scholarly journals Effects of cooled floor pads combined with chilled drinking water on behavior and performance of lactating sows under heat stress

2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Zhu ◽  
L J Johnston ◽  
M H Reese ◽  
E S Buchanan ◽  
J E Tallaksen ◽  
...  

Abstract This study was conducted to evaluate whether cooled floor pads combined with chilled drinking water could alleviate negative impacts of heat stress on lactating sows. Thirty sows (Landrace × Yorkshire, Parity = 1 to 6) were housed in individual farrowing stalls in two rooms with temperatures being controlled at 29.4°C (0700–1900 hours) and 23.9°C (1900–0700 hours). Sows in one room (Cool), but not in the other room (Control) were provided cooled floor pads (21–22°C) and chilled drinking water (13–15°C). Behavior of sows (15 sows/treatment) was video recorded during farrowing, and days 1, 3, 7, 14, and 21 after farrowing. Videos were viewed continuously to register the birth time of each piglet, from which total farrowing duration and birth intervals were calculated. The number of drinking bouts and the duration of each drinking bout were registered for each sow through viewing videos continuously for 2 h (1530–1730 hours) each video-recording day. Postures (lying laterally, lying ventrally, sitting, and standing) were recorded by scanning video recordings at 5-min intervals for 24 h each video-recording day, and time budget for each posture was calculated. Rectal temperature and respiration rate were measured for all sows the day before and after farrowing, and then once weekly. Sow and litter performance was recorded. Data were analyzed using the Glimmix procedure of SAS. The cooling treatment did not affect sow behavior or litter performance. Sows in the Cool room had lower rectal temperature (P = 0.03) and lower respiration rate (P < 0.001), consumed more feed (P = 0.03), tended to have reduced weight loss (P = 0.07), and backfat loss (P = 0.07) during lactation than sows in the Control room. As lactation progressed, sows increased drinking frequency (P < 0.001) and time spent lying ventrally (P < 0.0001), standing (P < 0.001), and sitting (P < 0.0001), and decreased time spent lying laterally (P < 0.0001) in both Cool and Control rooms. While cooled floor pads combined with chilled drinking water did not affect sow behavior, they did alleviate heat stress partially, as indicated by decreased rectal temperature, respiration rate, weight, and backfat loss, and increased feed intake in lactating sows.

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 153-154
Author(s):  
Yuzhi Li ◽  
Yunhui Zhu ◽  
Michael Reese ◽  
Eric Buchanan ◽  
Lee Johnston

Abstract This study was conducted to evaluate effects of chilled drinking water and cooled floor pads on behavior of lactating sows under heat stress. Sows were housed in individual farrowing stalls in two rooms with temperatures being controlled at 29.4°C (0700h to 1900h) and 23.9°C (1900h to 0700h). Sows in one room (treatment), but not in the other room (control) were provided with chilled drinking water (13 to 15°C) and cooled floor pads (15 to 18°C). Behavior of sows (n=15 sows/treatment; parity=1 to 6) was video recorded during farrowing, and d 1, 3, 7, 14, and 21 after farrowing. Videos were viewed to register birth time of each piglet. Number of drinking bouts and duration of each bout were registered for 2 h (1530h to 1730h) each day after farrowing. Postures (lying laterally, lying ventrally, sitting, and standing) were recorded by scanning video-recordings at 5-min intervals for 24 h each day after farrowing, and time budget for each posture was calculated. Data were analyzed using the Glimmix Procedure of SAS. No effect of treatment was detected for litter size born, farrowing duration, or birth interval (P >0.33; Table 1). Neither frequency nor duration of drinking bouts was affected by treatment (P >0.27). No significant difference was observed in time budget for each posture (P >0.46) between treatment and control groups. As lactation progressed, sows increased drinking frequency (from 1.2 drinks/2h on d 1 to 4.9 drinks/2h on d 21; P< 0.001) and time spent lying ventrally (8% to 14%; P< 0.0001), standing (4% to 10%; P< 0.001), and sitting (2% to 4%; P< 0.0001), and decreased time spent lying laterally (86% to 67%; P< 0.0001) in both control and treatment rooms. These results indicate that chilled drinking water and cooled floor pads did not affect behavior of sows during farrowing and lactation in the current study.


2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 2-3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuzhi Li ◽  
Maria Lou ◽  
Michael Reese ◽  
Eric Buchanan ◽  
Lee J Johnston

Abstract This study was conducted to evaluate whether cooled floor pads and cooled drinking water could alleviate negative impacts of heat stress on lactating sows. Sows (n = 32; parity=1 to 6) farrowed in individual stalls in two rooms. In the treatment room, a cooling pad (56 cm×56 cm×5 cm deep) was embedded in the floor of each stall where the sow’s shoulder or chest rested while lying. The pad and water in the drinker were cooled to about 16°C and 15°C, respectively. The control room was identical except cooling pads were not operating and drinking water was at room temperature. Room temperatures were controlled at 29.4°C (0700h to 1900h) and 23.9°C (1900h to 0700h) in both rooms. Sixteen focal sows (8 per room) were video-recorded during farrowing, and days 1, 3, 7, 14, and 21 after farrowing. Videos were viewed continuously to register birth time of each piglet. Number of drinking bouts and duration of each bout were registered for 2 h (1530h to 1730h) each video-recording day. Data were analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS. Number of piglets born was used as a covariate for analysis of farrowing behaviors. No significant difference was detected for litter size born (14.1 for control vs. 15.1 piglet/litter for treatment, SE=1.33; P = 0.61), still birth (0.6 vs. 1.1 piglets/litter, SE=0.28; P = 0.31), or birth interval (14.6 vs. 14.8 min, SE=1.78; P = 0.95). Frequency of drinking bouts (2.8 for control vs. 4.2 drinks/2h for treatment, SE=0.50; P = 0.12) and duration of drinking bouts (10.5 vs. 12.0 sec/bout, SE=0.84; P = 0.21) were not affected by treatment across observation days. However, cooled sows reduced rectal temperature (39.3 vs. 39.6 °C, SE=0.11; P = 0.04) compared to control sows, suggesting cooled sows may have experienced less heat stress. These results indicate that cooled floor pads combined with chilled drinking water could be effective in reducing heat stress in lactating sows


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Véronique Ouellet ◽  
Izabella M. Toledo ◽  
Bethany Dado-Senn ◽  
Geoffrey E. Dahl ◽  
Jimena Laporta

The effects of heat stress on dry cows are profound and significantly contribute to lower overall welfare, productivity, and profitability of the dairy sector. Although dry cows are more thermotolerant than lactating cows due to their non-lactating state, similar environmental thresholds are currently used to estimate the degree of heat strain and cooling requirements. Records of dry cow studies conducted over 5 years in Gainesville, Florida, USA were pooled and analyzed to determine environmental thresholds at which dry cows exhibit signs of heat stress in a subtropical climate. Dry-pregnant multiparous dams were actively cooled (CL; shade of a freestall barn, fans and water soakers, n = 107) or not (HT; shade only, n = 111) during the last 7 weeks of gestation, concurrent with the entire dry period. Heat stress environmental indices, including ambient temperature, relative humidity, and temperature-humidity index (THI), and animal-based indices, including respiration rate, rectal temperature and daily dry matter intake were recorded in all studies. Simple correlations were performed between temperature-humidity index and each animal-based indicator. Differences in respiration rate, rectal temperature and dry matter intake between treatments were analyzed by multiple regression. Using segmented regression, temperature-humidity thresholds for significant changes in animal-based indicators of heat stress were estimated. Stronger significant correlations were found between the temperature-humidity index and all animal-based indices measured in HT dry cows (−0.22 ≤ r ≤ 0.35) relative to CL dry cows (−0.13 ≤ r ≤ 0.19). Although exposed to similar temperature-humidity index, rectal temperature (+0.3°C; P < 0.001) and respiration rate (+23 breaths/min; P < 0.001) were elevated in HT dry cows compared with CL cows whereas dry matter intake (−0.4 kg of dry matter/d; P = 0.003) was reduced. Temperature-humidity index thresholds at which respiration rate and rectal temperature began to change were both determined at a THI of 77 in HT dry cows. No significant temperature-humidity threshold was detected for dry matter intake. At a practical level, our results demonstrate that dry cow respiration rate and rectal temperature increased abruptly at a THI of 77 when provided only shade and managed in a subtropical climate. Therefore, in the absence of active cooling, dry cows should be closely monitored when or before THI reaches 77 to avoid further heat-stress related impairments during the dry period and the subsequent lactation and to mitigate potential carry-over effects on the offspring.


2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 ◽  
pp. 63-63
Author(s):  
S Khalajzade ◽  
N Emam Jomeh ◽  
A Salehi ◽  
A Moghimi Esfandabadi

Milk production is significantly decreased by thermal stress. The survival and performance of an animal during heat stress periods depend on several weather factors, especially temperature and humidity. Researchers reported dramatic decreases in milk production as temperature rose above 30 degree of centigrade. Very high environmental temperature is common during the summer months in Iran. Rectal temperature is as indicator of heat tolerance and has been the most frequently used physiological variable for estimating heat tolerance in cattle. Some dairy cows are more heat tolerant and productive when subjected to heat stress. Identification and selection of heat stress resistant cattle offers the potential to increase milk yield in tropical environment. The aim of the present study was to estimate genetic parameters of heat tolerance and its relationship to milk production in Holstein Dairy Cows in Iran.


1996 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 505 ◽  
Author(s):  
BP Purwanto ◽  
M Harada ◽  
S Yamamoto

A study was made to determine the effect of heat dissipation from drinking water (8 kg at 10, 20, or 30�C) on the heat balance and thermoregulatory responses of 4 dairy heifers housed at 24, 29, and 34�C. No effect of drinking-water temperature on heat production or heart rate was found. Respiration rate, mean skin-surface temperature, and rectal temperature all decreased with decreasing drinking-water temperature. Rectal temperature reached a minimum 20 min after watering. The respiration rate, skin temperature, and rectal temperature returned to prior-to-watering values 120-180 min after watering. The cooling efficiency of drinking water was about 40%, and decreased at high environmental temperature, because the cooling potential was used initially in depressing heat loss responses. It is suggested that in order to eliminate excessive heat load, chilled drinking water could be effective during the night time when the environmental temperature is lowest.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Liu ◽  
J. J. Cottrell ◽  
U. Wijesiriwardana ◽  
F. W. Kelly ◽  
S. S. Chauhan ◽  
...  

Abstract Improving insulin sensitivity may reduce impacts of heat stress (HS) in pigs by facilitating heat dissipation. Chromium (Cr) has been reported to improve insulin sensitivity in pigs. Therefore, the aim of this experiment was to investigate whether Cr supplementation can mitigate HS in growing pigs. Thirty-six gilts were randomly assigned to 2 diets containing 0 (control) or 400 ppb Cr. After 14 d the supplemented pigs were allocated to either 8 d thermoneutral (20°C constant; TN) or cyclic HS (35°C, 0900 h to 1700 h) conditions and continued their respective diet (n = 9 per group). Growth performance was recorded during the 14-d supplementation period. The physiological responses to HS were monitored by measuring respiration rate, rectal temperature, blood gas chemistry, and feed intake during thermal exposure. Kinetics of plasma glucose, insulin and NEFA were studied by intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) on d 8 of thermal treatment. Results showed Cr alleviated the HS-increased rectal temperature (P < 0.05) and respiration rate (P < 0.01) at 1300 h and 1600 h during thermal exposure. However, Cr did not mitigate the reduction in average daily feed intake which was reduced by 35% during HS or the HS-induced respiratory alkalosis. Chromium tended to increase average daily gain (0.86 vs. 0.95 kg, P = 0.070) during the 14-d supplementation under TN conditions before thermal exposure, which might be associated with the potential of Cr in improving overall insulin sensitivity, as evidenced by a reduced insulin resistance index calculated by Homeostatic Model Assessment (HOMA-IR; 0.65 vs. 0.51, P = 0.013) and a tendency of reduced fasting plasma insulin concentration (1.97 vs. 1.67 μU/mL, P = 0.094). Heat stress decreased the acute insulin releasing rate (P = 0.012) and consequently slowed glucose clearance rate (P = 0.035) during IVGTT. Besides, HS enlarged the values of area under the curve of NEFA during IVGTT (P < 0.01), indicating a reduced lipid mobilization. In conclusion, HS reduced insulin response to IVGTT. Chromium supplementation exhibited a potential in improving insulin sensitivity and mitigating HS symptoms in growing pigs.


2014 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-209
Author(s):  
Jarett Peikert ◽  
Kevin C. Miller ◽  
Jay Albrecht ◽  
Jared Tucker ◽  
James Deal

Context: Ingesting high-sodium drinks pre-exercise can improve thermoregulation and performance. Athletic trainers (19%) give athletes pickle juice (PJ) prophylactically for cramping. No data exist on whether this practice affects aerobic performance or thermoregulation. Objective: To determine if drinking 2 mL/kg body mass of PJ, hypertonic saline, or deionized water (DIW) pre-exercise affects aerobic performance or thermoregulation. Design: Crossover study. Setting: Controlled laboratory study. Patients or Other Participants: Nine euhydrated men (age = 22 ± 3 years, height = 184.0 ± 8.2 cm, mass = 82.6 ± 16.0 kg) completed testing. Intervention(s): Participants rested for 65 minutes. During this period, they ingested 2 mL/kg of PJ, hypertonic saline, or DIW. Next, they drank 5 mL/kg of DIW. Blood was collected before and after ingestion of all fluids. Participants were weighed and ran in the heat (temperature = 38.3°C ± 1°C, relative humidity = 21.1% ± 4.7%) at increasing increments of maximal heart rate (50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%) until exhaustion or until rectal temperature exceeded 39.5°C. Participants were weighed postexercise so we could calculate sweat volume. Main Outcome Measure(s): Time to exhaustion, rectal temperature, changes in plasma volume, and sweat volume. Results: Time to exhaustion did not differ among drinks (PJ = 77.4 ± 5.9 minutes, hypertonic saline = 77.4 ± 4.0 minutes, DIW = 75.7 ± 3.2 minutes; F2,16 = 1.1, P = .40). Core temperature of participants was similar among drinks (PJ = 38.7°C ± 0.3°C, hypertonic saline = 38.7°C ± 0.4°C, DIW = 38.8°C ± 0.4°C; P = .74) but increased from pre-exercise (36.7°C ± 0.2°C) to postexercise (38.7°C ± 0.4°C) (P < .05). No differences were observed for changes in plasma volume or sweat volume among drinks (P > .05). Conclusions: Ingesting small amounts of PJ or hypertonic saline with water did not affect performance or select thermoregulatory measures. Drinking larger volumes of PJ and water may be more effective at expanding the extracellular space.


2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 101-109
Author(s):  
A. A. Adeyemi ◽  
O. A. Olorunnisomo

High ambient temperature and relative humidity exert a negative effect on the performance of both Bostaurus and Bosindicus cattle in Nigeria. The use of water sprinklers to shower cattle may have the ability to mitigate the effect of heat stress. In this study, cold drinking water (10 C 15 C) and ordinary drinking water (20 C -25 C) were offered to six Jersey and six Sokoto Gudali heifers to compare the effect on heat stress. They were divided into two treatments each. Each treatment had three replicates and cattle were assigned in a completely randomised design to the treatment. Rectal temperature, respiratory rate, dry matter intake, daily weight gain and percentage body weight were measured. At three months of administration of treatment, mean morning and afternoon RT varied from 37.94C to39.17 C for Sokoto Gudali and 37.97 C to 39.21 C for Jersey heifers, RR varied from 20.54 bpm to 30.73 bpm for Gudali and 32.17 bpm to 42.63 bpm for Jersey heifers. There were significant (P<0.05) differences in respiratory rate, rectal temperature and dry matter intake between both the zebu and exotic heifers given ordinary water and those given cold water when treatments were administered. Mean RT was 38.99 C and 38.14 C for Gudali and 38.98 C and 38.34 C for Jersey heifers while mean RR was 28.12 bpm and 23.11 bpm for Gudali and 39.89 and 33.78 bpm for Jersey heifers. DMI were 4.14 kg/d and 6.01 kg/d, daily weight gain were 0.27 kg/d and 0.50 kg/d and FCR were 15.33 and 12.02. Cold drinking water is an effective method of ameliorating heat stress in zebu and Jersey breeds of cattle.  


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