Abstract
The present study was undertaken with an objective to determine diurnal changes of the eye temperature of buffalo young bulls under different shelter management to determine the effect of heat stress. Twenty four buffalo bulls were randomly divided into two groups, each group comprising of 12 animals based on age (16–18 months) and body weight (Control = 301 ± 8.24 kg and Treatment = 311.45 ± 6.24 kg). The control group was housed under normal management practices followed, and the height of the shed was 10 ft. and width was 12 ft. with concrete floor. Whereas, the treatment group was housed in shed having 15 ft. height and 25 ft. width along with rubber mat as flooring and the total area provided for each animal in both the groups was 45.96 sq. feet. They were also provided with dairy fans and mist cooling in day time to ameliorate the heat stress. The thermal humidity index (THI), floor and roof temperature variation of the shed was recorded. The eye temperature of bulls was measured to evaluate the effect of different housing on the animals’ thermal status under hot dry summer conditions.Results revealed that the THI of treatment shed was significantly (P< 0.01) lower than the control at different times. The floor and roof surface temperature of the treatment shed was significantly (P<0.05) lower than the control shed. Diurnal patterns of eye temperature measured in both the groups showed increased eye temperature in control group bulls compared to treatment group. The eye temperature at 7.00 hrs was similar in both groups, whereas it was highly significant (P<0.01) at 13.00 and 19.00 hrs. The heat stress in the buffalo bulls was exhibited by increased eye temperature. Thus, the variation in the eye temperature can be effectively used as an indicator of heat stress and the dairy fans and mist cooling along with rubber mat flooring can be utilized to ameliorate the heat stress in the buffalo bulls.
Highlights
Heat stress is the state at which the mechanisms in the animal’s body activate to maintain body thermal balance, when it is exposed to higher temperature
Eye temperature (ET) has been found to be a more consistent measure of temperature changes in response to stress compared to other parts of body (Bartolomé et al, 2013).Measuring of eye temperature is rapid, relatively easy, and non-invasive compared to measurement of body temperature using rectal thermometers, tympanic infrared thermometers, thermal microchips, and rumen boluses (Johnson et al, 2011; Church et al, 2013; Bartolomé et al, 2019)
The present study was undertaken with an objective to determine diurnal changes of the eye temperature of buffalo young bulls under different shelter management to determine the effect of heat stress
Summary
Heat stress is the state at which the mechanisms in the animal’s body activate to maintain body thermal balance, when it is exposed to higher temperature. Eye temperature (ET) has been found to be a more consistent measure of temperature changes in response to stress compared to other parts of body (Bartolomé et al, 2013).Measuring of eye temperature is rapid, relatively easy, and non-invasive compared to measurement of body temperature using rectal thermometers, tympanic infrared thermometers, thermal microchips, and rumen boluses (Johnson et al, 2011; Church et al, 2013; Bartolomé et al, 2019). The present study was undertaken with an objective to determine diurnal changes of the eye temperature of buffalo young bulls under different shelter management to determine the effect of heat stress
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