Evaluation of an ear-attached accelerometer for detecting estrus events in indoor housed dairy cows

Schweinzer, V.; Gusterer, Erika; Kanz, P.; Krieger, Stefanie; Süss, D.; Lidauer, Laura; Berger, Alexandra; Kickinger, Florian; Öhlschuster, M.; Auer, Wolfgang; Drillich, M.; Iwersen, M.

doi:10.1016/j.theriogenology.2019.02.038

Cited by 41 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…For example, Shahriar et al (2016) , investigated the use of an accelerometer data collar to detect heat events in pastured dairy cows, and was able to achieve an overall accuracy of 82100%. In a similar study using an ear-tag based sensor, Schweinzer et al (2019) reported an estrus detection accuracy of 96%. Based on these previous studies, coupling appropriate analytics with the data obtained from the sensors described herein may facilitate detection of time-sensitive management challenges such as estrus behavior.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 92%

A LoRa sensor network for monitoring pastured livestock location and activity1

Reis

Easton

White

et al. 2021

Translational Animal Science

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Precision technologies for confinement animal agricultural systems have increased rapidly over the past decade, though precision technology solutions for pastured livestock remain limited. There are a number of reasons for this limited expansion of technologies for pastured animals, including networking availability and reliability, power requirements, and expense, among others. The objective of this work was to demonstrate a rapidly deployable long-range radio (LoRa) based, low-cost sensor suite that can be used to track location and activity of pastured livestock. The sensor is comprised of an inexpensive Arduino-compatible microprocessor, a generic MPU-9250 motion sensor which contains a 3-axis accelerometer, 3 -axis magnetometer, and a 3-axis gyroscope, a generic GPS receiver, and a RFM95W generic LoRa radio. The microprocessor can be programmed flexibly using the open source Arduino IDE software to adjust the frequency of sampling, the data packet to send, and what conditions are needed to operate. The LoRa radio transmits to a Dragino LoRa gateway which can also be flexibly programmed through the Arduino IDE software to send data to local storage or, in cases where a web or cellular connection is available, to cloud storage. The sensor was powered using a USB cord connected to a 3350 mAh lithium-ion battery pack. The Dragino gateway was programmed to upload data to the ThingSpeak IoT application programming interface for data storage, handling, and visualization. Evaluations showed minimal benefit associated with reducing sampling frequency as a strategy to preserve battery life. Packet loss ranged from 40 to 60%. In a 3 day evaluation on pastured sheep, the sensor suite was able to report GPS locations, inertial sensor readings, and temperature. Preliminary demonstrations of our system are satisfactory to detect animal location based on GPS data in real-time. This system has clear utility as a lower-cost strategy to deploy flexible, useful precision technologies for pasture-based livestock species.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 92%

A LoRa sensor network for monitoring pastured livestock location and activity1

Reis

Easton

White

et al. 2021

Translational Animal Science

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“…In our study, we used the Smartbow system (SB; Smartbow GmbH), which consists of an accelerometer (3-dimensional) and location (2-dimensional) sensor fixed in an ear tag. Previous studies have evaluated the capabilities of the system to detect rumination (Reiter et al, 2018), predict calving (Krieger et al, 2017), detect estrus (Schweinzer et al, 2019), and monitor drinking events in calves (Roland et al, 2018). Additional studies have evaluated the location feature by focusing on the system's distance (in meters) accuracy in a cow barn (Wolfger et al, 2017), for dairy cows on pasture (Byrne et al, 2019), and for pigs maintained in a gestation stall (Will et al, 2017).…”

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confidence: 99%

Use of a real-time location system to detect cows in distinct functional areas within a barn

Chapa

Lidauer²,

Steininger³

et al. 2021

JDS Communications

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Cow location and time spent in relevant areas of the barn are important parameters that can be indicative of health and welfare status. Real-time location systems (RTLS) have the potential to measure these parameters on an individual level. We evaluated the ability of the Smartbow (Smartbow GmbH) RTLS to locate and measure the time cows spent in relevant areas of the barn. This work demonstrated that RTLS are capable of identifying individual cows in important areas of the barn and consequently are able to measure time budgets of cows. Highlights• The RTLS achieved high accuracy in locating cows in alleys, feed bunk and cubicles.• Location and time spent in important barn areas can be automatically determined and used as indicators of health. • The potential of combining RTLS with other sensors technologies was discussed.

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“…Cow sensor data were collected via SMARTBOW (Zoetis, Kalamazoo, MI, USA) ear-tag accelerometers fitted to individual animals. This system utilizes proprietary algorithms to generate location and behavior measures that have been described and validated previously [ 28 , 29 , 30 ]. Behavioral data included rumination time, lying time, and activity categorized as inactive, active, and highly active.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the Relationship between Postpartum Health and Mid-Lactation Performance, Behavior, and Feed Efficiency in Holstein Dairy Cows

Martin

Weigel

White

2021

Animals

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The objective of this study was to investigate the relationships between postpartum health disorders and mid-lactation performance, feed efficiency, and sensor-derived behavioral traits. Multiparous cows (n = 179) were monitored for health disorders for 21 days postpartum and enrolled in a 45-day trial between 50 to 200 days in milk, wherein feed intake, milk yield and components, body weight, body condition score, and activity, lying, and feeding behaviors were recorded. Feed efficiency was measured as residual feed intake and the ratio of fat- or energy-corrected milk to dry matter intake. Cows were classified as either having hyperketonemia (HYK; n = 72) or not (n = 107) and grouped by frequency of postpartum health disorders: none (HLT; n = 94), one (DIS; n = 63), or ≥2 (DIS+; n = 22). Cows that were diagnosed with HYK had higher mid-lactation yields of fat- and energy-corrected milk. No differences in feed efficiency were detected between HYK or health status groups. Highly active mid-lactation time was higher in healthy animals, and rumination time was lower in ≥4th lactation cows compared with HYK or DIS and DIS+ cows. Differences in mid-lactation behaviors between HYK and health status groups may reflect the long-term impacts of health disorders. The lack of a relationship between postpartum health and mid-lactation feed efficiency indicates that health disorders do not have long-lasting impacts on feed efficiency.

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Evaluation of an ear-attached accelerometer for detecting estrus events in indoor housed dairy cows

Cited by 41 publications

References 31 publications

A LoRa sensor network for monitoring pastured livestock location and activity1

A LoRa sensor network for monitoring pastured livestock location and activity1

Use of a real-time location system to detect cows in distinct functional areas within a barn

Assessment of the Relationship between Postpartum Health and Mid-Lactation Performance, Behavior, and Feed Efficiency in Holstein Dairy Cows

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