Methods to quantify heat stress in ruminants: Current status and future prospects

Wijffels, Gene; Sullivan, Mitchell J.; Gaughan, J. B.

doi:10.1016/j.ymeth.2020.09.004

Cited by 32 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 112 publications

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“…As previously reported, UCT may greatly vary depending on sheep breed, age, weight, and nutritional state, and the temperatures we found may not be valid in animals of other ages, reared in different environmental conditions, and belonging to other breeds. In addition, the significant increase in the ET found in LSA and HS lambs confirms IRT as a possible viable tool to measure stress in livestock animals [ 32 , 68 , 69 , 70 ]. In agreement with EFSA opinion on pigs [ 71 ], ET may thus be considered a reliable ABM to assess in a non-invasive and effective way animal welfare consequences due to heat stress and impeded movement in lambs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Effects of Reduced Space Allowance and Heat Stress on Behavior and Eye Temperature in Unweaned Lambs: A Pilot Study

Menchetti

Costa

Zappaterra

et al. 2021

Animals

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Current European animal transportation law contains only a few and vague indications concerning how to move lambs of less than 26 kg. Moreover, little information is available in the literature about factors affecting these lambs’ welfare. We investigated the effect of space allowance and ambient temperature on the welfare of unweaned Lacaune lambs during a simulation of long-distance transportation (19 h). Three groups of lambs (N = 130) were housed in equally sized pens for 19 h, Control (C; n = 39; 0.27 m2 per head), Low Space Allowance (LSA; n = 52; 0.20 m2 per head), and Heat Stress (HS; n = 39; 0.27 m2 per head) groups. LSA lambs had lower space allowance than C but were tested at the same temperature, within their Thermoneutral zone (range = 12–18 °C). The HS lambs were, instead, subjected to higher temperatures (range = 19–30 °C). Scan sampling of behavior was conducted, eye temperature and body weight were also recorded. LSA and HS lambs showed more discomfort behaviors (p < 0.05) and higher eye temperatures (p < 0.001) compared to C lambs, while HS lambs additionally showed a decrease in body weight over the experimental period (p < 0.001). This study indicates that lower space allowances and higher temperatures impact negatively the welfare of lambs transported for slaughter suggesting that the regulation should be implemented taking these factors into account.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Effects of Reduced Space Allowance and Heat Stress on Behavior and Eye Temperature in Unweaned Lambs: A Pilot Study

Menchetti

Costa

Zappaterra

et al. 2021

Animals

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“…The observation of skin and eye temperature has long been used as a less invasive means of detecting changes in body temperature in production animals (Wijffels et al, 2021). The use of infrared radiation to measure body surface and eye temperature has been investigated for numerous applications, including infection, reproductive status, feed efficiency, and stress (McManus et Engenharia Agrícola, Jaboticabal, v.41, n.6, p.591-598, nov./dec.…”

Section: Agreement Between Of the Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While eye temperature is a common choice in many studies, the suitability of other sites for IR are still under active investigation. IR estimates of eye temperature or the temperature at other sites and their correlations with concurrent core temperature and/or meteorological variables or bioclimatic indices, has produced variable results (Wijffels et al, 2021). All the surface temperatures evaluated (PT, HT, ST, HQ and IRMax) correlated significantly (P < 0.05) with the rectal temperature showing that these are sensitive responses and can detect with a high degree of precision the changes in body core temperature of the goats when submitted to thermal stress conditions.…”

Section: Agreement Between Of the Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The application of infrared thermography to identify the comfort and heat stress conditions of production animals is of increasing importance. However, the skin temperature of animals can be influenced by several external and internal factors, such as race, color, season and climatic conditions (Wijffels et al, 2021). Despite the limitation of data obtained by the IR technique to reflect core body temperature, it is still practical for early assessment of heat stress as it is easy to use and requires minimal labor compared to measuring RT (Peng et al, 2019).…”

Section: Agreement Between Of the Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Estimation of Rectal Temperature of Goats Based on Surface Temperature

et al. 2021

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Infrared thermography (IR) is a non-invasive tool with potential to indicate changes in the animal's thermal conditions in response to the thermally stressful environment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the application of IR to estimate the rectal temperature of crossbred goats of the Boer breed. Six male crossbred goats of the Boer breed were distributed in a completely randomized design and submitted to temperatures of 26, 30 and 34 °C. Rectal temperature (RT) and thermograms data were collected from animals at each air temperature evaluated. In the thermograms, the temperatures of the ocular globe (PT), head (HT), shoulder (ST), hindquarter (HQ) and maximum infrared (IRMax) of the animals' surfaces were collected, the latter being observed in the lower region of the animals' eyes, at all air temperatures evaluated. The correlation of PT, HT, ST, HQ and IRMax data with the RT was evaluated through the Pearson coefficient analysis and the concordance using Bland-Altman diagrams. With the exception of the IRMax surface temperature, the others were adequate for the accurate estimation of RT, with PT standing out for presenting the highest correlation coefficient with RT (r = 0.951) and estimation errors varying in the range of ± 0.27 °C.

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“…One of the main limitations of bioclimatic indices is the lack of relationship to the core temperature and respiratory dynamics of animals experiencing excessive heat load. Additionally, the aforementioned indices are based on measurements at a single time point and fail to incorporate the duration and intensity of heat exposure [42]. Further, the most important aspect of using bioclimatic indices as predictive models for heat stress, is the collection of accurate and representative meteorological data.…”

Section: Bioclimatic Indicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technologies for the automated collection of heat stress data in sheep

et al. 2021

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The automated collection of phenotypic measurements in livestock is becoming increasingly important to both researchers and farmers. The capacity to non-invasively collect real-time data, provides the opportunity to better understand livestock behaviour and physiology and improve animal management decisions. Current climate models project that temperatures will increase across the world, influencing both local and global agriculture. Sheep that are exposed to high ambient temperatures experience heat stress and their physiology, reproductive function and performance are compromised. Body temperature is a reliable measure of heat stress and hence a good indicator of an animals’ health and well-being. Non-invasive temperature-sensing technologies have made substantial progress over the past decade. Here, we review the different technologies available and assess their suitability for inferring ovine heat stress. Specifically, the use of indwelling probes, intra-ruminal bolus insertion, thermal imaging and implantable devices are investigated. We further evaluate the capacity of behavioural tracking technology, such as global positioning systems, to identify heat stressed individuals based on the exhibition of specific behaviours. Although there are challenges associated with using real-time thermosensing data to make informed management decisions, these technologies provide new opportunities to manage heat stress in sheep. In order to obtain accurate real-time information of individual animals and facilitate prompt intervention, data collection should be entirely automated. Additionally, for accurate interpretation on-farm, the development of software which can effectively collect, manage and integrate data for sheep producer’s needs to be prioritised. Lastly, understanding known physiological thresholds will allow farmers to determine individual heat stress risk and facilitate early intervention to reduce the effects in both current and subsequent generations.

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Methods to quantify heat stress in ruminants: Current status and future prospects

Cited by 32 publications

References 112 publications

Effects of Reduced Space Allowance and Heat Stress on Behavior and Eye Temperature in Unweaned Lambs: A Pilot Study

Effects of Reduced Space Allowance and Heat Stress on Behavior and Eye Temperature in Unweaned Lambs: A Pilot Study

Estimation of Rectal Temperature of Goats Based on Surface Temperature

Technologies for the automated collection of heat stress data in sheep

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