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an association between positions of the hair whorls (e.g., left, right) and
milking parlor side preference (handedness) in dairy cows ( Tanner et al.,
1994 ). For this study we chose Holstein dairy cows because large numbers
of cows could be monitored for milking parlor side preference with a com-
puterized identification system. All cows were Holsteins and handling
experiences were the same. Hair whorl positions and personal identification
tag numbers were recorded on 1379 cows. Side preference data was collected
for 90 milkings each. At the entrance to the parlor, cows had free choice to
enter stalls on the left or right side. (Handlers only force cows to one side if
all the stalls on the other side are full.) Electronic ID readers recorded the
stall that each cow entered. Results showed that 45 cows with two hair
whorls on the forehead were significantly less sided than the rest of the pop-
ulation. These two studies confirmed the anecdotal observations from the
first author. Animals with high hair whorls are more reactive, and animals
with two hair whorls show less side preference. Randle (1998) assessed the
relationship between hair whorl position in 57 Bos tauras cattle and
responses to humans. The results show the general response of cattle to a
familiar human was not associated with hair whorl position, but the general
response of cattle to an unfamiliar human was. Lanier et al. (1999) studied
facial hair whorls and temperament in 1636 commercial cattle in the auction
ring. Cattle with high hair whorls had higher temperament scores.
Temperament scores also showed that Holsteins were calmer than beef cattle.
Matson (2004) studied the relationship between hair whorl position and
behavior in 146 crossbred heifers. One-half of the heifers were used as
controls, and the other half were handled for 2 hours per week for 20 weeks.
The handling consisted of walking through a chute, moving in a corral, sort-
ing, and moving through a chute. Behavior of both control and handled hei-
fers were scored in a squeeze chute, during isolation in a pen, and exit time
from the isolation pen. Behavior measures were recorded in the beginning of
the experiment, at week 10, and at 20 weeks. Results showed that handling
treatment decreased in-chute behavior scores of heifers with facial hair whorl
positions classified as medium or low, but not in heifers that exhibited a hair
whorl high on their face. Broucek et al. (2007) investigated associations
between hair whorl position and behavior in open-field and maze tests using
Holstein heifers. The results did not find any significant differences in hair
whorl positions in either test, suggesting an interaction between animals
selected for a calm temperament and regular human contact. Holsteins in
this study were a more homogenous group compared to the extensively
raised (semi-wild) cattle used by Grandin et al. (1995) . Broucek et al. (2007)
found the differences among groups with high, middle, and low whorls were
not significant, however, heifers with a whorl above the eyes showed more
intensive movement in the open-field test and rapid learning and memory in
the maze. More recently, Martins et al. (2009) found a high percentage
of agitated cattle with hair whorls above the eyes compared to cattle with
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