Abstract

The objective of this study was to measure facial hair whorl characteristics of Friesian-Jersey crossbred cows (n=658) and to investigate their association withmeasures 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 havinganticlockwise rotation and 16% of cows as clockwise rotation. Cows with high hair whorlstended 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.

SK, Young, LR McNaughton, and RJ Spelman

Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production, Volume 67, Wanaka, 130-135, 2007