<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> Productivity of bovine species is drastically reduced when the animals are subjected to heat stress as often occurs in tropical regions. Although zebu cattle are considered to be heat tolerant, their productivity could improve when cooling measures are applied to mitigate the effects of heat stress. In this study, twenty four Sokoto Gudali heifers under mean ambient temperature of 27.4 ­°C and temperature humidity index (THI) of 78 were subjected to four cooling treatments: no cooling (control), fan, shower and shower with fan. Rectal temperature of heifers reduced from 39.3 °C (in the afternoon) to 39.2, 38.5, 38.5 and 38.0 °C for control, fan, shower and shower with fan, respectively, one hour after administration of treatments. Dry matter intake (DMI) and growth rate of heifers increased significantly (P &lt; 0.05) when cooling measures were applied. DMI of heifers varied from 2.08 to 3.78% of body weight (BW) while average daily gain (ADG) varied from 0.38 to 0.86 kg/d with cooled animals having the higher values. Application of cooling measures significantly improved the performance of zebu heifers raised in a hot and humid environment.</p></abstract>

Productivity of bovine species is drastically reduced when the animals are subjected to heat stress as often occurs in tropical regions. Although zebu cattle are considered to be heat tolerant, their productivity could improve when cooling measures are applied to mitigate the effects of heat stress. In this study, twenty four Sokoto Gudali heifers under mean ambient temperature of 27.4 ­°C and temperature humidity index (THI) of 78 were subjected to four cooling treatments: no cooling (control), fan, shower and shower with fan. Rectal temperature of heifers reduced from 39.3 °C (in the afternoon) to 39.2, 38.5, 38.5 and 38.0 °C for control, fan, shower and shower with fan, respectively, one hour after administration of treatments. Dry matter intake (DMI) and growth rate of heifers increased significantly (P < 0.05) when cooling measures were applied. DMI of heifers varied from 2.08 to 3.78% of body weight (BW) while average daily gain (ADG) varied from 0.38 to 0.86 kg/d with cooled animals having the higher values. Application of cooling measures significantly improved the performance of zebu heifers raised in a hot and humid environment.

Performance of Zebu Heifers under Heat Mitigation Measures in a Humid-Tropical Environment

Department of Animal Science, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

Department of Veterinary Surgery and Reproduction, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

Agricultura Tropica et Subtropica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Productivity of bovine species is drastically reduced when the animals are subjected to heat stress as often occurs in tropical regions. Although zebu cattle...

Performance of Zebu Heifers under Heat Mitigation Measures in a Humid-Tropical Environment

Published Online: Mar 03, 2015

Page range: 119 - 123

Received: Jul 16, 2014

Accepted: Dec 15, 2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ats-2014-0016

Keywords
heat stress, cooling, growth, feed intake, Sokoto Gudali breed

© Agricultura Tropica et Subtropica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Performance of Zebu Heifers under Heat Mitigation Measures in a Humid-Tropical Environment

Published Online: Mar 03, 2015

Page range: 119 - 123

Received: Jul 16, 2014

Accepted: Dec 15, 2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ats-2014-0016

Keywordsheat stress, cooling, growth, feed intake, Sokoto Gudali breed

© Agricultura Tropica et Subtropica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
heat stress, cooling, growth, feed intake, Sokoto Gudali breed