Dr. Tami Brown-Brandl, USDA,
Clay Center, Neb., came up with a model to determine feedlot cat- tle susceptibility to heat stress by looking at cattle characteristics. There are 3 components. One is environmental conditions (black globe temperature, air temperature, humidity), second is management practices of the producer (whether cattle have access to water, shade, etc.) and third is susceptibility of the individual animal. She listed 11 animal character-
istics: 1. Color — A dark animal will
be hotter than a light colored one. 2. Gender — Heifers are more
susceptible to heat than steers, but this difference is very small. 3. Species — Bos indicus are
more heat tolerant than Bos taurus. 4. Temperament — An excitable animal will overheat more quickly
than a calm one. 5. Hair thickness — Thinly
haired animals don’t get as hot as thickly haired animals. Hair creates insulation that slows heat dissipa- tion from the body. 6. Previous exposure to heat —
Whether the animal is acclimated or had only brief exposure to heat. 7. Age — The older the animal
the more body mass and more dif- fi culty dealing with heat. 8. Body condition — Whether
thin, moderately conditioned, well conditioned or overly conditioned, fi nished cattle have the most in- sulation (body fat) and the most problem with heat stress. 9. Previous pneumonia — An
animal that’s had pneumonia may have lung damage and respiratory insuffi ciency — less than optimum air exchange and less ability for cooling via respiration.
10. Other health issues 11. Current health “She puts those 11 categories into
a computer model to come up with a prediction of how these animals will deal with heat stress,” says Spiers. Stockmen could use a tool like this to identify the cattle most at risk and could put the at-risk in- dividuals in a different environment where they could be watched, or a place where fans or water might be available to cool them if needed. “She ranks those 11 categories
as to which ones are more impor- tant. Whether the animal is male or female is not as important, for instance, as species, or whether they’ve had pneumonia,” says Spi- ers. Research has been benefi cial to help stockmen identify signs of heat stress and determine which animals might need the most help to get through a severe heat wave.
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August 2013 The Cattleman 61
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