Development of models to assess potential sheep heat-stress during heat waves

Abstract

It is well documented that heat-stress burdens sheep welfare and productivity. It is expected that peak heat-stress levels are observed when high temperatures prevail, i.e. during heat waves. However, continuous measurements are not usually available for long periods so as to study the variation of summer heat-stress levels for several years, especially during extreme hot weather. This paper proposes a methodology to develop a long time series of summer temperature and relative humidity inside a naturally ventilated sheep barn. The accuracy and the transferability of the models are verified. Then, the variations of the Temperature Humidity Index inside the barn during heat wave days are examined.