July 8, 2024
Cooling of livestock and other animals
Not only humans can suffer from unbearable heat-waves during the summer-time. Livestock and other animals can also need help to cool down during soaring temperatures. Japan is known for its warm and humid summers which has given Ikeuchi the opportunity to help out many farmers, horse ranches and even zoo’s to cool down their animals.
Cooling of cattle
As you may know, cows cannot sweat as much as we can. This makes it difficult for them to regulate their body temparature during warm days. Especially if they are kept inside, it will be difficult for them to seek cooling and they could suffer from heat stress. Heat stress will cause the cow to eat less and produce less milk and could even lead to the fatal consequence of death.
Ikeuchi Japan has carried out several cattle farm cooling projects. One of these projects was for the Anotsu Farm in the Mie prefecture in Japan. In recent years, summers have been getting hotter all over the country, and Mie Prefecture is no exception, with heatwaves becoming more intense every year. The Anotsu farm decided to install Ikeuchi cooling spray nozzles and were satisfied with the results:
“The mist is so fine that you don’t get wet, and it’s overwhelmingly cooler. At the same time, the number of flies in the stable has decreased, which has greatly contributed to relieving stress in the summer.”
Sweating like a pig..
Just like cows, pigs only have limited number of sweat glands, which makes it difficult for them to cool off. This is also one of the reasons why pigs like to roll in the mud! However, pigs which are kept indoor will have difficulties cooling themselves down without access to mud or water puts. These farm animals can also benefit from cooling equipment in order to avoid heat stress or worse.
Cooling of horses and stables
Unlike cattle and pigs, horses are able to sweat in much the same way as humans are, and even more. However, professional horses also have to move a lot more than the regular farm animal when preparing for or competing in horseback disciplines. This can sometimes lead to abnormal sweating which can cause dehydration at worst. This is why some stables can benefit from cooling solutions as well.
A stable in Kobe, Japan, decided to implement a cooling solution for their competition horses.
“The horses are not afraid of the fog, and it helps them stay cool even on the hottest days. It has also had the effect of keeping stinging flies away.”
You can read more about this project here
Cooling off Zoo animals
Even Zoo animals may need cooling if they are exposed to a different climate than their natural habitat. Ikeuchi Japan got the opportunity to install cooling equipement at Chiba Zoo, near Tokyo, for the gorillas. The installed system is a semi-Dry Fog system with a mean droplet diameter around 10–30 μm. You can spot the gorilla Lola in the cave if you look closely.