Caring for your livestock in severe heat

There’s no doubt this past week has been one of the hottest on record. With high temperatures reaching into the low 100’s and the heat index reaching almost 110 degrees, many of us have been cranking up the A/C and staying out of the heat. Unfortunately for our outside animals and livestock, we cannot just simply bring them in the house to cool off. Being out in extremely hot weather puts them at risk for experiencing heat stress. This can lead to reduced performance and in severe cases, death can occur. As livestock owners, it is our responsibility to help minimize heat stress in our animals for their well-being and for performance reasons.

Identifying Heat Stress

For most animals and livestock, the main signs for heat stress include: panting, increased respiration, lower feed intake and increased water consumption, and salivation. We should monitor our animals closely on hot days to ensure we catch and treat any animal that may experiencing heat stress before it gets too severe. In severe cases, animals may become unconscious or have a heat stroke. To treat for heat stress, move the animals to shade immediately, offer clean water mixed with electrolytes and hose them down with cool water or apply a cold sponge to the body. If animals are in a barn or shed, increase air movement with fans and ventilation.

Access to Cool Water

The most critical component to minimizing heat stress is providing cool, clean water to your livestock. As temperature increases from 60 degrees to 90 degrees water intake will increase by 20 to 50 percent depending on the class of livestock. Make sure water troughs or stock tanks are large enough to provide an adequate supply to all of your animals. If livestock such as cattle or goats are kept in large pastures, think about providing multiple watering points to reduce the travel distance. Research has shown when cattle are required to travel more than 1000 feet to a water source, they actually drink 15 percent less compared to those who have a shorter walk (less than 600 feet).

Providing Shade

Shade is another factor we can control when trying to reduce heat stress in livestock. When designing pastures, try to include natural shade, such as trees and forests, or made shelters that cast enough shade for livestock to get out of the sun. At the University of Arkansas, research found that providing feeder calves with tree shade increased daily weight gains by 60 percent compared to calves that did not have access to shade.

Handling Animals in the Heat

When handling livestock, such as cattle or horses, we should use some common sense on when to ride, trailer or handle them. Cattle needing vaccinations or processing should be done early

in the morning before temperatures rise. Avoid riding horses in the heat of the day and if transporting them, make sure there is adequate airflow throughout the trailer and avoid sitting still for prolonged periods of time. For trailering cattle and other livestock, reduce the stocking rate by 15 percent to provide more airflow and space inside the trailer.

As livestock owners, it is our responsibility to minimizing heat stress in our animals by providing them with cool, clean water, and adequate shade.