Diurnal Patterns of Bovine Body Temperature

Abstract

Patterns of diurnal body temperature variation were studied in dairy cattle. Classification of 102 continuously recorded daily temperature curves revealed the following features: Sixty-seven per cent showed two distinct daily elevations in temperature, 23% showed only one, 7% were polyphasic, showing three or more sustained rises, and 3% were aphasic. The incidence of these characteristic patterns was similar in normal, ovariectomized, and pregnant cows, and in young heifer calves. In general, temperatures were elevated in the mid-morning and afternoon and were low during the evening and early morning hours. Of the several categories of cattle studied, calves had the highest temperatures, with pregnant cows, normal cows, and ovariectomized cows showing decreasingly lower temperatures in the order listed. © 1961, American Dairy Science Association. All rights reserved.