Detection of cow hind-leg activity during milking by using a 3-dimensional accelerometer attached to the milking cluster

Abstract

Hind-leg activity during milking, as an indicator of welfare impairment, was recorded on 45 dairy cows during 2 milkings by using direct visual observations and a 3-dimensional (3D) accelerometer attached directly to the hook of each milking claw. Our study shows that the use of a 3D accelerometer attached to the milking cluster is a promising method to reliably estimate cow hind-leg movements. An automatic and objective detection of foot-lifting, stepping, and kicking behaviors allows analysis of the causes and optimization of the milking process to improve animal welfare, cow (udder) health, and milking performance, as well as reduction of such potentially dangerous behaviors. Highlights• Hind-leg activity during milking in cows is a good welfare indicator • Cow hind-leg movements are transmitted to the milking claw • 3D accelerometers attached to the milking claws accurately record cow hind-leg movements

Analysis of Dairy Cow Behavior during Milking Associated with Lameness

“…This therefore leads to an underestimation of the actual HLA by the sensor measurement. A comparison to results with direct observation from other studies is consequently not reliable [32].…”

“…Nonetheless, other factors influencing this finding cannot entirely be excluded. The HLA was indirectly measured by a 3D-acceleration sensor attached to the milking cluster by applying the method published by Raoult et al [32]. These authors reported a mean HLA rate of 0.94 activities per minute during milking by direct observation and 0.86 activities per minute detected by the 3D-accelerometer.…”

“…The threshold of 0.25 g for HLA-detection was investigated in a pre-test, where sensor data from 36 milked cows were compared with the results of direct observation of the cows' movements during milking. In the main experiment, the idea was to measure HLA with the sensors only, based on the tests of Raoult et al [32] and the pre-test, and to focus the visual observation on the forelimb masses and the head. This is why the hind legs and the milking equipment are rarely visible in the videos.…”

“…The hind leg activity was measured indirectly by the movement of the milking cluster, based on the method developed by Raoult et al [32]. Movements of the hind legs, such as foot-lifting, stepping, or kicking, are transmitted as oscillation to the milking cluster and thus can be recorded with the aid of a 3D-acceleration sensor.…”

“…Subsequently, those single milkings were transferred to another evaluation software (Milking-Time-Test-Auswertung V1.0, InnoClever GmbH, Liestal, Switzerland), which was specially developed for the purpose of the detection of hind leg activity based on the evaluation method of Raoult et al [32]. Lateral accelerations along the horizontal x-axis exceeding a manually set acceleration threshold of 0.25 g are detected as acceleration due to hind leg movements of the milked cow.…”