Managing Heat Stress in Dairy Cattle Summer heat stress causes many problems in the dairy cow. Heat stress reduces feed intake, decreases milk production 20 to 30 percent, and drops butterfat content along with total milk solids significantly. It also reduces cow activity during estrus, making heat detection more difficult. Water Daily water consumption can increase from 15 to 40 gallons per cow. Dairy cows require approximately 3 to 4 pounds of water for each pound of milk produced.
Factors limiting water intake include a high salt content, high iron or sulphur, and stagnation.
Some blue green algae are even toxic. Placing a small water tank in a corner of the holding pen has increased milk production 2 to 4 pounds per cow. Shading the water tank. Shade Properly constructed and maintained shades are effective in reducing heat stress. Shades should be a minimum of 10 feet high and no more than 30 feet wide to allow for drying underneath.