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The productivity of cows and the effectiveness of their reproduction largely depend on the conditions of detention and the microclimate in the barn. For cows, the comfortable temperature zone is the range from -4 to +18 °C, according to The Ukrainian Farmer magazine.
If the temperature rises to +27 °C and above (temperature-humidity index is 72), cows are in a state of heat stress, which worsens their welfare and productivity.
According to American researchers, Holstein cows have a normal body temperature of 38-39 °C with an average of 38.5 °C. In mild heat stress, the body temperature rises to 39.2 °C, in moderate heat stress to 39.3-40 °C, in moderate to severe heat stress to 40.1-40.5 °C, and in severe heat stress to over 40.5 °C.
For example, last summer, in farms without microclimate control systems, cows' body temperatures reached 41 °C at lunchtime.
Temperature stress has a complex negative impact on reproductive efficiency: the manifestation of signs of the excitation stage worsens, fertility decreases, and embryonic mortality increases. As a result, the number of infertile cows in the herd increases, which imbalances the normal rhythm of the farm: after nine months, it receives fewer calves, and in the following months, on the contrary, too many, which overloads the dry cows and increases the pathologies of the transit period.
To improve the efficiency of reproduction in summer, the ideal solution is to install microclimate control systems.
07/01/2025
