Quantifying Physiological Responses of Beef Cattle Using a Tympanic Temperature Measurement Device

Abstract

The primary goals of this research were to develop an improved design for measuring tympanic temperature in groups of beef cattle, determine the ideal operating parameters of the new device, and to verify its effectiveness in a research application. Development of the continuous tympanic temperature logger (CTTL) consisted of two steps: identifying a small temperature logger capable of adequate data storage and constructing a probe to hold the logger and fit in the ear canal of a bovine animal. The minimum sampling interval needed to measure tympanic temperature in beef cattle was calculated using Fourier analysis. In addition, the differences in core body temperature between three measurement locations (left ear, right ear, and vagina) were quantified. The CTTL was also used to record the thermoregulatory responses of feedlot heifers with access to shade provided by three different materials.