Livestock owners must protect animals from heat stress - RADA

The Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) is calling on livestock owners to protect animals from rising temperatures.

The US National Library of Medicine 2025 Review, titled ‘Heat Stress Effects on Animal Health and Performance in Monogastric Livestock: Physiological Responses, Molecular Mechanisms, and Management Interventions’, defines heat stress as “the physiological strain experienced by animals when environmental temperatures exceed their thermoneutral zone, disrupting the balance between heat production and heat loss”.

Simply put, heat hampers an animal from properly regulating their internal temperatures, which can have serious negative implications for animal health, reproduction and meat quality.

Senior Livestock Specialist at RADA, Maxine Brown, who was speaking in a recent interview with JIS News, said combatting heat stress begins with animals being well hydrated, with cool potable water.

“Animals are really supposed to be drinking what we call potable water, the same kind of water that we drink. There are some tablets that you can use and the same communication that persons receive for your own consumption to add a little bleach to their water, that is the same kind of treatment that you can give to the water as well,” she said.

The review, which focused on poultry and swine, indicated that heat stress can significantly reduce how much animals eat, affect their hormones and their gut health.

Brown said a comprehensive mix of consistently administered practices can help to protect animals.

“You can paint water tanks a different colour from black – probably white – which tends to reflect most of the heat, so that the water remains cool. You can add ice to the water to make it cool because if the water is warm or hot, then the animals are not going to drink it and if the animals are not drinking, then that means they become dehydrated and you run the risk of losing them,” she said.

The review also pointed to providing animals with nutritional interventions to increase hydration and manage heat stress.

Brown said livestock owners can source electrolytes and necessary supplements for their animals, which are crucial to lowering their body temperatures.

“These are supplements that you can find at any farm store to give to your animals. You also have sprinkler systems that you can put in place, including digital ones that are automatic. Some of them you can look on your phone, and it can tell you the temperature and it automatically comes on when the temperature reaches a certain level,” she said.

Some animals such as pigs and poultry will need more attention than others. 

Brown is reminding farmers that pigs cannot regulate their body temperatures and will need extra efforts to stave off the heat.

“You want to put some kind of misting system in place to help them to keep cool. You also want to make sure that you are looking at the accommodation or the structure in which you're putting your animals. We always say when you're putting up your poultry house, you put it in an east to west position so that when the sun rises, it is on the shorter side of your house,” she said.

“When the sun sets it is on the shorter side of your house, because if you leave it to the broad side, then when the sun rises, all that heat is getting at your chickens, and they will be suffering greatly from heat stress. So, the structure, you want to make sure it is well ventilated,” she added.

For chickens, owners normally use curtains to protect their animals from wind and rain.

Brown recommended raising the curtains for longer periods and for owners to remain vigilant about weather changes, to adjust as necessary.

“If you know that in the nights you used to lower it but you realise that the nighttime temperatures are also high, you may have to keep the curtains open longer. Of course, you will have to put in fans to keep it cool because once your animals are comfortable, they will continue to [produce and] reproduce. So, make sure that the structures are well ventilated, and it is cool so that the animals can feel comfortable,” she said.

As livestock owners make their preparations, they are encouraged to reach out to the Authority to consult with Officers for technical advice.

“This is why we say when you're going to go into livestock production, consult the RADA officers first because if you put down your structure and it wasn't oriented right, it's going to be difficult to try to mitigate against all the heat that you'll have to be dealing with now,” she said.

For further information and technical support, livestock owners are encouraged to visit the RADA Office in their parish or call 876-977-1158.

- JIS News

Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.