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Cows speak #7 - Thermal stress

Event05/06/2020

High temperatures have an impact on the behaviour of your herd!

During heat waves, herds are directly affected. But what is the real impact on the animals' behaviour?

During the heat wave episode, the maximum temperature rose to 41.5°C with 20% humidity and a THI of 85.

At the same time, a loss of 5 litres of milk per cow in the tank was observed.

On the curves of the Feed'Live, we can see :

  • A sharp drop in feed intake time (-50%).
  • A large artificial increase in rumination (the cow, when suffocating, makes a movement which is similar to rumination)

 

Looking at the herd's schedule:

  • There's very little ingestion during the day, even after milking, which is not compensated for at night...
  • During the day cows spend a lot of time standing, in other activities (they move around without ingesting or ruminating).

On Time'Live, the discomfort is marked by :

  • A drop in lying time (-33%)
  • An increase in standing time without ingestion

High heat thus has a real impact on the behaviour and well-being of herds!

It is therefore advisable in these situations to place cows in the coolest and most ventilated place possible with abundant water and mineralization adapted to heat stress.

Medria can therefore be used to monitor herd behaviour during periods of intense stress that threaten the integrity of the animals and their production. The use of the services makes it possible to highlight critical points, improve them and then see the impact of the modifications during other similar episodes.