Farmers urged to check on livestock as temperatures rise

As summer temperatures continue to climb with the El Niño weather phenomenon taking effect, animal farmers are being urged to take proactive steps to protect their livestock.

Animal nutritionist at the Best Dress Feed Mill and agricultural consultant Khalil Brown told THE STAR that the forecasts are concerning.

“We are estimating record peak temperatures, plus little humidity with the Saharan Dust. We are going to see some extreme heat. So farmers should be very concerned and be very prepared for what is to come, [for] especially in the summer months, we see a general increase in mortality,” he said.

One farmer said that he was wary of the heat after suffering heavy losses last summer.

“Mi very concern because the place a get hot and them can have heat stress and dead. Mi have to always have water for them or else wull heap a problem can happen,” he said. Brown explained that heat stress is not only driven by increased temperature but also by humidity, and this places significant strain on animals, affecting both their health and productivity.

“What you have is a reduction in feed intake. So once animals are eating less, they don’t perform as well. Plus, it makes them more susceptible to any disease or any deficiencies that they might have. They start to fall short, and you start having these negative impacts,” he explained.

The farmer, who has been raising livestock for seven years, said that from his experience, many of the animals he lost died from heat stroke.

“And it’s right across the board. The heat don’t good for them none at all. I have goat, pigs, chicken, turkey, and other poultry animals,” he said. “Last year, mi lose some pigs and about 250 chickens in the summertime, July to August.”

Determined not to repeat that experience, the farmer said he had already begun implementing measures to keep his animals cool.

“Mi set ice and put in the chicken drum and then have water right throughout the day and then they have supplements you can put in the water,” he said.

Still, Brown warned that prolonged heat and drought also reduce the nutritional value of pastures, creating additional challenges for grazing animals.

“For ruminants, like cattle, goats and cows, the grass quality is now poor, so they’re not getting the nutrients they want from the grass, so you have to be supplementing. And with an animal under stress, you start to have some level of inflammation, so the body now is responding to a stress factor that makes the animal’s immune system poor. So the animal is more susceptible to disease,” he explained.

Trevor Bernard, past president of the Small Ruminants Association of Jamaica, noted that animals require a higher food intake packed with energy and a cooler environment.

“You will see the goats in a cool area breathing heavily or lying down on colder concrete. The heat affects production; it affects the forest. The heat affects the entire cycle of rearing from food is affected. The rabbits don’t usually get pregnant in this heat either,” he said.

Bernard noted that he had seen farmers using fans in the goat sheds to keep the animals cool. According to Brown, heat stress also leads to noticeable declines in livestock production.

“If you’re looking at boiler chickens, you start to see a reduction in egg production, and you start to see a reduction in the growth rate, same for cattle and goats. For dairy animals, you see a reduction in milk.” To reduce losses, Brown stressed that investing in proper infrastructure is critical, particularly during the hottest months.

“Some farmers who have money can do misting just to help add a little moisture in the air to help with cooling down the animals. That works for cattle and that works for even chickens,” he added. However, for smaller farmers with limited resources, Brown gave simple strategies.

“You could paint the black tank white to reflect heat. The ice inside the water is a pretty good one, I think, that works. Put the tank underneath a shady tree. Like for chicken farmers, they normally try to keep the tarpaulins up. They need to drop those tarpaulins down completely so you can have that air flow going through and not much backed-up heat inside there.”