title: Diurnal temperature patterns of early lactating cows with milking parlor cooling.
abstract: Ten cows in early stages of lactation (less than 100 days postpartum) were used to test the effect of sprinkler/fan cooling on vaginal temperature patterns. Cows were assigned to two groups matched according to milk production. The trial was divided into three periods: period 1, when one group was treated and the other group was not, period 2, when neither group was treated, and period 3, when treatment was switched from period 1 between groups. Treatment consisted of forced air misting in a premilking holding pen, fan cooling during milking, and forced air-sprinkling in a postmilking holding area. Weather conditions were measured by dry bulb, wet bulb, and black globe temperatures. Black globe temperatures in pre- and postmilking holding areas were used to estimate treatment magnitude. All measures were obtained through radiotelemetry at 15-min intervals for 31 days. Animals were milked twice a day. Animals spent an average of 140 min in treatment at each milking. In both morning and afternoon milking, treatment caused a transient increase of body temperature. However, this was followed in the afternoon by low vaginal temperatures for 1 to 2 h beyond treatment with lower temperatures throughout the day.
mesh_terms: D000389:Air Conditioning / Q000379:methods; D000818:Animals; D001831:Body Temperature; D002417:Cattle / Q000502:physiology*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D005260:Female; D006799:Housing, Animal; D007774:Lactation; D011247:Pregnancy; D013696:Temperature; D014621:Vagina