Thoughts and insights on some factors that can affect the effectiveness of heat stress mitigation in dairy farms
Published:July 31, 2020
Summary
In a survey that we carried out recently in Israel, we found a great variation between farms, in terms of the number of hours along the day the cows are in "heat stress" condition (body temperature above normal). This variation is correlated with cow’s milk yield and breeding performance during summer months. As time in a day, cows face heat stress is longer, the drop in milk production and...
Dear Dr. Flamenbaum, in my opinion, besides enough drinking water provision, wetting and ventilation, there's provision of shadow (protection from sunshine radiation), thinking about the feed, less dry roughage to digest hardly, take more time for digestion and producing more heat. Thanks.
There is another way to cool down the cow via direct contact that is saving some water: cooling Mattresses. We have installed some test barns in France and after the heat waves of the last 2 years we already saw the positive impact on the cows health but also on the milk production! I am available to discuss this if you will!
Jean Vincent Bioret, do you think farms where we already have 40ºC plus temperature your beds can work and protect cows from heat stress? There is a huge difference between France and Middle East or south East Asian countries' weather conditions. We did try water bed at University of Wisconsin and next day we stop the whole experiment because of too much heat accumulation... There is no comparison between sand and water bed or mattresses.
Sohail Bajwa Yes, I really believe it will have an impact also in Middle East or South East Asian countries. A waterbed contrary to sand or other traditional mattresses will cool down the cow as for the water presence. the heat is dissipated on the side of the water pouch. (I do have studies available if you want)
The cooling waterbed product that we have launched is a waterbed with a cooled water circulation through the mattress that takes the cows heat and drives it to a heat exchanger. The heat accumulated in your study in Wisconsin university is driven out with the solution we provide. Once again I do have studies that prove that I would be please to show them to you!
Jean Vincent Bioret I am planning and designing my next research about how behaviour and comfort reacts against two different stalls materials having two different types of bedding material in this case we can work together .
Jean Vincent Bioret , I am very interested to know more about the water bed. I am a dairy farmer from the Philippines and is planning to use mattresses in my barn. Waterbeds will be a great material in a tropical country. Please tell me more.
Jose Vicente T. Tarnate Can you please give me your phone number or email address so that we can discuss this more in depth?
You can contact me at: export@bioret-agri.com
I wonder how those (cooling) mattresses are going to be washed and dried. A potential source of mastitis.
Yes, radiation heat can be easily reduced by blocking direct / indirect sunlight.
During the hot hours (4 to 6 hours) a wet sack put over the body can greatly enhance cooling by way of evaporation. These sacks can then be dried outside.
Rajeshwaran these mattresses need to be installed on concrete that has a slope of 3 to 5% in order to have humidity drained out of the building. They need to be cleaned at the rear twice a day, in case manure is eventually on the mattress.
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