Effect of Natural Combinations of Ambient Temperature and Relative Humidity on the Water Intake of Lactating and Nonlactating Dairy Cows

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Abstract
Four trials were conducted to measure water consumption of dry and lactating cows under varying natural combinations of temperature and relative humidity. There was a highly significant correlation between water intake and temperature, but relative humidity did not have a significant effect upon water intake when temperature was held constant. The prediction equations: W = -11.9+..33 T for lactating cows and W = -11.6 + .29 T for nonlactating cows, were constructed using the regression of water intake on ambient temperature, and comparison was made between the predicted water intake of cows inthis study and water intake of certain cows determined from tables prepared by other workers. Water consumption of cows kept under natural conditions appeared to have greater variation with the extremes of temperature than did that of cows kept in controlled chambers.

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