The effects of heat stress on the behaviour of dairy cows – a review

Herbut, Piotr; Hoffmann, Gundula; Angrecka, Sabina; Godyń, Dorota; Vieira, Frederico Márcio Corrêa; Adamczyk, Krzysztof; Kupczyński, Robert

doi:10.2478/aoas-2020-0116

Cited by 35 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 91 publications

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“…In this study, the cows maintained their DMI when they were under low RH or in the case of high RH combined with high AV. We also reported that effects of medium and high RH without fan on DMI were equally significant, which was comparable with other studies (Hill and Wall, 2017;Herbut et al, 2021). West et al (2003) found a decrease in daily DMI of 0.51 kg for each unit increase in THI between 73 and 82, whereas Hill and Wall (2017) reported that the decrease rate of DMI was 0.03 kg for every increased unit of THI.…”

Section: Productive Responses To Treatmentssupporting

confidence: 90%

Effects of increasing air temperature on physiological and productive responses of dairy cows at different relative humidity and air velocity levels

Zhou

Aarnink

Huynh

et al. 2022

Journal of Dairy Science

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This study determined the effects of increasing ambient temperature (T) at different relative humidity (RH) and air velocity (AV) levels on the physiological and productive responses of dairy cows. Twenty Holstein dairy cows were housed inside climate-controlled respiration chambers, in which the climate was programmed to follow a daily pattern of lower night and higher day T with a 9°C difference, excluding effects from sun radiation. Within our 8-d data collection period, T was gradually increased from 7 to 21°C during the night (12 h) and 16 to 30°C during the day (12 h), with an incremental change of 2°C per day for both nighttime and daytime T. During each research period, RH and AV were kept constant at 1 of 5 treatment levels. A diurnal pattern for RH was created, with lower levels during the day and higher levels during the night: low (RH_l: 30-50%), medium (RH_m: 45-70%), and high (RH_h: 60-90%). The effects of AV were studied during the day at 3 levels: no fan (AV_l: 0.1 m/s), fan at medium speed (AV_m: 1.0 m/s), and fan at high speed (AV_h: 1.5 m/s). Effects of short and long exposure time to increasing T were evaluated by collecting data 2 times a day: in the morning [short: 1 h (or less) − exposure time] and afternoon (long: 8 h − exposure time). The animals had free access to feed and water and both were ad libitum. Respiration rate (RR), rectal temperature (RT), skin temperature (ST), dry matter intake, water intake, milk yield, and composition were measured. The inflection point temperatures (IPt) at which a certain variable started to change were determined for the different RH and AV levels and different exposure times. Results showed that IPt under long exposure time for RR (first indicator) varied between 18.9 and 25.5°C but was between 20.1 and 25.9°C for RT (a delayed indicator). The IPt for both RR and RT decreased with higher RH levels, whereas IPt increased with higher AV for RR but gave a minor change for RT. The ST was positively correlated with ambient T and ST was not affected by RH but significantly affected by AV. For RR, all IPt was lower under long exposure time than under short exposure time. The combination of higher RH levels and low AV level negatively affected dry matter intake. Water intake increased under all treatments except RH_l-AV_l. Treatment RH_h-AV_l negatively affected milk protein and fat yield, whereas treatments RH_m-AV_m and RH_m-AV_h reduced milk fat yield. We concluded that RH and AV significantly affected the responses of RR, RT, ST, and productive performance of high-producing Holstein cows. These responses already occurred at moderate ambient T of 19 to 26°C.

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Section: Productive Responses To Treatmentssupporting

confidence: 90%

Effects of increasing air temperature on physiological and productive responses of dairy cows at different relative humidity and air velocity levels

Zhou

Aarnink

Huynh

et al. 2022

Journal of Dairy Science

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“…However, slight perturbations in rumen fermentation can change the concentration of individual VFAs. Heat stress can increase the frequency of feed ingestion and drinking ( Eslamizad et al, 2020 ; Herbut et al, 2021 ). It is believed that such adaptations were the results of self-regulation in response to HS ( West, 2003 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Heat Stress on the Ruminal Epithelial Barrier of Dairy Cows Revealed by Micromorphological Observation and Transcriptomic Analysis

et al. 2022

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Heat stress (HS) alters the rumen fermentation of dairy cows thereby affecting the metabolism of rumen papillae and thus the epithelial barrier function. The aim of the present study was to investigate if HS damages the barrier function of ruminal epithelia. Eight multiparous Holstein dairy cows with rumen cannula were randomly equally allocated to two replicates (n = 4), with each replicate being subjected to heat stress or thermal neutrality and pair-feeding in four environmental chambers. Micromorphological observation showed HS aggravated the shedding of the corneum and destroyed the physical barrier of the ruminal epithelium to a certain extent. Transcriptomics analysis of the rumen papillae revealed pathways associated with DNA replication and repair and amino acid metabolism were perturbated, the biological processes including sister chromatid segregation, etc. were up-regulated by HS, while the MAPK and NF-kB cell signaling pathways were downregulated. However, no heat stress-specific change in the expression of tight junction protein or TLR4 signaling was found, suggesting that HS negatively affected the physical barrier of the ruminal epithelium to some extent but did not break the ruminal epithelium. Heat stress invoked mechanisms to maintain the integrity of the rumen epithelial barrier by upregulating the expression of heat shock protein and repairments in rumen papillae. The increase in amino acid metabolism in rumen papillae might affect the nutrient utilization of the whole body. The findings of this study may inform future research to better understand how heat stress affects the physiology and productivity of lactating cows and the development of mitigation strategies.

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“…This contrasts with reports of reduced feed intake during periods of heat stress (e.g., [ 32 , 33 , 64 ]). However, reductions in feed intake due to heat stress can become less over time due to acclimatization [ 65 ]. Since data were collected in the middle of summer, it may be that the cows were sufficiently acclimatized to not show a decrease in feed intake.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dairy Cow Behavior Is Affected by Period, Time of Day and Housing

Leliveld

Riva

Mattachini

et al. 2022

Animals

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Dairy cow behavior is affected by external and endogenous factors, including time of year, barn microclimate, time of day and housing. However, little is known about the combined effects of these factors. Data were collected on eight farms in Northern Italy during summer, winter and a temperate season. The temperature-humidity index (THI) was recorded using environmental sensors, whereas cow behavior was monitored using leg accelerometers and cameras. Period, time of day and their interaction all significantly affected lying, standing and feeding behavior. However, although THI had a significant negative effect on lying and a positive effect on standing during daytime (all p < 0.001), during nighttime, it only had a significant negative effect on lying duration and mean lying bout duration (p < 0.001 for both). There was also significant variation between farms in all behavioral parameters, as well as interactions with period and time of day. For instance, farm differences in lying duration were more pronounced during daytime than during nighttime. These findings show how housing can interact with other factors, such as period of the year and time of day, and illustrate the influence of barn structure and farm management on cow behavior and, consequently, their welfare.

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The effects of heat stress on the behaviour of dairy cows – a review

Cited by 35 publications

References 91 publications

Effects of increasing air temperature on physiological and productive responses of dairy cows at different relative humidity and air velocity levels

Effects of increasing air temperature on physiological and productive responses of dairy cows at different relative humidity and air velocity levels

Effects of Heat Stress on the Ruminal Epithelial Barrier of Dairy Cows Revealed by Micromorphological Observation and Transcriptomic Analysis

Dairy Cow Behavior Is Affected by Period, Time of Day and Housing

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