Effect of Foggers Cooling System on Body Comfort and Milk Constituents in Mehsana Buffaloes During the Summer Season

The experiment was conducted on twelve early lactating Mehsana buffaloes for the period of three months (April-2012 to June-2012) at Livestock Research Station, Sardarkrushinagar during hot dry season when the average maximum temperature was 38.54°C and relative humidity was 53.45%. The foggers cooling system was automatically controlled by an electronic timer and run for 3 min after an interval of every 2 min (36 min/hour) from 12:00 to 15:00 hours. The mean values of physiological responses for rectal temperature, respiration rate and pulse rate of both the groups were not different during morning but varied (P<0.01) in the afternoon. The weekly overall mean values of milk fat percent was significantly higher (P<0.01) in foggersgroup as compared to control group. The values of milk solidsnot-fat and milk protein percent did not differ significantly. Water cooling through foggers played important role in body comfort of animal which is evident from the lower rectal temperature, respiration rate and pulse rate of Mehsana buffaloes in experimental shed by 0.55°F, 4.56 counts/minute and 5.62 beats/minute, respectively at the peak hot period of afternoon hours. Therefore, it is concluded that the foggers cooling system was beneficial in terms of body comfort of the animals as well as increasing the fat yield in Mehsana buffaloes during the summer season