Effect of solar radiation on the behavior of Holstein cows in a tropical environment

• Grant number: 13/04351-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Effective date (Start): April 05, 2013
• Effective date (End): May 04, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Ecology of Domestic Animals and Ethology
• Principal Investigator: Alex Sandro Campos Maia
• Grantee: Steffan Edward Octavio Oliveira
• Supervisor: Tony Waterhouse
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil
• Research place: Scotland's Rural College, Edinburgh (SRUC), Scotland
• Associated to the scholarship: 11/16696-9 - Effects of solar radiation on the behavior of Holstein cows in a tropical enviroment., BP.MS

Abstract

One of the biggest challenges faced by dairy cattle regards to the negative effects of heat stress caused by direct solar radiation combined with the wear coming from lactation, where there are large metabolic heat production. The studies on the effects of solar radiation do not provide consistent results by not accurately quantify the levels of solar radiation and how they cause behavioral changes. These studies disregard the importance of measuring the levels of direct solar radiation in their evaluations or are performed under artificial conditions within chambers. However, the natural environment is much more complex and the solar radiation modifies continuously and can cause significant changes in behavior and thus in performance. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the effect of solar radiation on the behavior and performance of Holstein cows and what factors affect the use of shade. For this we used 10 Holstein cows divided into five groups of two animals, being one with predominantly black coat and one white. One of the five groups selected consisted of dry cows and the remaining four were selected according to their time of lactation. The animals were tested on five treatments. Four consisted of artificial shades with different levels of direct solar radiation blockage and in one was not offered shade. This study was conducted in two experiments, which showed the effect of different positions of the shading structure on the paddock on time of use of shade. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

OCTAVIO OLIVEIRA, STEFFAN EDWARD; DE MELO COSTA, CINTIA CAROL; NETO, MARCOS CHIQUITELLI; DALLA COSTA, FILIPE ANTONIO; CAMPOS MAIA, ALEX SANDRO. Effects of shade location and protection from direct solar radiation on the behavior of Holstein cows. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMETEOROLOGY, v. 63, n. 11, SI, p. 1465-1474, NOV 2019. (13/04351-2)