Body Temperature and Respiratory Rate of Lactating Dairy Cattle Under Field and Chamber Conditions

¹ Department of Animal Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27695-7621

A coordinated field and chamber experiment assessed breed, sire, and cow differences in body temperatures and respiratory rates. During each of 4 yr, 10 lactating Ayrshire, Guernsey, Holstein, and Jersey cows, 40 animals per yr, were observed in the field on 10 d when the air temperature approached 32°C. For the first 3 yr, each cow also was exposed in a controlled atmospheric chamber at 40°C and 34 mm Hg vapor pressure. Significant breed differences were found for body temperature and respiratory rate. The order of tolerance to hot conditions was Jersey, Guernsey, Ayrshire, and Holstein both in the field and chamber. Significant sire differences, interpreted as genetic, were found for the field measures but not in the chamber. Repeatability of individual field observations for a cow on different days in a year ranged from .38 to .55. Correlations between the average of 10 observations for a cow in the field during a year and the chamber evaluation were positive but lower than the repeatability values. Correlations of ambient temperature with body temperatures and respiratory rates were highest; those for radiation were next, followed by vapor pressure and air movement.

Key Words: body temperature • respiratory rate

Submitted on August 23, 1990
Accepted on February 25, 1991

This article has been cited by other articles:

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