Cold stress after shearing with a snow comb.

The reactions of 32 Merino sheep were examined in 6 hr. and 18-20 hr. exposures to cold winds after shearing. Half were shorn normally and half with a snow-comb. Those shorn with the snowcomb had higher rectal and skin temperatures, but lower heart rates than the other group. In the 18-20 hr. exposures 7 of the 8 normally shorn animals, but only 1 shorn with a snow-comb, had to be removed before the end, on account of hypothermia or weakness.