- Uwe Beißwenger, LKV Baden-Württemberg
- Detlef May, Teaching and Research Institute for Animal Breeding and Animal Husbandry, Groß Kreutz
- Prof. Dr. Heiko Scholz, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences
- Prof. Dr. Ralf Waßmuth, Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences
● Leonie Schnecker, Landesbetrieb Landwirtschaft Hessen
- Marc-Andre Kruse-Friedrich, DLG e.V.
- Marc Schneeweis, medianet electronic communication & marketing GmbH
- Oliver Sahner, medianet electronic communication & marketing GmbH
Funding information
This document was developed as part of the joint project Network Focus Animal Welfare, funding code 28N419T01 to 28N419T17, by the "Suckler Cow" working group of the Animal Welfare Competence Centre for Cattle and was methodologically and didactically prepared by DLG e.V.
The joint project of the chambers of agriculture and agricultural institutions of all federal states aims to improve the transfer of knowledge into practice in order to make cattle, pig and poultry farms sustainable in terms of animal welfare, environmental protection and sustainable livestock farming.
The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture on the basis of a resolution of the German Bundestag.
All information and notes are provided without any guarantee or liability.
Publisher
DLG e.V.
Fachzentrum Landwirtschaft
Eschborner Landstraße 122
60489 Frankfurt am Main
Reproduction and transmission of individual sections of text, drawings or images (including for teaching purposes) and the provision of the information sheet in whole or in part for viewing or downloading by third parties is only permitted with the prior approval of the relevant office of the Animal Welfare Competence Centre for Cattle and DLG e.V., Marketing Department, tel. +49 69 24788-209, [email protected].
Introduction
Some suckler cows are kept outdoors all year round. This exposes them to various weather conditions. The normal digestive processes of cattle (especially in the rumen) and, for example, milk production generate sufficient heat to prevent hypothermia. The loss of heat through the body surface depends on various factors that can be animal-related (e.g. energy supply, live weight, body condition, lactation status, breed, winter coat thickness and behaviour) and environment-related (e.g. rain, ambient temperature and wind speed). Depending on the environmental factors mentioned and individual animal factors, a "lower critical temperature" (LCT) or "lower critical temperature" (UKT) can be defined in Figure 2 according to Bianca (1968). This is described as the temperature at which heat loss is higher than the heat generated by the animal itself. According to Bianca (1968), this refers to point B, where the animal's physiological limit is reached. The rectal temperature of the animal can be measured, for example, to determine whether the core body temperature can no longer be maintained at a constant level in the given weather conditions and is beginning to drop. In Figure 2 according to Bianca (1968), this occurs when the temperature falls below point B.
This document is intended to raise awareness of the animal welfare issue of cold stress in pastures and to provide information for assessing the stress directly on the animal. Only when livestock owners can reliably assess cold stress can they fulfil their responsibility as livestock owners and be in a position to assess whether, for example, (existing) weather protection is sufficient for the animals or whether action needs to be taken. Many factors influence whether cold stress occurs or not. In addition to the legal basis, the most important key points of cattle thermoregulation (including adaptation reactions and consequences of exceeding the animals' ability to adapt), stressful and relieving environmental factors, and ways of reducing cold stress are presented.