Flexible solutions for livestock comfort in diverse settings

Keeping livestock comfortable year-round is important for their health and productivity. While many animal owners invest in blankets, insulated stables, or heaters to keep their animals warm in the winter, heat management is equally important. In the summer, high temperatures can lead to heat stress and serious medical conditions for animals like horses, cattle, goats, chickens.  

In this blog, we’ll explore how heat impacts livestock, what to do about it, and how to keep them cool all year long with barn cooling solutions like evaporative coolers. 

What are signs of livestock heat stress?   

Livestock change their behavior in the cold and the heat. When it’s too hot, animals’ bodies will try to cool down naturally. Animals capable of sweating may start to perspire or move to a shadier spot. At some point, the air temperatures may be too hot for their cooling mechanisms to work. They’ll be at risk for heat stress and more serious medical conditions like heat stroke. 

Watch for these subtle signs of heat stress in animals. When they’re too hot, cows, pigs, goats, chickens, and horses will do one or more of the following: 

• Pant, with mouths open and tongues out 
• Have an increased respiration rate 
• Drink more water and eat less 
• Be restless, moving around too much 
• Be lethargic, standing or sitting in one spot for an extended period of time 
• Salivate or drool more 
• In severe cases, they may become unconscious 

How hot is too hot for barn animals? 

Some livestock can handle the heat better than others. For example, goats and sheep have wool which insulates against the cold as well as the heat, and their body temperatures are naturally higher than most other animals. Thanks to their protective features, goats begin to get heat stress at 82°F.  

Pigs can’t sweat and can begin to show signs of heat stress at just 70°F. Cattle can get heat stress at even lower temperatures, while high-producing cows start to overheat at 65°F due to their eating habits and increased body heat. Chickens can also begin to display heat stress behaviors at 65°F, while temperatures of 100°F or more can be fatal.  

This makes it critical for ranchers and farmers to invest in livestock cooling systems that work for a wide range of animals. 

How do I keep farm animals cool in hot weather? 

Keeping farm animals cool helps them stay comfortable and healthy, even in hot weather. You can help livestock stay cool in hot weather by: 

• Ensuring animals have plenty of cold water to drink 
• Adding more shade to grazing areas 
• Putting insulation under hot metal roofs to reduce heat transfer 
• Avoiding touching or transporting cattle  
• Using evaporative coolers for barns and livestock pens to lower air temperatures 

Are evaporative coolers safe for barn animals?  

Evaporative coolers for livestock—also known as swamp coolers—are perfectly safe for animals. Unlike air conditioners, evaporative coolers don’t use any refrigerants or chemicals. Evaporative cooling is a natural process that just uses water to cool the air by up to 30°F. An evaporative cooler draws in hot air, passes it through water-saturated evaporative media which cools the air, then circulates cooled air back into the space.  

This makes evaporative cooling a safe and effective barn cooling solution for animals. 

Keeping animals cool in barns and covered livestock buildings 

High temperatures and poor ventilation are common problems for barns and covered livestock buildings. These spaces usually don’t have insulation to keep the heat out. If there isn’t enough space in each stall, or animals are too close together, their body heat can increase the air temperatures and contribute to barn heat stress. Hay and bedding can also complicate the matter, as this should stay clean and dry for animal comfort.  

Unfortunately, fans can’t cool the hot air in your barn, they just move it around. Misting solutions can help animals cool down temporarily, but the extra humidity from the air can increase the heat index and contribute to heat stress.  

Evaporative cooling is typically the best solution as it cools the air and releases minimal humidity, making it perfect for semi-open spaces like barns, stables, and livestock facilities with or without hay. 

Keeping animals cool in transport zones and holding areas 

Mobile or temporary areas lack built-in infrastructure to keep animals cool in the heat. Worse yet, temporary transport zones and holding areas are usually built with uninsulated metal, leading to heat retention and animal discomfort.  

Portable evaporative coolers for livestock transport are your best option to avoid animal distress and keep your livestock cool. Cooling solutions like portable evaporative coolers can be easily moved across spaces, providing flexible cooling wherever it’s needed. They can go anywhere your animals go, keeping them safe from heat stress.  

Portacool evaporative coolers are the best choice for keeping livestock cool  

Ranchers, wranglers, and farm owners trust Portacool to deliver unparalleled cooling for their animals all year long. Our APEX™ Series evaporative coolers cover a broad range of spaces to fit your exact cooling needs. From stalls and kennels to feeding areas and grazing areas, Portacool evap coolers can transform spaces of any size, from 500 sq. ft. or less to 6,500 sq. ft.  

Battle of the Cattle 

Portacool evap coolers were key to protecting show cattle from heat stress at the Battle of the Cattle event in Dallas, Texas. Over 40 contestants rented APEX 4000s to keep their cattle cool in the staging area, an open-style pole barn. Easy to set up, the APEX 4000 was ready to go after filling up the water tank, plugging it in, and turning it on.  

Dave Archer show horses 

Equestrian trainer Dave Archer uses Portacool evaporative coolers to keep his horses cool and comfortable. All of our coolers have wheels, making it easy to add targeted cooling wherever your animals need it most. For David, that’s 41 stalls, a 200’ x 120’ outdoor riding area, a 60-foot round pen, large pasture and five turnouts (two large, three small). Best of all, our coolers cost less than $1 a day per day to operate, leading to major cost savings regardless of the size of your space.  

“When we place the Portacool in the alley way, we can easily get a 15°F drop and keep it cool in a manageable way. It’s important we keep our clients’ horses safe from the negative effects of heat and the Portacool evaporative cooler allows us to do that.” – Dave Archer 

Your animals deserve the best in cooling 

Portacool evaporative coolers are designed with both animal comfort and operational efficiency in mind. All you need to do is plug the cooler into a power source, add water, and turn it on to begin cooling your space. Whether you need to cool a small stall, a large barn, or an outdoor grazing area, you’ll be able to find the perfect cooling solution with Portacool.   

Find a Portacool near you 

You can keep your animals safe from heat stress and make them feel comfortable, even in the hottest parts of summer. Find a Portacool dealer near you to learn more about picking the right livestock cooling system for barns, stables, and animal operations.