Variation in the milk production, activity rate and electrical impedance of cervical mucus over the oestrous period of dairy cows

Schofield, S.A.; Phillips, C.J.C.; Owens, A.R.

doi:10.1016/s0378-4320(05)80007-7

Cited by 50 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Pedometers, used for measurements of daily physical activity in dairy cows, have proven that movement activity is about 4 times higher during oestrus when housed in free stalls, and about 2.75 times higher in comfort stalls compared to the other stages of the oestrus cycle (Kiddy, 1977). Similar results were determined by Schofield et al (1991), who found increased activity levels in cows on the day of oestrus by a mean factor of 2.3. Furthermore, rumination time is significantly reduced during oestrus.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 69%

“…In consideration of earlier studies, where milk yield was observed to be reduced at the first milking after onset of oestrus, followed by a rebound enhancement at the second milking (Horrell et al, 1985), significantly reduced on the day of oestrus (Schofield et al, 1991), or declined slightly from 1 day before oestrus until 2 days after oestrus (Lewis and Newman, 1984), a decline in milk yield on the days around oestrus could have been expected. In the current study, milk yield was slightly reduced 1 day after oestrus by 1.8 kg (4.1 %), followed by an increase of 3.3 kg (7.8 %) on day 2 after oestrus.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…However, this difference was not significant. The drop in the values on the day of oestrus obviously is caused by the higher physical activity which appears in cows during oestrus (Hurnik et al, 1975;Kiddy, 1977;Lewis and Newman, 1984;Schofield et al, 1991). Arney et al (1994) observed physical activity in dairy cows to gradually increase from 3 days before oestrus and to exponentially decline after peaking on the day of oestrus.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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

Halli

Koch²,

Romberg

et al. 2015

Arch. Anim. Breed.

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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.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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

Halli

Koch²,

Romberg

et al. 2015

Arch. Anim. Breed.

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“…The conclusion from McArthur et al is that the detection of oestrus based on twice daily measurement of milk temperature is not reliable and no further reports have been found. Oestrus: milk yield Blanchard et al (1987) and Schofield et al (1991) have suggested that the continuous monitoring of milk yield can indicate oestrus. However, these patterns have not proved sufficiently specific and this approach has been abandoned except in robotic milking where it can be combined with other data (number and timing of visits).…”

Section: Oestrus Detectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Animal board invited review: precision livestock farming for dairy cows with a focus on oestrus detection

Mottram

2016

Animal

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Dairy cows are high value farm animals requiring careful management to achieve the best results. Since the advent of robotic and high throughput milking, the traditional few minutes available for individual human attention daily has disappeared and new automated technologies have been applied to improve monitoring of dairy cow production, nutrition, fertility, health and welfare. Cows milked by robots must meet legal requirements to detect healthy milk. This review focuses on emerging technical approaches in those areas of high cost to the farmer (fertility, metabolic disorders, mastitis, lameness and calving). The availability of low cost tri-axial accelerometers and wireless telemetry has allowed accurate models of behaviour to be developed and sometimes combined with rumination activity detected by acoustic sensors to detect oestrus; other measures (milk and skin temperature, electronic noses, milk yield) have been abandoned. In-line biosensors have been developed to detect markers for ovulation, pregnancy, lactose, mastitis and metabolic changes. Wireless telemetry has been applied to develop boluses for monitoring the rumen pH and temperature to detect metabolic disorders. Udder health requires a multisensing approach due to the varying inflammatory responses collectively described as mastitis. Lameness can be detected by walk over weigh cells, but also by various types of video image analysis and speed measurement. Prediction and detection of calving time is an area of active research mostly focused on behavioural change.Keywords: dairy cow, sensors, fertility, precision livestock farming, automation ImplicationsSince the introduction of robotic milking technologies to measure important parameters of cow health and fertility have moved from scientific concepts towards robust techniques routinely used on farms. There is still potential for developing new approaches but the main focus is on applying modelling to data sources that are already available such as tri-axial cow collars, in-line milk sensing and rumen telemetry. IntroductionIn the past century dairy farms have become larger, milk yields have risen, quality requirements have risen, labour has become less available and automated systems for milking and other farm tasks have become common all of these factors have created a need for automated monitoring of health and fertility. The first systems for recording milk yield electronically and allocating feed date back to the 1970s and automatic oestrus behaviour systems from the 1980s. As electronics have become cheaper and new sensing capabilities developed a variety of engineering options were reviewed for all animals by Frost et al. (1997). Mottram (1997) reviewed potential target disease conditions in dairy cows and identified parturition, mastitis and failures in nutrition as the most significant causes of loss. It was suggested that sensing should focus on the most directly measurable indicator of a condition such as rumen pH rather than proxy measures. Since then major developments have taken plac...

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“…Motion meters known as pedometers are placed on the hind leg, front leg or on the neck of the cow and monitor cow movements. Several studies were published on their use, their accuracy, their efficiency in heat detection and their effect on reproductive management [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. The first pedometry system in Israel was installed in Kibbutz Afikim in 1986 and since then has been increasingly used on many farms.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Use of Pedometry for Estrus Detection in Dairy Cows in Israel

Galon

2010

J. Reprod. Dev.

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Abstract. The objectives of this review are to describe the use of pedometry on commercial dairy farms in Israel, to evaluate its efficiency in heat detection and to describe a clinical trial comparing between pedometry and the Ovsynch technique. Pedometry is the major tool of heat detection on most farms in Israel today. On many farms automated electronic pedometry is the sole mean of heat detection. Production and reproduction parameters are monitored by Hachaklait Veterinary Services Ltd. Results are compared with the farm history and with national means and goals. The average herd rate of undetected heat in more than 120 herds recorded between 2004 and 2008 has increased from 30.3 to 38.9% in primiparous cows and from 33.9 to 43.9% in multiparous cows respectively. The average duration of the waiting period has dropped from 106.2 to 93.4 days and from 99.9 to 87.3 days in primiparous and multiparous cows respectively. The average annual rate of cows shown on heat by pedometry and not inseminated by the A.I. technicians in recent years was 13% and remained steady. The mean herd rate of normal length heat cycles (18-24 days) in multiparous cows in recent years has been fairly steady; 57.4 to 58.4% of all cycles detected in 2004 and 2008 respectively. Herd rate of double cycles is also used to estimate the sensitivity of pedometry systems. Average rate of double cycles (37-60 days) per herd per annum in multiparous cows has dropped steadily from 22.6 to 20.1% between 2004 and 2008 respectively. Mean herd rate of short cycles in multiparous cows in 2008 was 7.4% Pregnancy checks are performed by the herds' veterinarians by transrectal palpation from 40 days post A.I. onward. In 2008 the average herd rate of negative pregnancy checks in cows was 27.5% (9.5-53.4%). The wide range indicates a large variability of pedometry system in tracking non-conceived cycling cows. Beside activity and heat detection pedometry systems record other individual cow parameters. A controlled field trial comparing between pedometry, observation and Ovsynch did not yield significant differences in reproductive measures.

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Variation in the milk production, activity rate and electrical impedance of cervical mucus over the oestrous period of dairy cows

Cited by 50 publications

References 11 publications

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

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

Animal board invited review: precision livestock farming for dairy cows with a focus on oestrus detection

The Use of Pedometry for Estrus Detection in Dairy Cows in Israel

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