Four Ways to Prevent Heat Stress in Cattle
After a long, cold winter, it is difficult to imagine scorching heat. However, summer is almost upon us. As always, being prepared ahead of time makes managing the impact of heat on cattle easier and more effective.
Soaring temperatures, dry weather, and even strong winds are likely to occur this summer (as they do most summers) so now is the time to put your hot-weather herd management plan in place.
So how can you keep your cattle comfortable, safe and healthy during a heat wave? Here are some suggestions from animal health experts on the subject:
- Provide Shade. This can be a difficult task but a necessary one. Some days cattle won’t need shade but some days they will so it needs to be available. While cattle often like to be on a high piece of land so that they can feel a breeze, there needs to be a shady area that they can use if necessary. In the feedlot, fans and misters are helpful but aren’t practical on the range.
- Minimize Stress. Working cattle in extremely hot weather can cause stress that elevates their body temperature even more than the weather. As much as possible, do work in the early part of the day or in the evening. Remember that solid panel corral chutes can be extremely hot due to a lack of airflow.
- Make Plenty of Water Available. Cattle performance can be greatly impacted by water intake. Cattle water requirements are impacted by a variety of factors, including temperature, stress and weight. Further, water requirements greatly increase with rising temperatures. Keep in mind that drinking water isn’t the only way to meet water requirements – high moisture feeds such as silages or pasture can help meet these requirements, as well.
- Offer High-Quality Forage. To make sure that cattle keep eating even in extreme heat, it is important to consider the best times to feed them. Cattle will not want to eat during the warmest times of the day, so offer food accordingly. Further, consider what you are feeding them. High quality forage generates less heat and puts less stress on cattle.
No matter how careful you are when it comes to keeping cattle cool, it is important to continually monitor weather conditions and your herd. Dealing with effects of heat stress is easier the sooner those effects are felt by cattle.
The Hay Manager
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