SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE INTERNAL BODY TEMPERATURE
IN GOATS
By M. NAZIR SADIQ, L.V.P., Punjab Veterinary College
(Received for publication on 8 August 1942)
(With one text-figure)
THE internal temperature of an animal represents
the temperature of the blood. It is usually taken
in the domestic animals per rectum and sometimes
in the female per vulvum.
The average normal range of internal body tem-
perature in goats is, according to Malkmus, [1937]
between 102.2°F. and 104.9°F, but Wooldridge
[1934] places it between 101.0°F. and 104.0°F.
These observations are on goats found in Euro-
pean countries and, evidently, they do not apply in
the case of Indian goats, in which a marked varia-
tion is observed. It has been observed in the case
of goats used for the production of goat-tissue-
vaccine at the Punjab Veterinary College, Lahore,
that a lower range exists in their internal body
temperature.
This brief note deals with the writer's observa-
tions on the range of normal temperature in Indian
goats.
Goats used for observations
Young healthy Indian goats, nearly one year
old, purchased for the production of goat-tissue-
vaccine at the Punjab Veterinary College, Lahore,
were used for this purpose, the temperature being
recorded per rectum. The animals were kept at
rest as far as possible. The thermometers used
were the Zeil (London) thermometers with ½
minute recording time. The actual time spent in
the recording of a temperature was 1 minute
instead of ½ minute.
The morning temperatures recorded
Out of 1174 morning temperatures recorded in
366 goats during the last three years (April 1939 to
March 1942), it was found that:—
0.08 per cent of temperatures recorded ranged at 95.4°F.
1.53 per cent of temperatures recorded ranged between
97.0°F. and 97.9°F.
5.63 per cent of temperatures recorded ranged between
98.0°F. and 98.9°F.
15.92 per cent of temperatures recorded ranged between
99.0°F. and 99.9°F.
42.75 per cent of temperatures recorded ranged between
100.0°F. and 101.0°F.
26.74 per cent of temperatures recorded ranged between
101.2°F. and 102.0°F.
5.53 per cent of temperatures recorded ranged between
102.1°F. and 102.9°F.
0.85 per cent of temperatures recorded ranged between
103.0°F. and 103.5°F.
0.16 per cent of temperatures recorded ranged between
103.6°F. and 103.9°F.
0.16 per cent of temperatures recorded ranged between
104.0°F. and 104.5°F.
It was also observed that out of 1174 morning
temperatures recorded, 816 or nearly 70 per cent
ranged between 100.0°F. and 102.0°F. and of these
more than 60 per cent ranged between 100.0°F
101.0°F. as detailed below :—
86 temperatures recorded 100.0°F.
57 temperatures recorded 100.2°F.
101 temperatures recorded 100.4°F.
78 temperatures recorded 100.6°F.
52 temperatures recorded 100.8°F.
128 temperatures recorded 101.0°F.
62 temperatures recorded 101.2°F.
76 temperatures recorded 101.4°F.
78 temperatures recorded 101.6°F.
31 temperatures recorded 101.8°F.
67 temperatures recorded 102.0°F.
61.5 per cent
38.5 per cent
The maximum and minimum temperatures recorded
in the morning
Of the 366 animals upon which the observations
were made, the highest recorded temperature was
104.5°F. and the lowest 95.4°F. The average of
the morning internal temperature of these goats
fell to 100.7°F. Between 100.0°F. and 102.0°Fs.
may be taken as the physiological range in the
morning.
The evening temperature recorded
Out of 473 evening temperatures recorded, it
was found that:—
0.63 per cent registered between 99.0°F. and 99.9°F.
7.39 per cent registered between 100.0°F. and 100. 9°F.
26.21 per cent registered between 101.0°F. and 101.9°F.
48.62 per cent registered between 102.0°F. and 103.0°F.
9.25 per cent registered between 103.1°F. and 103.5°F.
4.65 per cent registered between 103.6°F. and 103. 9°F.
2.53 per cent registered between 104.0°F. and 104.5°F.
0.85 per cent registered between 104.6°F. and 104.9°F.
It was also noticed that nearly 75 per cent of
evening temperatures ranged between 101.0°F.
and 103.0°F. and of these nearly 65 per cent bet-
ween 102.0°F. and 103.0°F.
The, maximum and the minimum temperatures re-
corded in the evening
Of the 230 animals upon which the observations
were carried out, the highest recorded temperature
in the evening was 104.9°F. and the lowest 99.0°F.
The average evening temperature came to 102.2°F.
So between 101.0°F. and 103.0°F. may be taken as
the physiological range of the internal evening
temperature in these goats.
Diurnal variations
As a rule, the body temperature is lowest in the
morning and highest in the evening. In these
goats there exists a difference from 1.0°F. to 2.0°F.
between the morning and the evening tempera-
tures.
247