Sensor based eating time variables of dairy cows in the transition period related to the time to first service

Hut, Peter; Mulder, Anne-Claire; Broek, J. van den; Hulsen, Jan; Hooijer, G.A.; Stassen, E.N.; Eerdenburg, F.J.C.M. van; Nielen, M.

doi:10.1016/j.prevetmed.2019.104694

Cited by 12 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Behavioral differences as measured by sensor technology have been reported between cows in the dry period and those in early lactation and between primiparous and multiparous cows (Neave et al, 2017;Hut et al, 2019). In our study, lactating cows showed a higher number of steps, more lying bouts, less eating time with more eating bouts, and shorter rumination bout length compared with dry cows.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 53%

“…period has been related to a higher risk for metritis, ketosis, and other transition diseases in early lactation and a longer interval between calving and first service (Schirmann et al, 2016;Hut et al, 2019;Daros et al, 2020). Postpartum, a negative energy balance has a negative effect on reproduction and results in decreased milk production (Esposito et al, 2014;Llonch et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All farms had separate far-off and close-up groups in the dry period and 1 lactational group for all cows in milk. Primiparous cows (n = 303) were excluded from this study because these animals do not have a transition period and because of behavioral differences compared with multiparous cows in the transition period (Hut et al, 2019). Some cows were excluded because their data were incomplete; analysis required 4 consecutive locomotion and body condition scores and a selection for complete sensor data for d −2, −1, +1, and +2 relative to the day of scoring.…”

Section: Farms and Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, lameness most likely affects the daily time budget or behavioral patterns of dairy cows. It is not the sole factor, given that the time budget of transition cows differs pre-and postpartum (Kok et al, 2017;Hut et al, 2019), mainly due to the daily milking routine postpartum.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Associations between body condition score, locomotion score, and sensor-based time budgets of dairy cattle during the dry period and early lactation

Hut

Hostens

Beijaard

et al. 2021

Journal of Dairy Science

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Lameness, one of the most important disorders in the dairy industry, is related to postpartum diseases and has an effect on dairy cow welfare, leading to changes in cows' daily behavioral variables. This study quantified the effect of lameness on the daily time budget of dairy cows in the transition period. In total, 784 multiparous dairy cows from 8 commercial Dutch dairy farms were visually scored on their locomotion (score of 1-5) and body condition (score of 1-5). Each cow was scored in the early and late dry period as well as in wk 4 and 8 postpartum. Cows with locomotion scores 1 and 2 were grouped together as nonlame, cows with score 3 were considered moderately lame, and cows with scores 4 and 5 were grouped together as severely lame. Cows were equipped with 2 types of sensors that measured behavioral parameters. The leg sensor provided number of steps, number of stand-ups (moving from lying to standing), lying time, number of lying bouts, and lying bout length. The neck sensor provided eating time, number of eating bouts, eating bout length, rumination time, number of rumination bouts, and rumination bout length. Sensor data for each behavioral parameter were averaged between 2 d before and 2 d after locomotion scoring. The percentage of nonlame cows decreased from 63% in the early dry period to 46% at 8 wk in lactation; this decrease was more severe for cows with higher parity. Cows that calved in autumn had the highest odds for lameness. Body condition score loss of >0.75 point in early lactation was associated with lameness in wk 4 postpartum. Moderately lame cows had a reduction of daily eating time of around 20 min, whereas severely lame cows had a reduction of almost 40 min. Similarly, moderately and severely lame dry cows showed a reduction of 200 steps/d, and severely lame cows in lactation showed a reduction of 600 steps/d. Daily lying time increased by 26 min and lying bout length increased by 8 min in severely lame cows compared with nonlame cows. These results indicate a high prevalence of lameness on Dutch dairy farms, with an increase in higher locomotion scores from the dry period into early lactation. Time budgets for multiparous dairy cows differed between the dry period and the lactating period, with a higher locomotion score (increased lameness) having an effect on cows' complete behavioral profile. Body condition score loss in early lactation was associated with poor locomotion postpartum, whereas lameness resulted in less eating time in the dry period and early lactation, creating a harmful cycle.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 53%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Farms and Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Associations between body condition score, locomotion score, and sensor-based time budgets of dairy cattle during the dry period and early lactation

Hut

Hostens

Beijaard

et al. 2021

Journal of Dairy Science

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“…Beauchemin [36] reported the eating time of lactating cows to be from 2.4 to 8.5 h/d. Hut [37] and Llonch et al [24] reported the eating time of dry cows to be 5.8 h/d and 2.8 h/d, respectively. Eating times in the current study are largely similar to the published literature, ranging from 4.5 h/d (rice husk bedding) to 5.7 h/d (peanut-rice combination).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparison of Rice Husks and Peanut Shells as Bedding Materials on Dairy Cows’ Preferences, Behaviour, and Health

Cai

Descovich

et al. 2021

Animals

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The provision and quality of bedding materials affect the behaviour, welfare, and health of dairy cows. The objective of this study was to evaluate the preference, behaviour, cleanliness, and physiological status of cows on three bedding materials, peanut shells, rice husks, and a combination of two-thirds peanut shells, one-third rice husk. In an initial experiment, 15 nonlactating, pregnant Holstein cows had free access to all 3 bedding treatments for 39 d. Cows spent more time lying down on rice husk (337 min/d) than on peanut–rice combination (212 min/d) and peanut shell (196 min/d) (p < 0.05), and lay down most often on rice husk (4.35 bouts/d) than on peanut shell (2.55 bouts/d) (p < 0.05) but did not differ between peanut shells and peanut–rice combinations in terms of lying time and lying bouts. In Experiment 2, 12 nonlactating cows were used to assess the effects of the 3 bedding materials on dairy cow behaviour, cleanliness, serum indicators, and productivity. The total duration of lying down (PS: 699.1 min/d, PRC: 645.6 min/d, RH: 852.5 min/d), the frequency of bouts of lying down (PS: 8.7 bouts/d, PRC: 7.6 bouts/d, RH: 11.1 bouts/d), and the mean duration of lying bouts (PS: 83.5 min/bouts, PRC: 91.8 min/bouts, RH: 81.4 min/bouts) did not differ between treatments. Similarly, no differences in eating or drinking behaviour of dairy cows were observed. In terms of hygiene, cleanliness scores did not differ between the three bedding materials, but udder and flank cleanliness decreased and improved, respectively. In addition, treatments did not affect serum metabolites or productivity of the cows. In summary, daily behaviour, serum metabolites, and productivity of dairy cows were all within the normal range, and no statistical differences occurred between the three bedding materials, although cows showed a preference for rice husk when given access to all three bedding materials at the same time. Finally, the results suggest that bedding comprised of peanut shells and peanut–rice combinations are all suitable for maintaining the health and comfort of dairy cows.

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Evaluation of an indwelling bolus equipped with a triaxial accelerometer for the characterisation of the diurnal pattern of bovine reticuloruminal contractions

Capuzzello

Viora

Borelli

et al. 2023

Journal of Dairy Research

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This observational study aimed to describe the diurnal pattern of reticuloruminal contraction rate (RRCR) and the proportion of time spent ruminating by cattle, using two commercial devices equipped with triaxial accelerometers: an indwelling bolus (placed in the reticulum) and a neck collar. The three objectives of this study were firstly to determine whether the indwelling bolus provided observations consistent with RRCR as determined by clinical examination using auscultation and ultrasound, secondly to compare estimates of time spent ruminating using the indwelling bolus and a collar-based accelerometer, and finally to describe the diurnal pattern of RRCR using the indwelling bolus data. Six rumen-fistulated, non-lactating Jersey cows were fitted with an indwelling bolus (SmaXtec Animal Care GmbH, Graz, Austria) and a neck collar (Silent Herdsman, Afimilk Ltd. Kibbutz Afikim, Israel), and data were collected over two weeks. Cattle were housed together in a single straw-bedded pen and fed ad libitum hay. To assess the agreement between the indwelling bolus and traditional methods of assessing reticuloruminal contractility in the first week, the RRCR was determined over 10 min, twice a day, by ultrasound and auscultation. Mean inter-contraction intervals (ICI) derived from bolus and ultrasound, and from auscultation were 40.4 ± 4.7, 40.1 ± 4.0 and 38.4 ± 3.3 s. Bland–Altmann plots showed similar performance of the methods with small biases. The Pearson correlation coefficient for the time spent ruminating derived from neck collars and indwelling boluses was 0.72 (highly significant, P < 0.001). The indwelling boluses generated a consistent diurnal pattern for all the cows. In conclusion, a robust relationship was observed between clinical observation and the indwelling boluses for estimation of ICI and, similarly, between the indwelling bolus and neck collar for estimating rumination time. The indwelling boluses showed a clear diurnal pattern for RRCR and time spent ruminating, indicating that they should be useful for assessing reticuloruminal motility.

show abstract

Sensor based eating time variables of dairy cows in the transition period related to the time to first service

Cited by 12 publications

References 42 publications

Associations between body condition score, locomotion score, and sensor-based time budgets of dairy cattle during the dry period and early lactation

Associations between body condition score, locomotion score, and sensor-based time budgets of dairy cattle during the dry period and early lactation

A Comparison of Rice Husks and Peanut Shells as Bedding Materials on Dairy Cows’ Preferences, Behaviour, and Health

Evaluation of an indwelling bolus equipped with a triaxial accelerometer for the characterisation of the diurnal pattern of bovine reticuloruminal contractions

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