| Autor: |
Christopher Davison, Craig Michie, Andrew Hamilton, Christos Tachtatzis, Ivan Andonovic, Michael Gilroy |
| Jazyk: |
angličtina |
| Rok vydání: |
2020 |
| Předmět: |
|
| Zdroj: |
Agriculture, Vol 10, Iss 6, p 210 (2020) |
| Druh dokumentu: |
article |
| ISSN: |
2077-0472 |
| DOI: |
10.3390/agriculture10060210 |
| Popis: |
Collar-based activity sensors are in common use as a means of detecting oestrus to optimise farm fertility and, hence, productivity. Recently, the same acceleration-derived signals have been processed to detect the time spent ruminating and eating, which, together, give an insight into animal welfare. Here, the use of neck-mounted accelerometers to provide a quantifiable measure of the time period that an individual animal exhibits signs of heat stress is reported. Heat stress has a significant impact on both animal welfare and productivity. Cattle studied during elevated temperatures were found to exhibit signs of exaggerated breathing motions, an indicator of heat stress, for 8 h on average per day, exceeding the time that cattle spend feeding and is similar to daily rumination times. No similar cases were recorded in the cooler conditions of a Scottish winter. The approach offers a cost-effective measure of heat stress and a potential tool to quantify its impact more generally. |
| Databáze: |
Directory of Open Access Journals |
| Externí odkaz: |
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