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Rectal temperatures, respiratory rates, production, and reproduction performances of crossbred Girolando cows under heat stress in northeastern Brazil

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Abstract

This study compared the two breed groups of Girolando (½ Holstein ½ Gyr vs. ¾ Holstein ¼ Gyr) through analysis of the percentages (stressed or non-stressed cows) of rectal temperature (RT), respiratory rate (RR) and pregnancy rate (PR), and means of production and reproduction parameters to determine the group best suited to rearing in semiarid tropical climate. The experiment was conducted at the farm, in the municipality of Umirim, State of Ceará, Brazil. Two hundred and forty cows were used in a 2 × 2 factorial study; 120 of each group were kept under an intensive system during wet and dry seasons. The environmental parameters obtained were relative humidity (RH), air temperature (AT), and the temperature and humidity index (THI). Pregnancy diagnosis (PD) was determined by ultrasonography 30 days after artificial insemination (AI). The milk production of each cow was recorded with automated milkings in the farm. The variables were expressed as mean and standard error, evaluated by ANOVA at 5 % probability using the GLM procedure of SAS. Chi-square test at 5 % probability was applied to data of RT, RR, pregnancy rate (PR), and the number of AIs to obtain pregnancy. The majority of ½ Holstein cows showed mean values of RT and RR within the normal range in both periods and shifts. Most animals of the ¾ Holstein group exhibited the RR means above normal during the afternoon in the rainy and dry periods and RT means above normal during the afternoon in the dry period. After analyses, ½ Holstein crossbred cows are more capable of thermoregulating than ¾ Holstein cows under conditions of thermal stress, and the dry period was more impacting for bovine physiology with significant changes in physiological parameters, even for the first breed group. Knowledge of breed groups adapted to climatic conditions of northeastern Brazil can directly assist cattle farmers in selecting animals best adapted for forming herds.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of the owners, the herdsman, and the staff of the Companhia de Alimentos do Nordeste. We also acknowledge the Universidade Federal do Ceará for the support given to this work as part of PhD dissertation from the first author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Curso de Agronomia, Universidade Federal do Cariri—UFCA, Rua Vereador Sebastião Maciel Lopes, s/n, Crato, CE, 63133-610, Brazil

    Antônio Nélson Lima da Costa & José Valmir Feitosa

  2. Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Estadual do Ceará—UECE, Avenida Paranjana, 1700. Campus do Itaperi, Fortaleza, CE, 60714-903, Brazil

    Priscila Teixeira de Souza & Airton Alencar de Araújo

  3. Companhia de Alimentos do Nordeste—CIALNE, Av. Presidente Costa e Silva, 2067—Mondubim, Fortaleza, CE, 60761-190, Brazil

    Péricles Afonso Montezuma Jr

Authors
  1. Antônio Nélson Lima da Costa
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  2. José Valmir Feitosa
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  3. Péricles Afonso Montezuma Jr
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  4. Priscila Teixeira de Souza
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  5. Airton Alencar de Araújo
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Correspondence to Antônio Nélson Lima da Costa.

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da Costa, A.N.L., Feitosa, J.V., Montezuma, P.A. et al. Rectal temperatures, respiratory rates, production, and reproduction performances of crossbred Girolando cows under heat stress in northeastern Brazil. Int J Biometeorol 59, 1647–1653 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-015-0971-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-015-0971-4

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