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- Churakov, Mikhail, et al.
(författare)
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Parity and days in milk affect cubicle occupancy in dairy cows
- 2021
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Ingår i: Applied Animal Behaviour Science. - : Elsevier B.V.. - 0168-1591 .- 1872-9045. ; 244
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Modern dairy cattle farms are usually equipped with cubicle systems to provide cows with comfortable conditions for lying down and resting. Cows are free to choose any cubicle they want, but in reality, they do not distribute themselves uniformly throughout the barn. There are many factors that affect where a cow lies down, such as hierarchy of a cow, access to resources, cow traffic nearby, etc. In this study, we used real-time location system data from two commercial farms to examine patterns of cubicle occupancy in relation to parity and lactation stage. We summarized cubicle occupancy over several days and compared different areas of the barn. Our findings suggest that, in general, there was a higher occupancy of cubicles close to the feeding areas. High parity cows lay down more frequently in cubicles close to the milking area as opposed to first lactation cows that tend to occupy less busy areas of the barn. The overall conclusion is that cubicle occupancy is not uniform throughout the barn, and patterns related to parity and DIM are seen. This information can be important for future studies on spread of diseases and for management purposes. © 2021 The Authors
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| 2. |
- Ren, Keni, 1983-, et al.
(författare)
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Interpolation methods to improve data quality of indoor positioning data for dairy cattle
- 2022
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Animal Science. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2673-6225. ; 3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Position data from real-time indoor positioning systems are increasingly used for studying individual cow behavior and social behavior in dairy herds. However, missing data challenges achieving reliable continuous activity monitoring and behavior studies. This study investigates the pattern of missing data and alternative interpolation methods in ultra-wideband based real-time indoor positioning systems in a free-stall barn. We collected 3 months of position data from a Swedish farm with around 200 cows. Data sampled for 6 days from 69 cows were used in subsequent analyzes to determine the location and duration of missing data. Data from 20 cows with the most reliable tags were selected to compare the effects of four different interpolation methods (previous, linear interpolation, cubic spline data interpolation and modified Akima interpolation). By comparing the observed data with the interpolations of the simulated missing data, the mean error distance varied from around 55 cm, using the previously last observed position, to around 17 cm for modified Akima. Modified Akima interpolation has the lowest error distance for all investigated activities (rest, walking, standing, feeding). Larger error distances were found in areas where the cows walk and turn, such as the corner between feeding and cubicles. Modified Akima interpolation is expected to be useful in the subsequent analyses of data gathered using real-time indoor positioning systems.
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