Abstract
Five adult sheep were exposed to intermittent cold for 12 h (18:00-06:00) at an air temperature of $5{\pm}1^{\circ}C$ followed by 12 h (06:00-18:00) at $25{\pm}2^{\circ}C$ over a period of 8 days continuously. Carotid artery blood (Tc), mean skin (Ts) and mean body (Tb = 0.86 Tc + 0.14 Ts) temperatures, heat production rate (HP), respiratory evaporative heat loss, respiration rate (RR) and volume were measured before and after exposure. Tc during the 12 h cold period of intermittent cold exposure was similar to that during the corresponding period in the warm environment, while Tc in the $25^{\circ}C$ of intermittent cold was higher (p < 0.05) than that in the corresponding period in the warm environment. Ts during the cold period markedly decreased (p < 0.001) by about $9^{\circ}C$ when compared with that in the corresponding time period in the warm environment, while Ts during the $25^{\circ}C$ period of intermittent cold recovered to a similar level to that in the warm environment. Tb was lower (p < 0.001) during the cold period of intermittent cold, whereas a slight increase in Tb during the $25^{\circ}C$ period of intermittent cold was significant (p < 0.05) when compared with the value during the similar period in the warm environment. HP was greatly increased (p < 0.001) by cold exposure, followed by an immediate decrease during the first one hour of the 12 h warm period, reaching a similar level to that in the warm environment. A lower (p < 0.05) RR was observed during both the cold and $25^{\circ}C$ period of intermittent cold than during the corresponding periods in the warm environment. The results of the present investigation clearly show that the body temperature of sheep increased during a 12 h warm period following 12 h of exposure to cold. These results suggest that during a warm period of an intermittent cold exposure cycle, heat could be shored in the animal body.