Hjärtfrekvensens förändring vid sinläggning av undervisningskor vid institutionen för kliniska vetenskaper
It?s been noted that cows held at the section of ruminant medicine and epidemiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (IME), used for the education of veterinary students, have a lower heart rate than what is considered normal for ruminants. In this investigation the heart rates of seven lactating cows were recorded continuously during the period around drying off. The first recording took place at the farm from where the cows were bought, and then their heart rate was monitored after their arrival at IME and further on until they were completely dried off. The results were then compared to the heart rate of seven already dried off cows from the same farm. The heart rates of the lactating animals were expected to be within normal range before and a short time after arriving at IME and then slowly decrease as they were dried off. The result in this investigation shows that the heart rate of the lactating animals decreased already one day after arrival at IME while they were still lactating, which suggests that the low heart rate of the cows held at IME are multifactorial.