In the first phase, five separate sets of temperature data were taken over a period of five months using a TIR1 imager manufactured by Fluke (temperature range -20°C to 100°C, accuracy +/-2°C, operated at a distance of 1 to 2 m, emissivity 0.95). Two groups of nine and ten cattle initially aged 12 and 3 months old respectively, were housed in small groups in pens in an open barn at the Institute for Animal Health farm at Compton, Newbury; one half of each pen had a concrete floor and the other a slightly raised straw filled area.