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Effect of shading on the physiological and reproductive parameters in Nelore cows

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Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the physiological and reproductive parameters of Nelore cows under various microclimatic conditions. The experiment was performed in Central Brazil, which has a tropical climate with dry winters and rainy summers. The experimental groups were divided into an area with shading (5.8 trees/ha; n = 42) and an area with little shading (0.4 trees/ha; n = 42). The physiological (heart rate, respiratory rate, rectal temperature, surface body temperature, and vaginal temperature) and reproductive (estrus detection, conception rate, and rate of pregnancy loss) parameters were then assessed. The rectal temperature (p = 0.002); surface body temperature on the flanks, forehead, and shoulder (p < 0.001); and vaginal temperature (p < 0.001) of cows in the group with shading were significantly lower than those of cows in the group without shading. Estrus was higher (p = 0.08) in the shaded group; however, no effect was observed on conception and pregnancy loss rates. In conclusion, shading (5.8 trees/ha) provided better thermal comfort for Nelore animals in the tropical climatic region. However, this did not affect their performance after fixed-time artificial insemination.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the owners and employees of Fazenda São Judas Tadeu for providing the facilities and animals on their farms for conducting this study.

Funding

This study was supported by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher-Level Personnel, Brazil (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, CAPES, Grant Code 001 and Code 88881.068117/2014–01), and the Foundation to Support the Development of Teaching, Science and Technology of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul (Fundação de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento do Ensino, Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul, FUNDECT—N° 15/2014- PRONEM -MS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Animal Science (PPGcianimal), School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

    Wilian Aparecido Leite da Silva & Eliane Vianna da Costa e Silva

  2. Veterinary Science (CIVET), School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

    Eliane Vianna da Costa e Silva, Mariane Gabriely Cesar Ribeiro Ferreira, Janaina Menegazzo Gheller & Fabiana de Andrade Melo-Sterza

  3. Institute of Reproductive Biology (FBN), Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology, Dummerstorf, Germany

    Ralf Poehland

  4. Animal Science (PGZOO), State University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Aquidauana, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

    Fabiana de Andrade Melo-Sterza

Authors
  1. Wilian Aparecido Leite da Silva
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  2. Eliane Vianna da Costa e Silva
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  6. Fabiana de Andrade Melo-Sterza
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Contributions

The authors confirm their contributions to the paper as follows: study conception and design: FMS, RP, EVCeS; data collection: WALS, MGCRF; analysis and interpretation of results: FMS, RP, EVCeS, WALS, JMG; draft manuscript preparation: WALS, MGCRF, JMG. All the authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fabiana de Andrade Melo-Sterza.

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Ethics approval

The experiments were performed according to the guidelines and with the authorization of the Ethics Committee (Brazil) under protocol no. 649/2014 CEUA/UFMS.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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da Silva, W.A.L., da Costa e Silva, E.V., Ferreira, M.G.C.R. et al. Effect of shading on the physiological and reproductive parameters in Nelore cows. Trop Anim Health Prod 55, 374 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-023-03774-2

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