Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Tropical Animal Health and Production (2023) 55:386 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-023-03808-9 REGULAR ARTICLES Efects of heat‑stress‑reducing systems on blood constituents, milk production and milk quality of Holstein and Jersey cows and heifers on pasture Karoline de Lima Guimarães Yamada 1  · Geraldo Tadeu dos Santos 1  · Júlio César Damasceno 1  · Kleves Vieira de Almeida 1  · Jesús Alberto Cardozo Osorio 1  · Jean Carlos Steinmacher Lourenço 2  · Antonio Leandro Chaves Gurgel 3  · Tairon Pannunzio Dias‑Silva 3  · Marcos Jácome de Araújo 3  · Luís Carlos Vinhas Ítavo 4  · Chaouki Benchaar 5 Received: 12 June 2023 / Accepted: 24 October 2023 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2023 Abstract The objective of this study was to evaluate the infuence of diferent heat-stress-reducing systems, i.e., sprinkler + artifcial shade, shower + artifcial shade, and artifcial shade, on serum mineral, hormonal, hematological, and metabolite profles, on milk production, and milk composition in lactating cows and pubertal heifers of Holstein and Jersey breeds. For this purpose, 12 animals were used: 3 Holstein cows with an average (mean ± SD) body weight of 600 ± 30 kg, 53 ± 11 months of age, and milk yield of 27 ± 3.5 kg/day; 3 Jersey cows with an average body weight of 370 ± 11 kg, 40 ± 6 months of age, and milk production of 11 ± 1.5 kg/day; 3 Holstein heifers (325 ± 25 kg and 16 ± 0.6 months of age); and 3 Jersey heifers (250 ± 25 kg and 13 ± 0.6 months of age). Animals were used in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square design with a 3 × 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments that included three treatments (sprinkler + artifcial shade, shower + artifcial shade, and artifcial shade), two breeds (Holstein, Jersey), and two physiological stages (lactating cows, heifers). The experimental treatments infuenced (P < 0.05) the concentrations of triiodothyronine, with the shower and shade systems showing greater and similar concentrations (99.5 and 96.3 µg/dL, respectively) when compared with sprinkler treatment (89.2 µg/dL). There was an efect (P < 0.05) of breed on the concentrations of Na + , K + , hemoglobin, hematocrit and mean corpuscular volume levels with the Holsteins having lower levels of Na + , K + , hemoglobin, hematocrit and mean corpuscular volume (101.1, 4.0 ng/ mL, 11.2 g/dL, 24.7%, and 42.3 μm3, respectively) than the Jerseys (106.5 and 4.3 ng/mL, 12.4 g/dL, 27.7%, and 46.3 μm3, respectively. Total cholesterol and high-density lipoproteins were infuenced by physiological stage (P < 0.05). Concentrations of cholesterol and high-density lipoproteins were higher for cows (94.1, and 56.9 mg/dL, respectively) than for heifers (56.9 and 42,9 mf/dL, respectively). Milk production and fat content were afected (P < 0.05) by breed (P < 0.05), with Holstein cows producing more milk (23.9 kg/day) than Jersey cows (12.0 kg/day), but Jersey cows had higher fat concentration (4.6%) than Holstein cows (3.0%). Therefore, the three diferent thermal-stress-reducing-systems tested were able to maintain the serum biomarkers within normal physiological ranges. However, the most appropriate thermal-stress-reducing-systems would be a sprinkler systema because it uses less water compared with the shower system. Keywords Breed diferences · Heat stress · Lactating cows · Serum biomarkers · Tropical systems * Geraldo Tadeu dos Santos gtsantos50@gmail.com 1 Department of Animal Sciences, State University of Maringá, Maringá, Paraná 87020900, Brazil 2 Department of Animal Sciences, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná 80035050, Brazil 3 Campus Professora Cinobelina Elvas, Federal University of Piauí, Bom Jesus, Piauí 64900-000, Brazil 4 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Federal University of Mato Grosso Do Sul, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso Do Sul 79070-900, Brazil 5 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Sherbrooke Research and Development Centre, 2000 College Street, Sherbrooke, QC J1M 1Z3, Canada