Evaluation of Blood Parameters Associated to Environmental Stress in Grazing Beef Heifers with Divergent Residual Feed Intake

Abstract There is considerable interest in improved feed efficiency to enhance sustainability in beef production, but a lack of understanding exists on the interaction between residual feed intake (RFI) and environment while grazing. Increasing variation in environmental conditions has been documented in western Canada with summers becoming warmer. This study evaluated blood parameters and rumen temperature (RT) of grazing beef heifers with divergent residual feed intake (RFI) during summer (July to August) of 2022. Forty-four crossbred beef heifers (358 ± 4.78 kg body weight; approximately 14 months of age) previously tested for RFI in drylot and classified as more (n = 21; LOW-RFI = -0.9 ± 0.70) or less feed efficient (n = 23; HIGH-RFI = 1.3 ± 1.00) were grazed at 2.72 AUM/ha over 7 wk in Alberta, Canada. Rumen temperatures were automatically recorded throughout the study using the Smart Rumen Bolus by Moonsyst. Plasma was collected every 14 ± 1 d for 42 d to determine concentrations of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), β-Hydroxybutyric acid (BHBA), leptin (LEP), free triiodothyronine (fT3), haptoglobin (HP), heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Environmental conditions were assessed by calculating the Climate Comprehensive Index using temperature, wind speed, solar radiation, and humidity data from a weather station within 1 km of the grazed pastures. Daily weather conditions were considered to impose risk to cause mild, moderate, severe, and extreme stress for 8, 21, 8, and 1 days, respectively. Plasma and RT data were analyzed as a completely randomized design with repeated measures. An RFI × day interaction was observed for BUN (P = 0.018). LOW-RFI had greater (P = 0.02) BUN on d 42 compared with HIGH-RFI heifers (42.5 vs. 32.6 mg/dL, respectively), while GABA tended to be greater (P ≤ 0.09) for HIGH-RFI heifers on d 0 and 42. Free T3 concentrations were greater (P = 0.04; 8.54 vs. 7.78 pmol/L, respectively), whereas HP was less (P = 0.01) in LOW-RFI heifers. However, HP concentrations were below the threshold for inflammation throughout the study. There was also an effect of day (P < 0.01) for fT3, IGF-1, LEP, NEFA, HSP70, and BHBA. Leptin and HSP70 concentrations were greatest on d 14 and 28, whereas BHBA was the greatest (P < 0.01) and IGF-1 the least on d 42 (P < 0.01). An RFI × hour interaction was detected for RT (P = 0.0003), where HIGH-RFI heifers had greater RT throughout the day. In summary, weather conditions in western Canada changed blood parameters of replacement beef heifers during summer. Feed efficient heifers had decreased RT and greater plasma concentrations of fT3, which could be associated with metabolic homeostasis and regulation of thermogenesis.