scholarly journals Monitoring feeding behaviour of dairy cows using accelerometers

2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriele Mattachini ◽  
Elisabetta Riva ◽  
Francesca Perazzolo ◽  
Ezio Naldi ◽  
Giorgio Provolo
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Feeding Time ◽  
Accelerometer Data ◽  
Monitoring And Control ◽  
Number Of Visits ◽  
And Control ◽  
Visual Observations

Monitoring cow behaviour has become increasingly important in understanding the nutrition, production, management of the well being, and overall health of dairy cows. Methods of assessing behavioural activity have changed in recent years, favouring automatic recording techniques. Traditional methods to measure behaviour, such as direct observation or time-lapse video, are labour-intensive and time-consuming. Automated recording devices have become increasingly common to measure behaviour accurately. Thus, the development of automated monitoring systems that can continuously and accurately quantify feeding behaviour are required for efficient monitoring and control of modern and automated dairy farms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible use of a 3D accelerometer to record feeding behaviour of dairy cows. Feeding behaviour (feeding time and number of visits to the manger) of 12 lactating dairy cows was recorded for approximately 3 h with 3D-accelerometer data loggers (HOBO Pendant G logger). The sensors were positioned in the high part of the neck to monitor head movements. Behaviour was simultaneously recorded using visual observation as a reference. Linear regression analysis between the measurement methods showed that the recorded feeding time (R<sup>2</sup>=0.90, n=12, P&lt;0.001) was closely related to visual observations. In contrast, the number of visits was inadequately recorded by the 3D-accelerometer, showing a poor relationship with visual observations (R<sup>2</sup>=0.31, n=12, P&lt;0.06). Results suggest that the use of accelerometer sensors can be a reliable and suitable technology for monitoring feeding behaviour of individual dairy cows in free stall housing. However, further research is necessary to develop an appropriate device able to detect and recognise the movements connected with the head movement during feeding. Such a device could be part of an automatic livestock management tool for the efficient monitoring and control of comfort and welfare of dairy cows under the intensive conditions of modern automated dairy farms.

scholarly journals Association of Feed Efficiency, Feeding Rate, and Behaviour with the Milk Performance of Dairy Cows

Dairy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 684-694
Author(s):  
Lenka Krpálková ◽  
Niall O’Mahony ◽  
Anderson Carvalho ◽  
Sean Campbell ◽  
Gerard Corkery ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Milk Yield ◽  
Feed Intake ◽  
Feed Efficiency ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Feeding Rate ◽  
Feeding Time ◽  
Feed Conversion ◽  
Milk Performance

Identification of the associations of cow feed efficiency with feeding behaviour and milk production is important for supporting recommendations of strategies that optimise milk yield. The objective of this study was to identify associations between measures of feed efficiency, feed intake, feeding rate, rumination time, feeding time, and milk production using data collected from 26 dairy cows during a 3 month period in 2018. Cows averaged (mean ± standard deviation) 2.2 ± 1.7 lactations, 128 ± 40 days in milk, 27.5 ± 5.5 kg/day milk, 1.95 ± 0.69 kg feed/1 kg milk—the measure used to express feed conversion ratio (FCR), 575 ± 72 min/day rumination time, and 264 ± 67 min/day feeding time during the observation period. The coefficient of variation for rumination time (min/d) was 12.5%. A mixed linear model was selected for analyses. The most feed inefficient cows with the highest FCR (≥2.6 kg feed/1 kg milk) showed the lowest milk yield (24.8 kg/day), highest feed intake (78.8 kg), highest feeding rate (0.26 kg/min) and BCS (3.35 point). However, the relative milk yield (milk yield per 100 kg of body weight) was the highest (4.01 kg/day) in the most efficient group with the lowest FCR (≤1.4 kg feed/1 kg milk). Our study showed that the most efficient cows with the lowest FCR (≤1.4 kg feed/1 kg milk) had the highest rumination time (597 min/day; p < 0.05), feeding time (298 min/day; p < 0.05), rumination/activity ratio (4.39; p < 0.05) and rumination/feeding ratio (2.04; p < 0.05). Less active cows (activity time 164 min/day; p < 0.05) were the most efficient cows with the lowest FCR (≤1.4 kg feed/1 kg milk). The behavioural differences observed in this study provide new insight into the association of feed behaviour and feed efficiency with milk performance. Incorporating feeding behaviour into the dry matter intake model can improve its accuracy in the future and benefit breeding programmes.

scholarly journals Investigations on automatically measured feed intake amount in dairy cows during the oestrus period

2015 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Halli ◽  
C. Koch ◽  
F.-J. Romberg ◽  
S. Hoy
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Milk Yield ◽  
Feed Intake ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Fresh Matter ◽  
Oestrus Cycle ◽  
Number Of Visits ◽  
Time Spent Feeding ◽  
Daily Milk Yield ◽  
Daily Milk

Abstract. The aim of this study was to determine whether feed intake amount and feed intake behaviour could be related to oestrus in dairy cows. Furthermore, we investigated whether oestrus had an effect on daily milk yield. A total of 138 oestrus cycles, leading to conception of 100 cows, were analysed. The parameters "daily fresh matter intake amount (kg)", "daily number of visits to the feeding trough" and "time spent feeding per day (min)" were electronically measured and recorded. For a sub-quantity of all animals, daily milk yield (kg) was recorded continuously and stored in the herd management software. Special attention was given to the day of oestrus, which was defined as the day of successful insemination. All remaining days of the oestrus cycle were considered as the reference period. Among all animals and cycles, fresh matter intake amount per day, number of visits per day, and time spent feeding per day were reduced by 10.3, 9.1 and 20.8 %, respectively, on the day of oestrus. Fresh matter intake was significantly lower in primiparous cows than in multiparous cows. However, number of visits to the trough and time spent feeding per day were significantly higher in primiparous cows compared to multiparous cows. Day of oestrus did not have a significant effect on daily milk yield, as this parameter was characterized by high variation among all days of the oestrus cycle. In conclusion, if an RIC system is used, monitoring of feeding behaviour appears to be a potential auxiliary aid in oestrus detection.

scholarly journals Fuzzy logic decission maker for automatic feeder and water quality monitoring system

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Vivien Arief Wardhany ◽  
Herman Yuliandoko ◽  
Subono Subono ◽  
A Wildan J ◽  
Tomy Iskandar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuzzy Logic ◽  
Water Quality Monitoring ◽  
Feeding Time ◽  
Monitoring And Control ◽  
Shrimp Culture ◽  
Monitoring And Control System ◽  
Oxygen Levels ◽  
Automatic Feeder ◽  
Decision Making System ◽  
And Control

<span>Feeding is one of the most important factors in vanammei shrimp culture. Feeding time must be scheduled regulary and it is prohibit from being late. Because it can affect to the development and growth of vanammei shrimp. The Research of monitoring and control system of vanammei shrimp feeding continues to be developed. The development of hardware and software in this study prioritizes monitoring of pH conditions, oxygen levels, and pond temperatures. The measurement results of pH, oxygen levels and pond temperature can be used as decision makers for vanammei shrimp feeding schedules. The decision making system using the Fuzzy Logic method. The development of control devices for feeding aims to set a schedule for feeding automatically. The use of monitoring devices and automatic Feeder control of shrimp feeding can reduce the accumulation of leftover shrimp feed, so that feeding can be more efficient.</span>

scholarly journals Feeding behaviour in dairy cows with and without the influence of clinical diseases or subclinical disorders

2013 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-159
Author(s):  
J. Dollinger ◽  
O. Kaufmann
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Feed Intake ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Reference Group ◽  
Post Partum ◽  
Behaviour Pattern ◽  
Time Range ◽  
Feeding Time ◽  
Strong Correlations ◽  
Fresh Matter

Abstract. The objective of this study was to describe and compare circadian pattern of feed intake and feeding behaviour in healthy and diseased dairy cows. Test animals (n=138) were separated into two groups according to their health status. Health and management data were used to exclude cows with clinical or subclinical diseases. Fifteen cows of the test herd complied with the defined criteria and formed the reference group »healthy«. The behaviour of the remaining 123 cows was compared with the reference group. Both groups were used to analyse the feed intake and feeding behaviour on a daily base and in the course of 24 h. During a defined time range from day 28 post-partum to day 56 post-partum behavioural differences within these groups were analysed. There were no significant differences in daily feed intake (40.7 vs. 41.9 kg fresh matter per day, P=0.42). However, feeding behaviour pattern differed between the two groups (daily feeder visits, daily feeding time, number of daily feeder visit, number of daily meals, meal duration, feeding time within a meal, feeder visits per meal). For example, average feeder visit was shorter in the group with subclinical/ clinical health disorders than in the reference group (7.2 vs. 8.1 min, P=0.024). Differences in circadian feeding behaviour could be detected by analysing the feed intake and feeding time over the course of the day. Linear regression analyses showed strong correlations between feeding time and feed intake on hourly base (R² = 0.8) and on daily base (R² = 0.7).

scholarly journals Developing a quantitative hunting regionalization framework: A new game management tool

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. e012
Author(s):  
C. Antonio Rios-Saldaña ◽  
Miguel A. Farfán ◽  
Francisca Castro ◽  
Mario Vargas ◽  
Rafael Villafuerte
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Monitoring And Control ◽  
Game Management ◽  
Governmental Agencies ◽  
Hunting Activity ◽  
La Mancha ◽  
And Control ◽  
Study Monitoring

Aim of study: Monitoring and control the hunting activity is primordial to guarantee its sustainability. However, the governmental agencies responsible to manage hunting commonly are unable to adequately do this job because the thousands of small private hunting states, associated exclusively by political-administrative criteria. In this work, we provided a new management tool through the establishment of a hunting regions system.Area of study: Castilla-La Mancha region, central Spain.Material and methods: We used a two-stage procedure to establish the environmental units than, afterwards, were characterized on a set of hunting variables.Main results: We generate a hunting regionalization with 12 hunting regions and proposed regional hunting yields for each of the hunting regions.Research highlights: The use of hunting regions will permit to define the game management practices more appropriately on a large scale, but also, will facilitate the tasks of assessment, management and monitoring of game of the number hunting states included in each hunting region.

scholarly journals Expectation and Reality: the Situation of Constructions Sites of the Ministry of Education in Brazil

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 314
Author(s):  
Tany Ingrid Sagredo Marin ◽  
Ana Caroliny Conde Lopes ◽  
Alexandre Rodrigues Serra
Keyword(s):  
Management Tool ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Monitoring And Control ◽  
Construction Sites ◽  
Integrated Monitoring ◽  
Monitoring And Control System ◽  
The Public ◽  
City Hall ◽  
Site Survey ◽  
And Control

In 2015, the Ministry of Education (MEC)  created the Integrated Monitoring and Control System (SIMEC), an operational and management tool that shows the situation of education-related constructions under city hall management on their website. The city hall managers fill the information on the system. Therefore, we wonder if the constructions´ situation pointed out by Simec reflects their real conditions. The research aims to learn the real situation of constructions described on Simec using on-site survey, observation, photographic record, and, whenever possible, using mobile applications like "Tá de Pé" (It's on) from "Transparência Brasil" (NGO) or "Eu Fiscalizo" (I supervise) from Federal General Accounting Office (a.k.a TCU in Brazilian Portuguese acronym) to send the findings. We inspected nineteen construction sites in four cities in the State of Pará. The results indicate that the situation of most of them (11 of 19) does not correspond to the information filled by the public agents in Simec. The situation indicates an absence of internal controls in MEC during the supervision of the constructions sites. Thus, we want to raise awareness about the change that can be made in society by engaged and empowered actors of social control.

scholarly journals Variations in feeding behaviour of high-yielding dairy cows in relation to parity during early to peak lactation

2010 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Azizi ◽  
L. Hasselmann ◽  
O. Kaufmann
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Feed Intake ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Feeding Rate ◽  
Meal Size ◽  
Sensor Technology ◽  
Technical Requirements ◽  
Period 2 ◽  
Number Of Visits ◽  
Peak Lactation

Abstract. The objective of this study was to compare the feeding behaviour of high-yielding dairy cows in relation to parity during early to peak lactation and to determine whether or not there was any relationship between variables describing their feeding behaviour and total feed intake. Information concerning feed intake of each individual dairy cow is especially valuable for the herd management, particularly in early lactation. However, technical requirements for implementation are rarely given. Therefore, relationships between feed intake and time-related feeding behaviour parameters are of special interest. Time-related parameters could be recorded on farm conditions adapted sensor technology. Seventy high-yielding lactating dairy cows in different parities (23 in the 1st lactation, 17 in the 2nd lactation, and 30 in the 3rd-and-more-lactation) with an average of 11 000 kg milk yield per year were fed using automatic feeders from the 2nd to the 15th week of lactation. 222 231 recorded visits were analysed in three equal periods (period 1 = 7–39, period 2 = 40–72, and period 3 = 73–105 days in milk [DIM]) during early to peak lactation. Visits were clustered in meals based on the estimated meal criterion (28.5 min). The present study yielded the following values for meal frequency, number of visits per meal, meal duration, meal size, daily mealtime, daily dry matter intake (DMI), and feeding rate over the course of the study were 7.61 ± 1.7 (mean ± SD) meals/d, 4.02 ± 1.68 visits/meal, 37.07 ± 13.77 min/meal, 2.96 ± 0.92 kg DM/meal, 272.18 ± 82.14 min/d, 21.46 ± 4.29 kg DM/d, and 85.56 ± 28.77 g DM/min, respectively. Younger cows had more meals per day, more number of visits per meal, longer daily mealtime but a smaller meal size, lower daily DMI, and lower feeding rate compared to older cows (P<0.001). Meal duration and meal size were highly related to the number of visits at feeder per meal (R2=0.55–0.63; P<0.001, R2=0.25–0.39; P<0.001 respectively). In addition, meal size was highly related to meal duration (R2=0.59–0.72; P<0.001). Results from this study, which analysed data based on meal criterion, showed a higher correlation between the selected parameters of feeding behaviour and feed intake. The high correlation between meal duration and meal size could be used to estimate feed intake.

Computers for data, control and simulation

1988 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 920-921
Author(s):  
David C. Joy
Keyword(s):  
Personal Computers ◽  
Monitoring And Control ◽  
Data Logging ◽  
Data Logger ◽  
Operational Conditions ◽  
Data Control ◽  
The Many ◽  
And Control

Personal computers (PCs) are a powerful resource in the EM Laboratory, both as a means of automating the monitoring and control of microscopes, and as a tool for quantifying the interpretation of data. Not only is a PC more versatile than a piece of dedicated data logging equipment, but it is also substantially cheaper. In this tutorial the practical principles of using a PC for these types of activities will be discussed.The PC can form the basis of a system to measure, display, record and store the many parameters which characterize the operational conditions of the EM. In this mode it is operating as a data logger. The necessary first step is to find a suitable source from which to measure each of the items of interest. It is usually possible to do this without having to make permanent corrections or modifications to the EM.

An evaluation of a strategic de-stocking regime for dairying to improve nitrogen efficiency and reduce nitrate leaching from dairy farms in nitrate-sensitive areas

2000 ◽  
pp. 105-110
Author(s):  
Cecile De Klein ◽  
Jim Paton ◽  
Stewart Ledgard
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Nitrate Leaching ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Nitrogen Efficiency ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Pasture Production ◽  
Leaching Losses ◽  
Sensitive Areas

Strategic de-stocking in winter is a common management practice on dairy farms in Southland, New Zealand, to protect the soil against pugging damage. This paper examines whether this practice can also be used to reduce nitrate leaching losses. Model analyses and field measurements were used to estimate nitrate leaching losses and pasture production under two strategic de-stocking regimes: 3 months off-farm or 5 months on a feed pad with effluent collected and applied back to the land. The model analyses, based on the results of a long-term farmlet study under conventional grazing and on information for an average New Zealand farm, suggested that the 3- or 5-month de-stocking could reduce nitrate leaching losses by about 20% or 35-50%, respectively compared to a conventional grazing system. Field measurements on the Taieri Plain in Otago support these findings, although the results to date are confounded by drought conditions during the 1998 and 1999 seasons. The average nitrate concentration of the drainage water of a 5-month strategic de-stocking treatment was about 60% lower than under conventional grazing. Pasture production of the 5-month strategic de-stocking regime with effluent return was estimated based on data for apparent N efficiency of excreta patches versus uniformlyspread farm dairy effluent N. The results suggested that a strategic de-stocking regime could increase pasture production by about 2 to 8%. A cost/ benefit analysis of the 5-month de-stocking system using a feed pad, comparing additional capital and operational costs with additional income from a 5% increase in DM production, show a positive return on capital for an average New Zealand dairy farm. This suggests that a strategic destocking system has good potential as a management tool to reduce nitrate leaching losses in nitrate sensitive areas whilst being economically viable, particularly on farms where an effluent application system or a feed pad are already in place. Keywords: dairying, feed pads, nitrate leaching, nitrogen efficiency, productivity, strategic de-stocking

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