Production limiting regions It is now well known that heat Stress is the major cause of lost production and lost profits in poultry, swine, beef cattle and dairy cattle in hostile "production-limiting" regions.
However, most farmers in tropical and sub-tropical areas have not experienced the production levels of animals in cool climates and have no concept of how much improvement in productivity is possible.
Animals typically react to heat Stress conditions by eating less food,thereby naturally controlling the rise in deep body temperature caused by digestion. Respiratory rate rises and there is a marked increase in insensible heat loss by evaporation of water from the lungs.They also drink at least 5 times the amount of water they would under temperate conditions, urine output increases and many mineral ions are lost.
The common visual signs of heat stress are: