Livestock Cooling - Keepiong your animals cool!
Long periods of hot or humid weather conditions can reduce production efficiency in barn animals making livestock cooling necessary. A prolonged increase of their body temperature above the acceptable levels can not only cause nutrition problems and reproductive issues, but it can also cause death. The animals need to maintain their body temperature within a reasonable range and because they a very low tolerance for heat stress.
Of course, the degree of this heat stress suffered by the animals will be dependent on the environmental conditions such as the temperature of the air, humidity and sunlight. Farmers and dairy owners use shades, fans and plenty of fresh drinking water as methods of livestock cooling to help their herds beat the heat. If they have windows in their barns, they’ll keep the windows open so the animals can catch the breeze, but sometimes that just isn’t enough. In southern US states, the heat can be especially severe so the farmers and dairy owners have sprinklers installed for livestock cooling.
Livestock cooling is extremely important for barn animals along with providing adequate water and nutrients. When animals get overheated, the first thing they tend to do is stop eating so it is vital to keep them alert and eating and drinking properly, along with staying cool. There are livestock cooling systems available such as fans and sprinkler systems that will help regulate their body temperature. When using a sprinkler system, it is necessary to make sure that the water is reaching the animals’ skin, not just their coats. When the water just hits their hair follicles, it really won’t be cooling the animal at all.
Another excellent method of livestock cooling is intermittent showering. Intermittent showering combined with plenty of shade and forced air movement (such as with fans) can be very effective for livestock cooling. By using a high capacity shower nozzle, enough water can be applied to fully wet the animals to their hide. Then, the water will then evaporate which will pull heat from the animal, just as if they were sweating. The air movement across their wet hide provided by the fans makes this system of livestock cooling most efficient.
Many resources are available on the internet for livestock cooling. You can purchase systems directly online or just read up on information and suggestions about what the most effective methods are to keep your animals comfortable and safe.