Effects of heat stress on the performance of dairy cows

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

1 Ph.D. Student of Animal Nutrition, Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture at the Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran

2 Ph.D. Student of Poultry Nutrition, Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture at the Urmia University, West Azerbaijan, Iran

3 Assistant Professor of Animal Nutrition, Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran

Abstract

Sustainability in livestock production system is largely affected by climate changes. An imbalance between metabolic heat production and its dissipation to the surroundings results in heat stress (HS) under high ambient temperature and humid climates. The first reactions of livestock to heat stress conditions include increasing respiration rate, rectal temperature, and heart rate which directly affects feed intake. This may cause a reduction in growth rate, milk yield, reproductive performance, and even death in severe conditions. Dairy cows are usually more sensitive to heat stress than meat strains, and in this regard, high-yielding animals are more sensitive mainly because of more metabolic heat production. Heat stress suppresses the immune and endocrine systems and thus increases the susceptibility of the animal to various diseases. Hence, sustainable dairy farming in these globally changing climatic conditions remains a major challenge.

Keywords

References

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