Evaluation of a cool pad for thermoregulation in sows
A series of five different studies were conducted to evaluate the use of a cool pad as a thermoregulatory device for alleviating heat stress in farrowing and open sows. Different physiological and behavioral variables were analyzed during exposure of the animals to acute or long term heat stress in these studies. The physiological variables measured included: respiration rate (RR), rectal temperature (Tr), skin temperature (Ts), milk production of the sow at 14 and 21 days, heat loss of the sows through the cool pad during acute heat stress exposure and litter size and weight at birth and at weaning. The behavioral variables analyzed included learning time for using a cool pad, preference for the use of a cool pad as a thermoregulatory device and pad use at different air temperatures.
Biology, Animal Physiology, Agriculture, Animal Culture and Nutrition
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign