Effects of Sprinkler, Shade and Fan Cooling of Preparturient Holstein cows on Post-parturient Milk Performance during Summer Heat Stress
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21423/aabppro20035319Keywords:
Heat stress, animal welfare, production performance, cooling, shades, fans, sprinklers, milk production, body condition score, post-parturient disorderAbstract
Heat stress has important consequences for animal welfare and production performance, and has been implicated as the most important reason for decreased milk production during summer time. Due to lower milk production, most research has targeted prevention of heat stress in lactating cows. Few investigations, however, have focused on cooling preparturient dairy cows during the non-lactating period, and no research has reported the effects of cooling during the last three weeks of gestation. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of shades, fans, and sprinklers on the last three weeks of gestation of Holstein cows during summer heat stress. Outcome variables included post-parturient milk production, rectal temperature, body condition score (BCS) and incidence of post-parturient disorders.
