“Cattle Handling During the Summer”
by Chris Reinhardt, feedlot specialist
During extreme weather conditions, both winter and summer, the rules need to change. Obviously, during or after a blizzard or ice storm, cattle handling considerations need to change, for the sake of the animals as well as the people.
However, these rules should also change during extreme heat conditions. Cattle comfort translates to cattle performance. Cattle don’t have the capability to lie: if cattle are showing signs of distress, they are likely not comfortable and not performing well.
Physical activity causes the internal temperature of cattle to increase. So if cattle are processed during the heat of the day, cattle will have difficulty cooling themselves afterwards.
This leads to the question of when to process these cattle during hot, summer, conditions. Many producers will move processing activities to the very early morning hours if excessive heat is expected during the daylight hours. However, if cattle are not provided with several hours of cool morning temperatures after being returned to their home pen or pasture, their internal temperature may not return to normal prior to environmental conditions causing further heat stress.
Also, if environmental heat conditions during the day are excessive, and evening temperature and humidity does not fall sufficiently to allow cattle to cool their internal temperature, processing should probably be delayed until environmental conditions allow cattle to cool themselves both prior to and following processing. If the procedures are not an emergency, let it wait for cooler conditions.