DAPNET Forums Archive › Forums › Draft Animal Power › Oxen › Oxen: breeds and heat
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herefords.
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- October 21, 2011 at 2:37 pm #43142
Andy Carson
ModeratorI have been reading on this site and in “Oxen: A Teamster’s Guide” that oxen can have trouble working in the heat. I can see the rational behind why this is probably the case, and believe this is an important issue. I have read that heat stress for cattle starts at about 80 degrees. Still, it is interesting to note that working oxen are used regularly is some of the hottest places on earth, when 100+ temps are the norm (Africa, India, tropical east asia, central America, etc). Alot of these cattle are Indicus types, though, and perhaps this is a very important factor. I think this makes some sense to me, but that makes me wonder why these types haven’t become more popular as working oxen… Maybe a full Brahma wouldn’t be able to take the winter cold as well as a “Taurus” type, but I would bet that provided with a 3 sided shelter, they would do fine in many areas of USA in the winter. Even if a full Brahma type wasn’t cold tolerant enough for the winter, it seems that a percentage cross would be able to get more work done in the heat that a Taurus. Maybe the Indicus types haven’t been used much b/c it was easier to take oxen from population bred for other purposes (beef/milk) rather than breeding specifically for draft work? Maybe the Indicus types arrived to America too late to be concidered as many had switched over to horses/mules by then? I am curious about other’s speculation. Not being able to work when it’s past ~80 degrees is probably something I can get by with, but if the problem of heat stress is a common one, why fight it more than you have to? Perhaps breeding can help with this, or perhaps having oxen that are in shape and acclimatized to the environment and the work expected is much more critical than the differences between Taurus and Indicus? Any one else care to speculate?
October 21, 2011 at 6:31 pm #69741Tim Harrigan
Participant@Countymouse 29673 wrote:
? Perhaps breeding can help with this, or perhaps having oxen that are in shape and acclimatized to the environment and the work expected is much more critical than the differences between Taurus and Indicus? Any one else care to speculate?
Andy, I think it is generally agreed that all else equal taurus cattle will be less tolerant of the heat than indicus, and less tolerant than horses which would be less tolerant than mules. But the key is conditioning, lack of excess weight and acclimation. Many folks work cattle all summer, they just use common sense and manage around the hottest part of the day, provide more rest breaks, etc. Sometimes written guidelines seem to indicate a black or white situation where in this case less than 80 is OK, 80 or greater is a problem. But there are a lot of shades of grey, heat index being one of them. An optimal temperature for cattle is in the 30-40 deg F range. As it gets warmer than that you just need to pay attention.
October 21, 2011 at 7:44 pm #69752Baystatetom
ParticipantI think there is a difference from breed to breed, my jerseys seamed to care less about the heat then my Holstein/Shorthorns do. I wondered if it was the light brown verses black color. Somebody told me Charolais were good in the heat, don’t ask me why I wouldn’t have guessed that. 80 seems a bit low to worry me. I think common sense could keep you out of trouble.
~TomOctober 21, 2011 at 9:02 pm #69742ParticipantSize is another factor. Cattle in hot climates tend to be smaller. Jerseys as well. Smaller cattle have greater surface area relative to body mass than larger cattle so are able to dissipate heat better. Bigger cattle have an advantage in cold weather for heat retention.
November 1, 2011 at 12:56 pm #69744Nat(wasIxy)
ParticipantIt’s not a problem for me – I stop work over 80degrees too! 😉
May 21, 2012 at 2:13 pm #69745ModeratorI did quite a bit of work this weekend with my boys (shorthorn/jersey crosses ~1700-1800 lbs) in temps that were 80-85 degrees. I watched them closely for signs of stress, but they seemed to handle the heat just fine. There was actually no noticeable reduction in their work ability. I think I was making too much of this concern over working in the heat… Good thing too, because I was working the hottest part of the day. The heat and dry are really helping with my fallow.
May 21, 2012 at 7:54 pm #69743ParticipantBeing in shape makes a huge difference. Sounds like yours are.
May 22, 2012 at 1:54 am #69753herefords
ParticipantI was told that if it’s too hot for me then it’s too hot for my cattle.
May 22, 2012 at 3:14 am #69749Droverone
ParticipantPlease! It’s never too hot!
Come south and feel the heat for real!
90+f/ 30c+ and it’s just May!May 22, 2012 at 10:44 pm #69746ModeratorIt is interesting to note that our ox friend that is the furtherest south (and would likely experience the most heat) says it is not a big deal. I think your oxen are herefords? I would not have guessed that a this would be a very heat tolerant ox by breeding, so I guess aclimation and conditioning are the dominant factors. It is interesting to note how brahma crosses and Spanish background cattle seem to be more common as beef animals in the south and in hot places. I don’t see many brahma types used as oxen in the US, but i don’t know many drovers in the south. I would have guessed what was good for beef would also benefit working oxen, but again it appears breeding is not as important as acclimation. Interesting…
May 23, 2012 at 2:02 pm #69750ParticipantBut it does take some conditioning, and I do think the ” zebu” breeds which we call Brahman in the US, would help with breeding, to continental or English breeds, to deal genetically with heat, disease and pest tolerance. I have tried to locate such breeds over the past 16 years but the beef market and it’s mentality have retarded farmers thinking about the possibilities for the influenced breeds, outside the sale barn. Conscience driving will tell you your cattles tolerance range, and humane use will extend their abilities.
May 24, 2012 at 12:04 am #69747ModeratorJust out of curiosity, have you ever seen a Brahma/zebu/indicus type worked in the US? It would be very interesting to hear how their heat tolerance translates to working ability in the heat. It would be a fascinating experiment to perform. Too bad it takes so long to run such an experiment… Someone’s got to have tired this before, though. Does anyone remember?
May 24, 2012 at 2:36 am #69751ParticipantI have seen singles worked but not teams.
May 24, 2012 at 2:16 pm #69748Moderatorhttp://www.animal-science.org/content/77/9/2398.full.pdf
Here’s a link to a study comparing heat tolerance in hereford, brahman, and hereford/brahma, hereford/boran, and hereford/tuli crosses. I had never heard of borans or tulis before seeing this, but I don’t really know much about these indicus types. One of the studies looks at heat sterss response between these crosses at 36.7 degrees C (98 degrees F) and 88.5% humidity. Ouch!!! The herefords show clear signs of stress under these conditions, and the brahmans had impressive heat tolerance. The crossbreds fell in between, which isn’t suprizing, but this still represents big gains over the purebred hereford. Perhaps percentage crosses would be good compromise work animals for places that are hot, but not quite 98 degrees with 90% humidity? One of the things that concerns me to some degree is the mention that some of teh heat tolerance of Brahman cattle is due to a lower metabloic rate. This might translate to a lower work capacity than the taurus types, but i am only guessing here. Again, this is only out of curiosity, as my smaller taurus-type oxen seem to handle heat well enough for my region. Just an intellectual curiousity, really.
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