LiveStock Cooling

Birds and animals, like humans, are happier and more productive when comfortable. Misting reduces heat stress and increase productivity.

Cattle without water misting have a physiological and behavioural stress response to heat which negatively affect on behaviour, physiology, performance, and carcass traits.

Cooling cows with water applied through either a mist or a spray can increase milk production if the system is installed properly. Overall, the combination of mister and fan cooling system provided the best choice in several studies, because water use and waste-water runoff were reduced compared to standard spray system.

Studies have found that the temperatures as low as 79°F, dairy cows will begin to cut feed intake and lose body weight. Milk production falls. Reproductive performance, health, and lactational performance are affected. Heat stress will continue to affect performance even in the cooler months ahead. High yielding cows are most susceptible to heat stress.

The degree of quick stress suffered by the cow will depend on the combination of environment conditions – air temperature, relative humidity, air movement, and radiation from the sun. Dairymen use shades, fans, and ample fresh drinking water to help herds beat the heat, but often shade and ventilation are just not enough. In southern states, where heat and humidity are more severe, dairymen have also used sprinklers to provide added cooling effects.

Research has shown the intermittent misting in combination with shade and forced air movement is a very effective method of cooling dairy cows, thereby reducing the production losses experienced during hot humid weather conditions. By using a high pressure, misting nozzles, enough water can be applied to fully cool the cows to the hide. The water is then allowed to evaporate, which pulls heat from the air and the animal, just like sweating. Increased air movement provided by fans, makes this system most efficient.

Cattle are also subject to heat stress. This condition can affect milk production, weight gain and breeding cycles. The misted cow is the contented cow is the productive cow. Mother Nature has an unpleasant way of telling humans and horses to slow down when working in extreme heat, and if those warnings go ignored for too long, disaster can result. But races and heats and rounds and shows are held in all kinds of weather, and if we want our horses to do their best while competing in the heat, then we have to do our best to condition and acclimate them to withstand high temperatures.

DRY ENVIRONMENT

The system cools the inhabitants without creating a wet environment.

MINIMAL OPERATING COSTS

Easy installation, minimum maintenance and low energy consumption. There are many proven cost-effective uses for evaporative cooling that make it the preferred choice. The installation and operating cost of Misting Systems can be much lower than traditional air conditioning.

BENEFITS

Increases milk and meat production
Reduces animal heat stress
Reduces water and energy consumption
Extends breeding period and growth rate
Results in cleaner, drier surroundings
Dust suppression and Odor control

Milk yield: +4 kg/day

Feed intake: +13%

Bird loss: -99%

Poultry Farm

Dealing with summertime heat is a great challenge for poultry under conditions of severe heat stress, poultry will have a reduced growth rate, decreased feed intake, poor feed conversion, decreased egg production, reduced hatch ability rate, reduced egg shell quality, reduced egg size and reduced internal egg quality.
Additionally, heat stress can cause increased mortality.

Placing Poultry in a well-ventilated area will help reduce the incidence of heat stress. In addition, a misting/fogging system can be used in a well-ventilated area to help the birds cool themselves.

Dealing with summertime heat is a great challenge for poultry. All types and ages of poultry are susceptible to heat stress, but older poultry face a bigger risk. As poultry get older, they increase in size as well as insulation (feathering). This makes it harder for them to dissipate heat.

The most obvious sign of heat stress in poultry is panting. Poultry do not have sweat glands that can cool their skin, so instead they must use evaporation from their throat and respiratory system as a means of cooling themselves.

Panting takes a lot of energy which, in turn, generates an appreciable amount of body heat for poultry.

Ultimately, if poultry are not relieved of heat stress, their body temperature can continue to rise and increase the possibility of mortality. Fortunately there are several things you can do to help your home poultry flock handle heat stress.

Birds are able to regulate their body temperature by controlling heat loss through:

Their skin and feather cover
Evaporation by panting

This ability to thermoregulate is compromised if the birds are confined in close proximity to one another.
This reduces their ability to lose heat by radiation, convection and conduction. Additionally, their ability to loss heat by evaporation is reduced if there is a high humidity. If the birds ability to lose heat is reduced, their body temperature will rise and they will suffer from thermal stress, dehydration and exhaustion.

This compromises their welfare and can lead to a reduction in meat quality by causing:

Alteration to the acid-base balance
Alteration to hydration state
Fatigue and depletion of energy reserves including liver and muscle glycogen loss

Ultimately, if body temperature rises by 4°C or more, the bird will die.