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Cold-induced inhibition of thermal panting in shorn sheep. 1. Effect of intensity of cold exposure

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

J. Slee
Affiliation:
ARC Animal Breeding Research Organisation, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JQ
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Summary

The delayed onset of heat-induced panting (at 42°C) immediately following previous shearing and exposure to cold was studied in 54 Scottish Blackface and 53 Tasmanian Merino sheep.

In control sheep (not previously cold-exposed) thermal panting commenced in 15 min. In cold-treated sheep, when the cold was intensified stepwise from +26°C (+30cC being thermoneutral) down to −10°C, using 2-hr exposures, or lengthened from 2 hr to 16 hr at +8°C, the delay (block) to panting increased non-linearly from 40 to 70 min.

The minimum intensity of cold required to produce a block (26°C in Merinos, 22°C in Blackfaces) was similar to that inducing peripheral vasoconstriction. More intense vasoconstriction preceded longer blocks, but vasoconstriction sometimes occurred without a subsequent block.

Merinos were more sensitive than Blackfaces to the blocking effects of cold, and, once blocked, the effect in Merinos was less easily removed by re-warming.

The time taken for cancellation of the heat debt during heat stress could account for half the block. The remainder, a delay of about 30 min, was attributed to a specific inhibition of respiratory control in the central nervous system.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1973

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References

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