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Summary
Sheep
Area of Science:
- Animal Physiology
- Thermoregulation
- Sheep Husbandry
Background:
- Mammary gland heating can affect physiological responses in sheep.
- The impact of shearing on thermoregulation during mammary heating is not fully understood.
- Environmental temperature influences physiological responses in livestock.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cardio-respiratory and thermoregulatory responses of partially shorn and unshorn sheep to mammary heating.
- To determine the effect of varying ambient temperatures on these responses.
- To identify potential differences in response between shorn and unshorn animals.
Main Methods:
- Measurements of cardio-respiratory activity, skin temperature, and blood temperature (carotid artery and jugular vein) were taken.
- Sheep (partially shorn and unshorn) were subjected to mammary heating at different ambient temperatures (20/55, 15/55, 10/55 °C/RH).
- Responses were compared between shorn and unshorn sheep and across different environmental conditions.
Main Results:
- Mammary heating increased respiratory and heart rates in unshorn sheep, but only heart rate in shorn sheep.
- Respiratory response in unshorn sheep decreased with lower ambient temperatures.
- Carotid blood temperature declined post-mammary heating in both groups, more so in unshorn sheep.
Conclusions:
- Mammary heating elicits distinct cardio-respiratory responses in shorn versus unshorn sheep.
- Environmental temperature modulates the respiratory response to mammary heating.
- Stimulation of mammary warm receptors likely explains the observed responses, irrespective of blood temperature changes.