In Alentejana breed, a relevant decrease in food intake from P2
was observed. In Frisian breed, despite the increased difficulty in
managing homeothermy, there were only moderate decreases in
food intake, as described by Pereira et al. (2008). In P4, the higher
decreases in food intake in Limousine breed are in agreement with
other studies emphasizing that animals with higher metabolic
rates and better performances are those that have more decline in
food intake in heat-stress conditions (Berbigier, 1988; Mader and
Davis, 2004; Bernabucci et al., 2010).