Evaluation of Hair Characteristics and Animal Age on the Impact of Hair Cortisol Concentration in Feedlot Steers

This study investigated the impact of hair color, length, and animal age on hair cortisol concentration in 19 beef feedlot steers. The steers were divided into three groups based on age and hair color: old with black hair (3 steers), old with white hair (3 steers), and young with black hair (12 steers). Results showed that older steers had significantly higher hair cortisol concentrations than younger steers, while hair cortisol concentration was not affected by the duration of hair growth. There was a weak positive correlation between hair cortisol concentration and hair length. The study concluded that further research is needed to better understand how hair characteristics and sampling methodologies affect hair cortisol concentrations.