VERMILION PARISH, La. — As late summer temperatures push the "feels like" index near 120 degrees in Vermilion Parish, local farmers are working around the clock to protect their herds from dangerous heat stress. For animals covered in thick hides or feathers, extreme temperatures pose a severe health threat if not managed carefully.
Anna-Vaughn Calihan, a local livestock farmer who raises show cattle, beef cattle, goats, and chickens, says keeping her animals cool becomes a full-time job during the hottest months of the year.
"Just making sure that they have everything that they need—shade, water, adequate ventilation and circulation of the air," Calihan said. "Also minerals, adjusting your feeding times, just kind of knowing what their specific needs are for each animal and trying to give them that to the best of your ability."
Because different livestock species regulate heat in different ways, farmers must tailor their strategies to each animal's biology. Pigs, for instance, lack sweat glands and carry a thick layer of fat that traps heat. Chickens similarly cannot sweat and are insulated by dense feathers.
To prevent livestock from overheating, experts recommend keeping animals as calm and inactive as possible during peak daylight hours.
"The best thing you can do in the summer is keep the animals lazy when they're out in the sun, that way they're not burning calories and increasing that internal temperature," said Tyler Braud, an assistant professor at the LSU AgCenter School of Animal Sciences.
Braud emphasized that pest management plays an often-overlooked role in cooling livestock. Flies and other insects irritate cattle, causing them to move continuously and raise their core body temperatures.
To combat this, Calihan sprays her herd with insect repellent to minimize tail-swishing and unnecessary movement. She also adjusts their diet, as feeding high levels of protein in peak heat can be detrimental to an animal's digestion and temperature control. Instead, she feeds early in the morning or late at night and leaves out mineral supplements to replace essential nutrients lost from increased water intake.
Ultimately, caretakers say watching for subtle changes in behavior is the most critical defense against heat-related illness.
"The most important thing is to pay attention to your animals," Calihan said. "They'll let you know when it's too hot. Something that's easier or maybe a little bit quicker to pick up on is that we start to see these animals congregating in areas of shade, or where we see them congregating near a water source."
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