Warm weather is often a welcome change from the colder winter months. However, on a cattle farm, warm weather has its own challenges.

For beef and dairy producers, spring and summer mean helping calves through the warm weather. We share 4 tips to help you manage heat stress in your cattle this summer.

Thermoneutral Zone for Dairy Calves

Dairy calves have a wide thermoneutral zone of 50°-78°F. The thermoneutral zone is the temperature range where a calf does not need to expel extra energy to maintain comfortable body heat, whether the calf is trying to stay warm or cool down.

In warm weather, maintaining a comfortable body heat requires calves to find a cool environment. If their body temperature rises too high, dairy calves will begin to experience heat stress.

The Effects of Heat Stress On Calves

When dairy calves experience heat stress, they have a reaction similar to other mammals, including:

●Dehydration

●Reduced food intake

●Lowered immune system

While hardy, calves are nonetheless particularly vulnerable. The effects of heat stress can hinder their growth and development. It’s vital to ensure they’re able to maintain comfortable body heat.

Warm Weather Management Tips

Keeping your calves comfortable during warm weather is an important task. Here are some strategies to help provide the ideal environment for their development.

Provide Plenty of Water

In all forms of weather, keeping fresh, clean water in front of calves will help them digest the energy and proteins in their diet, and add some cooling effects in the summer. Even though it is getting warmer, milk temperature needs to remain between 105° and 110° F to assist the calf in digestion.

Improve Calf Hutch Ventilation

One of the most effective ways to keep calves cool in the summer is to provide adequate ventilation. In open air barns, this is generally easy to do. However, if using calf hutches, achieving adequate airflow can be more difficult.

The first step is to take the wind direction into consideration when placing calf hutches. In the winter, you want the hutches turned to avoid the wind. In the summer, allowing the hutches to face the wind can help the calves stay cool.

Next, consider the type of hutch you’re using for calves. Many newer pre-built hutches come with multiple ventilation options. For example, Calf-Tel hutches available from Farmer Boy have rear bedding doors that can be propped open to increase airflow. These hutches also have 3 adjustable rear vents to increase ventilation and relieve the smell of ammonia from the bedding.

Practice Good Sanitation

The warmer weather can also foster unwanted bacteria. To keep illness at bay, it’s crucial to keep your calf areas clean. Using bottle brushes on both bottles and buckets helps you reach those difficult corners of the bottle with its long handle.

After washing bottles/buckets, be sure they have time to dry to help reduce the risk of bacteria growth. Power washing or scrubbing hutches with safe disinfectant solutions in between each calf also reduces the bacteria transfer from older to younger calves.

Provide Clean Dry Bedding For Rest

In warm weather, calves need to rest more often. Whether calves are housed in hutches or barns, providing comfortable bedding allows them to rest as needed.

Always keep clean, dry bedding in the hutches or barns, especially in the rain. In the summer, shavings can be used to replace straw if necessary. Research shows that shavings is a preferable bedding material to sand.

Shop For Calf & Cattle Supplies From Farmer Boy

Before summer weather brings sweltering heat, prep your barn ventilation and calf hutches. Farmer Boy has all of the parts, equipment, and supplies needed to keep your calves healthy this summer.

Need help selecting the right calf hutches or finding the best ventilation for your barn? Our sales team is here to help. Give us a call at 1-800-845-3374 today!