#feeding behaviour

Gannets feed in the middle of breeding season near the Bempton cliffs on the coast of east Yorkshire, England - Photograph: Charlotte Graham/Shutterstock

Illustration Photo: Feeding time in the free stall heifer barns at Brubaker Farms, which is both a diary and green energy producer in Mount Joy, PA on March 19, 2011. (Credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture/Flickr CC BY 2.0)

Monitoring Feeding Behaviour of Dairy Cows Using Accelerometers

Authors: Gabriele Mattachini, Elisabetta Riva, Francesca Perazzolo, Ezio Naldi, Giorgio Provolo

Journal: Journal of Agricultural Engineering

Publisher: PagePress. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License CC BY-NC 3.0

Monitoring cow behaviour has become increasingly important in understanding the nutrition, production, management of the well being, and overall health of dairy cows. Methods of assessing behavioural activity have changed in recent years, favouring automatic recording techniques. Traditional methods to measure behaviour, such as direct observation or time-lapse video, are labour-intensive and time-consuming. Automated recording devices have become increasingly common to measure behaviour accurately. Thus, the development of automated monitoring systems that can continuously and accurately quantify feeding behaviour are required for efficient monitoring and control of modern and automated dairy farms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible use of a 3D accelerometer to record feeding behaviour of dairy cows. Feeding behaviour (feeding time and number of visits to the manger) of 12 lactating dairy cows was recorded for approximately 3 h with 3D-accelerometer data loggers (HOBO Pendant G logger). The sensors were positioned in the high part of the neck to monitor head movements. Behaviour was simultaneously recorded using visual observation as a reference. Linear regression analysis between the measurement methods showed that the recorded feeding time (R2=0.90, n=12, P<0.001) was closely related to visual observations. In contrast, the number of visits was inadequately recorded by the 3D-accelerometer, showing a poor relationship with visual observations (R2=0.31, n=12, P<0.06). Results suggest that the use of accelerometer sensors can be a reliable and suitable technology for monitoring feeding behaviour of individual dairy cows in free stall housing. However, further research is necessary to develop an appropriate device able to detect and recognise the movements connected with the head movement during feeding. Such a device could be part of an automatic livestock management tool for the efficient monitoring and control of comfort and welfare of dairy cows under the intensive conditions of modern automated dairy farms.

 Bald Eagles and Crows Sharing Meals on an Alaska Beach 

The herd is probably the most cohesive it has ever been. I’ve seen plenty of sisterly touching between Georgette and Happy, including resting together, a beginning of affiliative touching between Perdie and Happy, namely face sniffing and toggle nibbling. Even Perdie is not to nervous these days to stand close to Georgette. Perdie is certainly more lively and willing to resist antagonism rather than fleeing it since she started drying up.

Even now the goats compete and want more, even when I give them more than plenty. Georgette targets mainly Perdie and Perdie pushes away Happy. If Happy is in Georgette’s way, she’ll get horns aimed at her too. Both Perdie and Happy now face up a little more, but always end up running away.

These two papers deal with social strategies of farm goats: Alpine and Angora breeds. The scenario is of course different: they are a larger herd in an indoor system - they may need to compete more in the confined space. However, I have been able to draw lessons from their studies.

I looked at these papers as I wondered if the subordinates suffered excessive stress and if it affected their wellbeing. I was surprised (and pleased) to find the "avoider" subordinate strategy was a coping strategy that seemed to do well and not cause longterm stress. I guess kids grow up with this strategy, keeping out of the way of their elders, so they adapt to it psychologically. I wonder if kids that are separated from the adult herd, like in dairies, adapt as well. The goats tested for stress were Angora and I expect the kids grow up on the dam. The avoiders were also the quicker learners as they need to make the most of any opportunities for extra food from novel sources.

I also hoped that aggression may die down once a stable heirachy is established, but it appears aggression is a herd mechanism for maintaining the heirarchy. However, if you are lucky to have a good head doe, she will intervene in disputes, assert her authority and break them up. 

It seems the "passive" behaviour is quite a normal coping strategy in Angora goats, whereas in Saanans it is viewed as a sign of poor welfare and possibly sickness. My own experience of dairy goats would confirm that they are not naturally passive beings. This may be due to the higher nutritional needs of high-yielding goats. 

The "affiliative" profile is a little unclear as the relationship between the individuals is not stated and the outcome of the strategy is very different in the two studies. The affiliative Saanans seem quite large and dominant, whereas the affiliative Angoras are smaller and show high long-term stress. I'm not sure if it is really a coping mechanism, it's hard to tell as so few animals fit this profile: if so, perhaps they stick together for protection. Affiliation has now been shown to reduce stress.

In my herd and others I know, the dominants pick more on next largest herd members who are approaching them in size. The picked-on animals then challenge goats smaller than them and it goes on down the line. The only affiliation I have seen has been between goats who grew up together.  

Feel Good Friday: Nom nom nom...

Chipmunks have a pretty neat system of collecting food for themselves; they gather multiple items at once and store them in special "cheek pouches" in their mouths so they can be more easily transported back to their burrow for consumption or storage for a later time.

Chipmunks are omnivores whose varied diet consists of anything from grains, nuts, fruits, berries and birds' eggs to the more yucky stuff (well, in my opinion) like fungi, worms, insects, small frogs and even, on occassion, small mammals like young mice. Come Autumn, many species of chipmunk will begin to stockpile these items in their burrows in preparation for the coming Winter. This type of behaviour is known as "larder hoarding" and these chipmunks will normally live in their nests until Spring. Other species of chipmunk will instead make multiple smaller caches of food - a behaviour termed "scatter hoarding".