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Prediction of parturition in dairy cattle using a 2D accelerometer to measure lying behaviour – a preliminary observational field study

The aim of the study was to evaluate the potential use of automatic assessment of lying behaviour to predict the onset of calving in dairy cattle.

Year of Publication2009

There is a trend in the UK towards larger dairy herds increasing the number of cows per stockperson and reducing available time for routine observations. A slightly difficult calving can have an economic loss of £110 with up to £400 for a difficult calving (McGuirk et al, 2007). These losses are incurred in lost milk production, increased labour costs and delayed calving to conception interval. Therefore, it would be advantageous for the stockpersons to have an automated alert of the onset of calving as soon as possible to allow assistance to be given if required and to highlight cows for observation. Miedema et al (2008) and Huzzey et al (2005) indicated that the frequency of transitions between standing and lying changes in the hours preceding calving. The aim of the study was to evaluate the potential use of automatic assessment of lying behaviour to predict the onset of calving in dairy cattle.

This item is categorised as follows

• Subject Collection > Livestock & dairy > Dairy production
• Subject Collection > Livestock & dairy > Animal health & welfare

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