Cow body temperature: normal indicators and reasons for the increase
Body temperature is a criterion by which one can judge the he alth of an animal. Normal indicates that no pathological changes occur in the body, an increase or decrease indicates an onset of a disease or pathological condition. Consider what is the normal body temperature of a cow, adult and calf, why it changes, how to measure it and how to bring it back to normal.
Cow body temperature norms
In adult animals and calves, they are different. In young animals they change with age, in cows and bulls they stabilize.
In adult animals
The normal temperature for cattle is 37.5-39 ˚С. Slight deviations upward or downward are permissible, which are explained by the individual characteristics of the organism. You can measure the temperature of a cow with a veterinary thermometer.
| Age of animal | Temperature |
| 37.5-39 ˚C |
Calfs
The temperature readings of young calves differ from those of adult animals. They also vary depending on the age of the calf. After calving, the temperature may drop as the calf dries out.
| Calf age | Temperature |
| 38.5-41°C | |
| up to 40.2 °C | |
| up to 40 °C |
Deviations of 1°C or more may indicate the development of a pathological process.
Possible reasons for the increase
Temperature may rise due to diseases, infectious and other diseases, poisoning. In cows that have given birth, its rise may be observed due to complications after calving. The increase may be due to poor animal care.
Poisoning
Cows have a poor taste of food, so they can eat plants and foods that are poisonous to them. An increase in normal temperature is one of the signs of poisoning, along with diarrhea, depression, behavioral changes, and decreased physical activity. After poisoning is detected, you should immediately contact your veterinarian. The poison can kill an animal within a few hours.
Bad food
Increase can cause poor quality feed fed to cows. Bacteria and fungi enter the body of cattle, the toxins of which provoke a rise in temperature. Indigestion is also observed, but death of animals usually does not occur.
The reaction in the form of increased heat generation in cows may be due to the introduction of unfamiliar feeds or additives into the diet, due to stress during transportation, violation of the walking regime.
Diseases
Infections that have entered the body, bacteria and viruses become the causative agents of dangerous diseases. The temperature rises as a result of the body's immune response to inflammatory processes. Diseases in which this occurs: leukemia, leptospirosis, pneumonia, brucellosis, foot and mouth disease, plague.
Complications after calving
Postpartum diseases can also be the cause of such a reaction of the body. Often this is a symptom of endometritis, paresis or mastitis. These are serious diseases that can lead to complications and even death of the animal.
Hyperthermia is explained by injuries of the birth canal and inflammation that occurred after childbirth, retained placenta.
Mastitis develops in dairying individuals, inflammation is concentrated in the udder, but the temperature may rise throughout the body. The reason is streptococci and staphylococci entering open milk ducts.
Reasons for drop in temperature
Causes of hypothermia, or low body temperature, in cows can be different. This may be hypothermia (a decrease is recorded once), weakening as a result of severe pathologies. The decrease can be caused by dehydration, enteritis, severe blood loss.
Thermoregulation can be impaired in newborn calves and older animals. Violations can cause pathologies of the hypothalamus, hypothyroidism, exhaustion, the use of anesthesia.
To establish why a cow's temperature dropped, you need to find out whether it was exposed to hypothermia, whether it had diseases or conditions that are characterized by a decrease in the level of thermoregulation. You can determine the degree of hypothermia by the symptoms:
- mild - drowsiness, tremor, weakness;
- moderate - bradycardia, hypotension, decrease in respiratory rate and depth, stupor, muscle stiffness;
- strong - dilated pupils, coma, depressed breathing, slowing of cardiac activity.
Hypothermia associated with CNS depression should be differentiated from hypoglycemia, neoplastic diseases, water-mineral imbalance, brain pathologies.
How to shoot down
After establishing the causes of hyperthermia, treatment can begin. Cows are given antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, antipyretics, vitamins, and plenty of water.
However, when trying to eliminate hyperthermia, you need to remember that you should eliminate the cause, not the consequences.
Besides, by lowering the temperature, you can make things worse, because a rise in temperature is a protective function of the body, with which it tries to fight viruses and bacteria. Therefore, it is possible to bring down the temperature only after the diagnosis by the veterinarian and the appointment of treatment. The duration and intensity of therapy is determined by the doctor based on the current condition of the animal.
How to measure temperature
Different instruments are used to measure. They are used both in veterinary clinics and at home. One common method is to insert a thermometer into the rectum. Thermometers can be mercury or electronic. Despite the higher cost, the electronic form makes measurements more accurate, and is also safe for humans and animals.
The measurement process can be divided into steps:
- disinfection of the instrument - wiping with a cotton swab soaked in alcohol;
- lubrication with petroleum jelly or other means to facilitate the introduction into the rectum;
- insertion of the device 2-3 cm into the intestinal cavity.
For measurement, the thermometer is kept in the cow's body for 6-8 minutes. - mercury and 1 min. - electronic. After the end of the procedure, the instrument is cleaned in soapy water and disinfected again with alcohol. The area of the anus in a cow is treated with an antiseptic. When measuring, it must be remembered that some animals are nervous during the procedure and may be aggressive. Therefore, you need to work with cows, adhering to safety precautions.
During treatment, measurements can be taken up to 3-4 times a day until the animal recovers. After its completion, you can measure 1-2 times a day for 2-3 weeks. This is necessary to prevent the possibility of a recurrence of the pathology.
If the body temperature of cattle is normal, the animal is he althy. If there are deviations up or down, this is a signal that pathological changes are occurring in the body of livestock, and it needs treatment.This is why measuring and monitoring this bodily function is so important. Sometimes the life of a cow or calf depends on the timeliness of the treatment.
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