Changes in biochemical indicators in dairy cows induced by extremely low temperatures
Broucek, J.; Kovalcik, K.; Gajdosík, D.; Brestenský, V.
Veterinarni Medicina 32(8): 449-458
1987
ISSN/ISBN: 0375-8427 PMID: 3120390 Document Number: 293822
The objective of the experiment was to find out the effect of extremely low temperatures on the biochemical characteristics of the cows. Twenty-one dairy cows were used as the experimental material. The experimental group (n = 12) was kept loose in an open barn without thermal insulation and the control group (n = 9) was kept in an insulated cow-house. The winter season included two periods of extremely low temperatures: from the 3rd to the 21st of January 1985 the average minimum temperature in the open barn was -12.6 degrees C and the lowest temperature was -19 degrees C, and in the period from the 8th to the 20th of February 1985 the average minimum temperature was -13.1 degrees C and the lowest recorded temperature was also -19 degrees C. At the beginning of hypothermic stress, the concentration of non-esterified acids and total proteins increased in the cows of the experimental group; potassiaemia was decreased in this group. Cholesterolaemia and glycaemia increased during the long-continued exposure to low temperatures. The activity of the thyroid gland was increased at all measurements.