Effect of Clipping the Coat on the Thermoregulatory Reactions of Dairy Heifers

Abstract

IT is well known that the coat has a marked insulative value, reducing the ability of the animal to dissipate heat to its environment. The reduction in the loss of heat occurs mainly in the conductive and convective components of loss¹. The reduction in the potential loss of radiant heat may be of sizeable magnitude when the coat overlying the skin is thick and dense enough to prevent the skin from ‘seeing’ a cooler environment. There is the further possibility that the coat reduces the loss due to evaporation².