Cattle can begin to experience heat stress at a much lower temperature than humans.
They prefer temperatures below 20 degrees Celsius and all areas in New Zealand get hot enough during summer, causing them to have more heat than they can get rid of. This leads to discomfort and can have a detrimental effect on your cattle’s health and wellbeing.
In hot weather, you might notice that your cattle are sweating and breathing faster as they try to reduce their body temperature.
They will also begin to eat less to reduce the production of heat in their rumen along with drinking more and moving about slower in the paddock.
Ways you can help to reduce this is by providing shade, shelter, plenty of water and keeping the troughs clean.
It is also a good idea to minimise moving your stock but if they need to be moved, then preferably do so in the coolest part of the day.
Best practice is to check on your cattle daily.
If you have any more questions, feel reach to reach out to Sharon at Sallan Realty on 0274 420 480.
