10 Essential Summer Cattle Care Tips: Your Ultimate Checklist for Keeping Cattle Healthy and Cool
- Farmbrite
- Mar 3, 2020
- 10 min read
Updated: Dec 9, 2024
10 Essential Summer Cattle Care Tips
As we move into longer and hotter days it's a good idea to keep in mind the changing needs of your herd. Heat stress can reduce population, fertility, and milk.
Here are 10 essential summer cattle care tips to keep your herd healthy when the temperatures rise.
1. Access To Water
Water and feed needs change for cattle as the seasons change. A mature lactating cow will consume roughly 20 gallons of water in a day or 2 gallons of water per 100 lbs of body weight. Non-lactating cattle and bulls require about 1 gallon per lb of body weight.
If you are providing hay for your herd remember that stored hay and feed have less water content than pasture and pasture grazing has a high moisture content. Even so, it's important to provide cattle access to feed and clean water at all times. But as we said, this will change for your herd depending on what type of hay they are consuming.
Make sure your livestock has plenty of water in the summer and plenty of room at the water source. In many areas, you may also want to test the water annually.
Making sure your herd has adequate access to water is vital for cooling and overall health of your herd. Some signs of dehydration to look for are symptoms such as sunken eyes, lethargy, or dry mucous membranes. If this happens they will need to drink water slowly but immediately and you may want to contact your veterinarian.
2. Keep Them Cool
Using evaporative cooling with exhaust fans, and circulation fans is an easy way to keep the air moving and the cattle cooling. Equip barns with fans or a cooling system to minimize heat stress.
Use Sprinklers, Soaker-lines and Misters
Adding a sprinkler over a clean area of the barn can cool the area 10-15°. These can also be automated and can keep flies down as well since it makes it harder for them to fly.
Additional Venting
Add ventilation to barns to provide more airflow. Keep the barn doors open and fans circulating. Overheating can cause stress, sickness, and even death. Adding additional ventilation can help like ventilation in the tunnel and cooling cells.
3. Adjust Cattle Movements
Pay attention to the quality of your pastures. During hot weather, forage can deteriorate quickly. Rotate cattle to ensure they are grazing on high-quality, nutritious forage.
Many farms and ranches are finding grazing strategies to help reduce the overuse of pastureland in the summer. By implementing rotational grazing systems you can prevent overuse of any one pasture. This allows grass to recover and maintain better quality forage for your cattle, while also providing them with a more comfortable environment.
When working or moving your herd, remember to move them slowly - at their own speed, to minimize stress. Work cattle early in the morning or evening when it's cooler. Pay close attention for signs of stress, especially in cattle with higher risk factors like ones that have not shed/are long-haired, or were previously sick. Also, keeping vaccinations, sorting, and other changes to cooler days. Additional stress can be extreme for severely affected animals and can suppress the immune system.
4. Summer Cattle Dietary Considerations
The feed that your herd is eating is important to their overall health and can change as warmer temperatures come. Adding minerals, high-quality forage, and feeding them at specific times can be key to optimum health.
Here are some top tips for feeding cattle in the warmer weather:
Adjust Feeding Times:
Cattle won't want to eat or ruminate during the hottest times of the day. Feed them when it's cooler and they will eat better. This might be early morning or late evening. This helps reduce heat production from digestion during the hottest times of the day.
Provide High-Quality Forage and Supplements:
Forage quality can decline in the heat. Ensure that the forage you're providing to your herd is still high in nutrients and not overly mature or dry. Supplement with high-quality hay if needed.
Also consider supplementing with any vitamins and minerals that may be lacking in summer forage. This will ensure that their feed is balanced to support their health and productivity.
Adjust Grain Rations:
If you’re feeding grains, consider reducing the amount during extremely hot weather. High grain intake can increase internal heat production, so balance with forage.
Ensure Adequate Fiber:
Provide enough fiber in the diet to support proper digestion and avoid digestive issues. High-quality hay or forage can help maintain fiber intake when pasture quality is compromised.
5. Minimal Use of the Holding Pen
Keeping cattle in a holding pen during the summer can have several drawbacks, primarily related to their health, comfort, and well-being.
Here are some of the downsides of keeping cattle in holding pens in the summer months:
Heat Stress:
Holding pens, especially if not well-ventilated or shaded, can become very hot. Cattle confined to such spaces may experience heat stress, which can lead to decreased appetite, reduced milk production, and other health issues.
Poor Air Quality:
In a confined area, air quality can deteriorate quickly due to the accumulation of dust, ammonia, and other contaminants. Poor air quality can exacerbate respiratory issues and lead to general health problems.
Limited Space and Increased Risk of Disease:
Holding pens usually offer limited space for movement. Cattle need space to move around, stretch, and lie down comfortably. Crowded spaces can lead to stress and discomfort, spread diseases, increase infections, and in severe cases, can contribute to lameness or injury.
Behavioral Stress:
Cattle are social animals and can become stressed if confined for long periods. Stress can negatively impact their immune system and overall health, leading to lower productivity.
Inadequate Cooling:
Without proper cooling systems, holding pens can become excessively warm. Unlike open pastures where they can find natural shade and cooling breezes, holding pens may not provide the necessary relief from heat.
Nutritional Needs:
In a holding pen, it might be challenging to provide the necessary variety of feed and water sources that cattle would have access to in a more open environment. This could impact their nutritional intake and overall health.
Waste Management Issues:
In a confined space, manure and urine accumulate more rapidly, which can lead to hygiene issues and further contribute to a decline in air quality.
Behavioral Issues:
Lack of space and enrichment can lead to behavioral problems such as boredom, aggression, and stereotypies (repetitive, abnormal behaviors).
To mitigate these issues, it’s often better to provide cattle with access to pasture or well-ventilated and shaded pens and to implement proper management practices to ensure their comfort and health during the summer months.
6. Managing Pests in your Cattle Herd
As the warmer weather comes, so do the pests. This can cause stress and disease in your livestock. A few methods of pest management available are chemical, biological, and adding physical barriers between animals and pests. Here's a bit more information on those three types of management strategies.
Chemical Treatments: There are many options for insecticides like pour-on or topical insecticides, injection-type treatments and vaccinations, and feed additives.
Biological Control Measures: You might add a predatory insect, or nematode or use microbial control agents. Incorporating natural predator insects that feed on things like flies and ticks will keep down the infestation. You can also try microbial control against pests that contain Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt. Bt is a bacterium that naturally occurs in soil and produces spores that are toxic to insect larvae when eaten. This has been engineered to be used in other agriculture to fight pests such as in genetically engineered crops.
Physical Barriers: You can use fly masks, or fly sheets to create barriers or an enclosed barn to reduce insect activity. Depending on your property and the size of your herd this might not be a viable option for you.
Manure Management: Establish a manure management regimen by regularly cleaning out and composting manure to reduce fly breeding sites. Manure should be spread or removed from pastures to prevent fly larvae from developing. (Keep track of how often you're doing this and set up reminders in Farmbrite.)
Rotating between pest control methods or using a few different methods is the best way to keep down the population and reduce damage and stress to your herd.
7. Monitor Behavior and Body Condition
Regularly check the body condition of your cattle. If you notice weight loss or other signs of nutritional deficiency, and adjust the animal's diet accordingly.
Regular Physical Inspections:
Observe your cattle for changes in their body shape, weight, coat condition, and overall demeanor. You can visually look for signs of weight loss or discomfort, such as a protruding spine or hips.
Using Body Condition Scoring (BCS) can help measure overall animal wellness. Use a body condition scoring system to evaluate the amount of fat cover an animal has. Usually, this score is on a 1 to 9 scale. This helps to assess whether the animal is too thin, an ideal weight, or too heavy.
Animal behavior changes can also indicate issues or discomfort. Eating patterns, activity levels, and other signs may indicate their stress level. Based on observations and body condition scores, adjust feeding as necessary. This may include providing additional supplements or changing feeding times to accommodate heat stress.
Evaluate Coat Condition:
Inspect the skin and coat for signs of health issues, such as excessive shedding, roughness, or parasites. A healthy coat is an indicator of good nutrition and overall condition.
Monitor Milk Production (for Dairy Cattle or Lactating Cattle):
For lactating cattle, monitor milk production levels as a measure of nutritional adequacy and overall health. A drop in milk production can indicate a problem with their overall health.
Record Keeping:
Maintain detailed records of body condition scores, weights, feed intake, and any changes or interventions. This helps in making informed management decisions and tracking the effectiveness of your strategies. You can do this with a farm management software like Farmbrite from anywhere on your farm.
8. Shade and Shelter
Shade not only keeps animals cool on hot days but it could also help them avoid sunburn. They might not stay in the shade though because of flies or other environmental factors but it should be available. If you don't have trees or natural shade you can add shade tarps or netting for additional shade.
9. Use Heat Tolerant Breeds
Consider selecting or breeding more heat-tolerant cattle breeds in your herd. Certain breeds, like Brahman and Zebu are naturally better adapted to hot climates.
Heat-tolerant cattle breeds are those that have adapted to thrive in hot climates, typically due to their physical characteristics, such as lighter coat colors, shorter hair, and increased skin surface area.
Here are some of the most common heat-tolerant cattle breeds:
Brahman
Originating from India, Brahman cattle are known for their hardiness, and resistance to heat, parasites, and diseases. They have a large hump over their shoulders, loose skin, and a varying coat color, and produce less body heat which helps them dissipate heat. These cattle are sacred to some people and may be harder to obtain.
Nelore
Nelore cattle, originally from Brazil but descended from Indian Zebu, are highly heat-tolerant. They have a hump on their back, a short, white coat, which reflect sunlight and are known for their adaptability to tropical climates. They are raised for their low-calorie lean meat.
Gir (Gyr)
Another Indian breed, Gir cattle are highly heat-resistant and are often used in crossbreeding to improve heat tolerance in other breeds. They have long, droopy ears, a prominent hump, a domed forehead, and mottled coats. They are raised for both meat and milk production.
Indu-Brazil
This breed, a cross between Indian Zebu breeds like Gir and Nellore, was developed in Brazil. They have long droopy ears and are generally taller and lighter muscled. Indu-Brazil cattle are raised for thaie meat as they are large, and heat-tolerant making them popular in tropical regions.
Afrikaner
The Afrikaner cattle breed originates from South Africa and is known for its ability to thrive in hot and arid conditions. It has a smooth, red coat and is raised for the quality of its beef, its quiet temperament, resistance to heat, and high level of fertility under harsh conditions.
Senepol
Developed in the Caribbean island of St. Croix, Senepol cattle are a result of crossing N'Dama and Red Poll breeds. Senepol cattle are raised for meat quality, grazing ability, heat tolerance, and ease of birthing. They are naturally polled (without horns), have short hair, and are very heat-tolerant.
Red Sindhi
Another heat-tolerant breed from Pakistan and India, Red Sindhi cattle are small to medium-sized and have a dark reddish coat. They are raised for their high milk yields. They are well-adapted to hot, dry climates and are often used in crossbreeding programs.
Boran
Originating from East Africa, Boran cattle are highly resilient to harsh conditions, including high temperatures and drought. They are raised for meat production. They also show high resistance to heat, ticks, and eye diseases. They are small to medium-sized and have a smooth, light-colored coat.
Romosinuano
This breed comes from Colombia and Venezuela and is known for its heat tolerance and resistance to parasites. They are smaller than other breeds, docile, and are raised for their good quality meat. Romosinuano cattle are naturally polled and have a short, smooth coat that helps them stay cool.
N'Dama
Originating from West Africa, N'Dama cattle are a very heat-tolerant breed. They are raised for meat primarily. They are small to medium-sized with a short coat and are well-suited to hot, humid climates.
If you can source some of these breeds they may help your herd tolerate hot temperatures. These breeds are particularly valuable in regions with hot climates, as they are better able to maintain productivity and health under conditions that would stress less adapted breeds. The caveat to that is that if you have very low temperatures in your region these breeds may not be as suitable since they have not adapted to that climate.
10. Monitor Health Regularly
Keep a close watch on the overall health of the cattle, as heat stress can weaken their immune system, making them more susceptible to diseases. Regular health checks can help detect and address issues early.
By regularly monitoring these aspects, you can ensure that your cattle remain in top health throughout the summer heat. Keep an eye out for issues so that you can make timely adjustments to their management as needed. The summer heat is taxing on all of us and keeping track of how your herd is fairing through those months is key to having a productive year.
In conclusion, caring for cattle during the summer months involves a combination of strategies aimed at reducing heat stress and maintaining their overall well-being. Providing ample clean water, offering shade, and adjusting feeding times are fundamental practices to keep cattle cool and hydrated. Utilizing fans or misters, avoiding overcrowding, and minimizing stressful activities further help to alleviate heat-related challenges. Additionally, offering high-quality forage, selecting heat-tolerant breeds, and regularly monitoring cattle for signs of distress and health issues are critical to ensuring their comfort and productivity during the hot summer months. These comprehensive care tips help safeguard your cattle herd against the adverse effects of high temperatures.
