utilization. Dietary mineral and vitamin supplementation should be increased during summer as its excretion under the effect of heat stress increased.
Supplementing dietary sodium and potassium increases milk yield during the period of heat stress. Proper de-worming and vaccination schedule must be followed for maintaining the health of animal. Ecto-parasites, whose infestation increases during summer, should be controlled properly by using suitable acaricidal spray on animals as well as in shed, especially in corners and crevices. Proper care and management techniques during summer season will help farmers to maintain healthy animals, more milk production and assured profit from dairy farming.

Productivity and efficiency of dairy animals goes down drastically during summer. Feed and care are the two key factors which need to be managed for increasing production efficiency.

During summer the availability of green fodder and oilcakes is limited whereas dry fodder may be available in abundance in some regions but may be poor in quality (nutrition value) and digestibility.

Feeding

Feeding economical and providing balanced ration to milch animals is required for profitability, production of milk and a more effective reproductive cycle.

Feeding of fodders and concentrate should be in the ratio of 70:30 of total feed. It is advisable to feed additional food in form of cereals and oil cakes.

In summer conditions additional 35 per cent protein rich concentrate mixture is suggested to be fed and clean and cool water to be provided 5-6 times in a day. Feed wheat bhoosa (common in North India) preferably during midnight or any cool hours of the day.

The seasonal feeding and management will help in increasing the reproductive and productive condition of animal body against seasonal stress and in inclement weather also. Further it will ensure in reducing age at first calving and calving interval and increasing lifetime milk production.

Do not change the feeding, watering and management plan abruptly. Only quality feeds preferably ISO certified, should be fed. Animals should be provided with suitable housing to protect against hot winds.

Cattle grooming and washing particularly buffaloes, with cold water during summer are advisable. A mild detergent may be used in washing.

Grooming

Grooming and washing should be done at least two hours before milking, followed by wiping of udder with clean duster soaked in mild/ diluted antiseptic solution.

Signs and prevention of heatstroke in summer

Though the ill effects of the summer season are seen in all species of animals, cows, buffaloes and poultry are more affected. It is due to black color, less number of sweat glands and effects of special hormonal in buffaloes, and absence of sweat glands and higher body temperature (107 ⁰F) in poultry.

• Animal show loss of appetite
• Loss of milk production in lactating animals
• Epistaxis and diarrhea
• Nose and eyes are red and heartbeats are rapid
• Animal shows deep breathing and panting, protrusion of tongue, and feeble breathing at the terminal stage
• Excessive salivation and frothing at the mouth
• Animal show uneasiness and tries to find shade and doesn’t like to sit
• Weak and dull reproductive activities- During the summer season, the reproductive efficiency of buffaloes and cross-bred cows become dull and their estrus cycle is prolonged and fiery. As such the chances of pregnancy are declined considerably
• Fat and protein contents decrease in cow and buffalo milk affecting its quality
• Embryonic mortality increases in female animals
• Animals show abnormal behavior
• Breeding potential of male animals decreases
• Sperm mortality in semen increases
• Age of puberty increases in male and female
• Neonatal mortality rate increases
• The animal may die for want of proper care and treatment

 Preventing Heat Stroke

Some precautions should be taken to protect animals from heatstroke. Following guidelines and preventive measures are useful for the proper care of lactating animals and newborns to protect them from heat stroke and other diseases as well as to improve milk production.

• Animal house should be constructed in a manner to provide proper space to animals to ensure free movement of air.
• Khas (vetiver) or Jute sacks curtains should be placed at the main entrance of the animal house to protect animals from direct sun.
• Fans, coolers, and sprinkler systems can be fitted in animal house to protect animals from heat. Fans and coolers can reduce the temperature by 10⁰  Size of fans for inside animal house use is 36-48 inches and should be fitted on the wall about 5 feet height from the ground at 30⁰ angles. A cooler is sufficient enough to keep the 20 square feet area very cool.
• Shady trees around open area of the animal house helpful in lowering the temperature
• Adequate clean drinking water should always be available. Keep the drinking water in shade.
• If possible provide cool drinking water to animals after milking.
• Provide cool water 3-4 times in summer. To avoid inconvenience, arrange drinking water at least in two places in animal houses with a large number of animals. Generally, an animal needs 3-5 liter drinking water per hour.  Always keep water and water troughs clean. The temperature of the water should be 70-80 ⁰F, which is liked very much by animals
• Buffaloes should be bathed at least  3-4 times daily and cows twice a day
• Troughs should be cleaned regularly with lime. Don’t give kitchen waste food to animals.
• Don’t feed carbohydrate-rich food such as flour, bread, rice, etc to animals. Keep grain and fodder ratio 40:60 for a balanced diet.
• Sorghum grown during summer may contain toxic material, which can be harmful for animals. Therefore, in the absence of rain, irrigate the sorghum crop 2-3 times before feeding it to animals.
• Animal fodder must contain 18-19 percent soluble fiber. Also, animal diet can be supplemented with yeast (which helps in the digestion of fiber), and fungal culture (e.g. Aspergilus oryzae) and niacin, which enhance energy .
• Since the consumption of grain is reduced, animals can be fed with fat rich feed such as mustard cake, cotton seed, soybean cake or oil or ghee as well. Dry matter in the animal feed contains up to 3% Besides this, 3-4 percent fat should be fed additionally. The total concentration of fat should not be more than 7-8 percent.
• In summer lactating animals should be fed up to 18%  Excess quantity of protein fed to animals is excreted in urine and sweat. Give stone to supplement calcium in the diet for maintaining milk production.
• Animals should be vaccinated for HS, FMD, BQ, etc. in summer to prevent the occurrence of these disease in the rainy season
• Consult veterinarian in case of heatstroke in animals.

Summer Management of Dairy Cattle

In summer, the reproductive performance of bulls may also be affected adversely. The quantity and quality of semen produced by bull are poor and their libido is decreased. These effects are more prominent in buffaloes as their black skin-coat and lack of hair help the absorption of more heat. Moreover, buffaloes have fewer sweat glands than cows due to which they had difficulty in dissipating heat from the body.  In hot environment, both period and intensity of estrus are considerably reduced in female animals and they may become anestrus. The following steps are therefore recommended to alleviate adverse effects of the summer season and to help to maintain the production and reproductive performances of animals.

1. Provide clean and well-ventilated animal house with anti-slippery concrete floor having slope for drainage of urine and water. The roof of animal house should be insulator to avoid overheating during summer. Asbestos sheets can be used for this. On very hot days, 4-6 inches thick grass layer of thatch can be put on the roof. These layers act as heat insulators due to which the inside temperature of animal house remains low.  White painting or fixing shining aluminum sheet on roof of animal houses are useful in reflecting sunlight. The minimum height of roof of animal house should necessarily be 10 feet for proper circulation of air and the animals are protected from heat of roof.  Cover windows, doors and other open places of animal house with sacks and sprinkle water on these sacks.  Fans are also useful in animal house and if possible, arrangements for fitting fans should be made.

The animal house should not be overcrowded. Each animal should get sufficient space as per its requirement. An adult cow and buffalo need 40 and 50 square feet area, respectively. In the open house system per animal requirement is 35 and 40 square meter open area and 7 and 8 square meter covered area for cow and buffaloes, respectively. Animals in the stage of advanced pregnancy and close to parturition should be provided 12 square meters covered and open areas each. It is necessary that breeding bulls are provided 12 square meters covered and 120 square meters open area, where they can have enough exercise to maintain their breeding potential

1. Spray cold water three to four times on an animal body if the atmospheric temperature is high. If possible buffaloes can be taken to ponds or pools for bellowing. Experiments show that spraying cold water on animals at noon is useful in improving their production and breeding performances.
2. Intake of fodder by animals is reduced during summer. When the environmental water temperature is higher than the body temperature, animals eat less dry fodder because much heat is generated from the body on the digestion of dry fodder. Therefore, animals should be provided fodder in the morning or evening only, and as far as possible try to provide much green fodder. This practice has two advantages, first animals relish green fodder and thus consume enough nutritious feed, and second green fodder contains 70-90 percent water providing water from time to time. In case animals are going for grazing, they should be taken to pasture only in the morning and evening. Farmers should sow Mung bean, maize, cowpea, etc in the month of March -April to ensure supply of green fodder during summer. Livestock owners without irrigated land can cut green grass in time and dry and store it. This grass is rich in protein, easy to digest, and nutritious.
3. In summer, the appetite of animals decreases, and thirst increases. As such provision of sufficient drinking water should be made at least three times a day to animals. In addition, add a little quantity of salt and flour in the drinking water. Provide cool water for drinking. For this, arrange to keep the water tank in a shaded place. Water pipe should not be laid through open sun and attempts should be made for the underground pipeline to prevent the warming of water during day time. Earthen pitchers can be used for providing cool water for animals in summer.
4. Shady trees are very much necessary nearby animal houses. This tress not only provides shade for animals but also protects them from hot summer winds.

 https://www.pashudhanpraharee.com/proper-management-of-livestock-during-summer-is-vital-for-production-and-health/

 https://www.dairyknowledge.in/article/managing-dairy-animals-during-summer

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