Author(s)

Meriem Rejeb, Raoudha Sadraoui, Taha Najar, Moncef Ben M’rad

National Agronomic Institute in Tunis, Animal Production Department University of Carthage Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia.

Upper limit of thermal stability and subsequent rise of thermoregulatory functions are affected by body temperature. This study was designed to determine the effects of rectal temperature (RT) on dairy cows’ performance (heart rates (HR), respiratory rates (RR), milk yield (MY), dry matter intake (DMI), digestibility, plasma concentration of vitamin C under hot climate. This study was carried out in 2009, in north-west of Tunisia using 30 Holstein cows in mid lactation. The experiment was performed in spring (15th of February-15th of March: P1) and summer (1st-30th of August: P2). On each test day, temperature-humidity index (THI), RT, HR, RR, MY, DMI, digestibility and plasma VC concentration were determined. All this parameters were affected (P < 0.001) when the THI increased from 65.62 (P1) to 83.27 (P2). Regression analyses were carried out between THI index and some parameters (HR, RR, MY, DMI, digestibility, plasma concentration of vitamin C) and between RT and same parameters (HR, RR, MY, DMI, digestibility, plasma concentration of vitamin C). Characteristics of regression analyses in the two modes were different as also were R² and r (correlation coefficient) of the regressions. R² in regressions on RT (R² (RT, DMI) = 0.92 (P < 0.01); R² (RT, MY) = 0.91 (P < 0.001)) was markedly higher relative to R² in regressions on THI (R² (THI, DMI) = 0.76 (P < 0.001); R² (THI, MY) = 0.63 (P < 0.001)). The two regressions modes suggest that increasing R² in regressions on RT confirms that rectal temperature constitutes a larger component of total variance of responses in dairy cows to hot environmental temperature.

Heat Stress, Rectal Temperature, Dairy Cows, Temperature-Humidity Index

Rejeb, M. , Sadraoui, R. , Najar, T. and M’rad, M. (2016) A Complex Interrelationship between Rectal Temperature and Dairy Cows’ Performance under Heat Stress Conditions. Open Journal of Animal Sciences, 6, 24-30. doi: 10.4236/ojas.2016.61004.