Hair whorl patterns are related to age at puberty and milk-production traits in dairy cattle
S.K. YOUNG, L.R. MCNAUGHTON and R.J. SPELMAN
Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 67: 130-135
The objective of this study was to measure facial hair whorl characteristics of Friesian-Jersey crossbred cows (n=658) and to investigate their association with measures of milk production, fertility and behaviour. Cows had 1 (n=581), 2 (n=10), 3 (n=1) or no facial hair whorls (n=66). Of those cows with one whorl, 66% had whorls in the middle of the head, whereas 21% had whorls low on their head and 13% high on their forehead. Round whorls were present on 77% of cows, while 23% had non-round whorls. Fifty five percent of cows with round whorls were recorded as having anticlockwise rotation and 16% of cows as clockwise rotation. Cows with high hair whorls tended to reach puberty earlier on average than cows with lower whorls (P=0.07). Cows with higher non-round whorls also produced lower total milk and total solid yields, than cows with low whorls (P=0.01). No relationship was found between hair whorl characteristics and behaviour in this study.
Keywords: NZSAPAB; hair; whorl; pattern; bovine; cow; fertility; puberty; production
Last Updated 18/07/2007