Summer Management in Buffalo

Summer Management in Buffalo

Mohit Bharadwaj¹, Shivangi Singh², B.C Mondal³, Sankhanath Koley⁴ and Anshu Rahal⁵

¹Ph.D Scholar, Department of Animal Nutrition,College of Veterinary science and Animal Sciences,GBPUAT,pantnagar,Uttarakhand,India

²M.Vsc Scholar Department of Animal Nutrition,College of Veterinary science and Animal HusbandryRewa,NDVSU,Jabalpur M.P, India

³Professor, Department of Animal Nutrition,College of Veterinary science and Animal Sciences,GBPUAT,pantnagar,Uttarakhand,India

⁴Associate professor Department of Animal Nutrition,College of Veterinary science and Animal Husbandry Rewa,NDVSU,Jabalpur M.P, India

⁵Associate Professor, Department of Animal Nutrition,College of Veterinary science and Animal Sciences,GBPUAT,pantnagar,Uttarakhand,India

Corresponding Author mail id- bharadwajmohit1@gmail.com

https://www.pashudhanpraharee.com/heat-stress-in-buffaloes-during-summer-and-its-management-an-overview/
What is Summer Management

Proper feeding, housing and thermal ameliorative techniques are primarily necessary to overcome sub- reproductive problem in buffaloes linked with summer stress. Growth rate of buffalo heifers fall during severe hot months of the year due to inadequate intake, lack of excellent quality greens, diversion of better feeds to producing buffaloes at the cost of expanding stock, overcrowding and improper habitat. The research findings on summer management have suggested that adequate feeding and supply of thermal amelioration including proper housing are useful in attaining optimum growth in buffalo heifers. Growing buffalo calves kept in loose house grow better notably during extreme hot seasons than the calves housed inside the shed as loose housed animals spend maximum time in feeding and rumination. Buffaloes in loose housing system devoured more dry matter and water, generated more milk than those kept in the closed barn. Physiological reactions of buffaloes housed in shed were higher as compared to buffaloes in the open barns.

Amongst numerous climatic situations, it is the hot weather that ubiquitously impairs the productive and reproductive performance of cattle species. The plains, coast-line and foot-hill regions of the Indian subcontinent, home to over 90 percent of the world’s buffaloes, face variable and extreme weather conditions, with temperatures reaching up to 48°C in summers and as low as minus 2°C.

How to recognize heat stress

• Changes in consciousness: Rapid and weak pulse, rapid but shallow breathing;
• Abnormal vital parameters: Elevated heart rate, respiration rate, rectal temperature;
• Unusual salivation: Capillary refill is very fast
• In case of heat stroke – Very high body temperature sometimes as high as 106–108°F. Heat stroke is life-threatening, so immediate veterinary attention is a must while moving the animal to a cooler place, giving a bath with cold water or wrapping in wet sheets and providing a fan.
• Signs of heat exhaustion: Dizziness/unconsciousness; skin becomes dull and may be cold too.

Common terms associated with heat stress

• Muscular pain and spasm due to heavy exertion in a hot climate.
• Excessive loss of body fluids (usually through sweat) leading to fatigue.
• Break-down in the thermoregulatory system of the body leading to increased internal temperature with no sweating and death, if not immediately treated.

Management of heat stress

Modification of the micro-environment / Use of cooling system. Good management procedures include alteration of the surrounding environment to lessen the effects of environment and at the same time increase heat loss from the animal. Combating heat stress in buffaloes can be by numerous management measures such as the provision of shade, promoting air movement and regularly soaking the animal with cold water for greater evaporative cooling.

• Shade-Simple shade is the fundamental method of sheltering animals from direct sun radiation in day-time throughout summer. The most effective source of shade is the trees and plants. They provide not only protection from sunshine, but also generate a cooling effect by the evaporation of moisture from their leaves.

• Air movement- Air movement becomes more crucial during hot-humid conditions for giving cooling and comfort to the animal. Apart from relocating animal to shaded airy spot, fans or dairy fans and different types of coolers can also be put for making the place airy. Air movement increases the rate of heat loss from animal’s body surface, only as long as the air temperature is lower than the animal’s skin temperature.

• Evaporative Cooling-Numerous cooling solutions have been created such as holding-pen cooling, exit-lane cooling, and free-stall cooling. These solutions are suited for the animals maintained in covered pucca sheds. An evaporative system which employs water mist with fan is more effective and economises water use in contrast to repeatedly bathing the animals. Some farmers prefer sprinklers or mists, Water sprinklers generate a large volume of wastewater.

• Feeding strategies in hot environment-There are numerous critical aspects of nutritional management which should be examined during hot weather. These include specific formulation to cater for lower dry matter intake with matching higher availability of critical nutrients and to compensate for dietary heat spike while avoiding nutrient excesses. The energy requirements of nursing buffaloes also increase during high-temperature condition but this increase is apparently caused primarily by the increase in metabolic energy.

• Water intake-Water is the most important nutrient for buffalo during hot climate. Water intake is closely related to dry matter intake and milk yield, but regardless of the rate of increase, it is important that abundant water must be available at all times under hot conditions. Hot weather, declining dry matter intake and high lactation demand require increased dietary mineral concentration. The primary cation in bovine sweat is potassium. Sharp increases in the secretion of potassium through sweat occur during hot climatic conditions Alterations in mineral metabolism also affect the electrolyte status of buffalo during hot weather. So it important to supplement minerals during hot climate.

• Night Grazing-Buffaloes kept in a shed maintain rapid heartbeat during the night. However, when the animals are allowed out into a pasture at night, these physiological responses decrease immediately. This is the result, both of a reduction in radiation heat from the surrounding buffaloes, as well as increased heat loss from the animal itself.

• Feeding High-Energy Diets-Low-fibre, high fermentable carbohydrate diets lower dietary heat increment compared to high fiber diets. Although the metabolic energy of dairy buffaloes increases in a hot environment, heat stress depresses feed intake. For this reason, it is important to increase the energy content of the diet of dairy buffaloes, in order to maintain their energy intake under hot conditions. The heat increment, which is an internal heat stressor in hot environments, is lower in highly metabolizable diets. So it is imperative to use fatty feeds, or calcium salts of fatty acids, as the means of improving energy supply for buffaloes in summer. Buffaloes fed on such diets have higher milk yield, and a lower body temperature and respiration rate.

• Feeding by-Pass Protein-Dietary protein degradability is also critical under heat stress conditions. It is well known that excessive protein intake increases heat production and decreases reproductive performance. However, the protein requirement of buffalo increases and dry matter intake decreases in a hot environment, consequently, the protein supplied to lactating buffaloes during summer is not always sufficient. By using fish meal, which is a by-pass protein, the milk yield and protein content of buffalo milk increases but the ruminal ammonia production decreases.

Conclusion

In hot-humid climates, although buffalo attempts to acclimatize through physiological changes including cutting down on feed intake and heat production, this does not come without sacrificing part of its productivity. In order to prevent this economic loss to the farmer, there is need to understand and effectively combat heat stress by minimizing its impact on the animal body and its productivity.

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

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