Accelerometer derived rumination monitoring detects changes in behaviour around parturition

摘要: Monitoring cattle for parturition is a labour-intensive task that is often not feasible in extensive environments. On-animal sensors, however, provide a means of remotely monitoring animals, without the labour requirements of traditional observation. This paper explores the use of a rumination algorithm with accelerometer ear tags to observe the changes in rumination around calving. Calving cattle (n = 17) were housed in an intensive calving barn and movement data was collected using tri-axial accelerometer ear tags. A heuristic approach, whereby data was manually visualised to identify ruminating and non-ruminating periods, was used to train a rumination model tailored to each individual animal. Rumination time, as calculated using the rumination model, decreased on 0d and 1d, with a decline in rumination commencing 6 h prior to parturition. These results explore the use of an individualised rumination model …