MONITORING FEEDING BEHAVIOUR OF DAIRY COWS USING ACCELEROMETER Free Essay Example

MONITORING FEEDING BEHAVIOUR OF DAIRY COWS USING ACCELEROMETERREVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURECATTLE/COWSCattle- colloquially cows, common term for the domesticated herbivorous mammals that constitute the genus Bos, of the family Bovidae, and that are of great importance to humans because of the meat, milk, leather, glue, gelatin, and other items of commerce they yield. Modern cattle are divided into two species: B. taurus, which originated in Europe and includes most modern breeds of dairy and beef cattle, and B. indicus, which originated in India and is characterized by a hump at the withers.

The latter are now widespread in Africa and Asia, with lesser numbers imported to North America (primarily in the southern United States), Central America, and northern and central South America. (Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.) In Philippines, they are commonly raised as livestock for milk, meat and dung (use as fertilizer and fuels). In farm, it can be used as substitute to Carabao because it can pull some equipment such as plows and carts that is use for farming.

It also use as a riding animals. Types of Cow According to its Effectiveness and ProductionThere are four (4) types of cow according to its effectiveness and production of milk and meat namely; Milk Breed (a highly milk productive types of cattle), Beef Breed (highly meat productive type of cattle breed), both Milk and Beef Breed (type of cattle breed that can produce both milk and beef), and last is the Draft Breed (a cattle breed that can do hard work.

). Types of Cows Base on its OriginAnd three (3) types base on its origin, first is the Deshi Breed (local breed that produces less milk and beef than the other breed and suitable for small scale family farming.), second is the Foreign Breed (they are originated from different part of the world.), and last is the Hybrid Breed (it is made by artificial insemination (A.I.) of different types of cattle. Cow in PhilippinesIn Philippines, we have an indigenous small cattle breed with mature bulls and cows weighing 400 kg and 300 kg, respectively. Their color ranges from grey to brown to fawn, with white spotting. The males have low hump while the female are humpless. In Philippines, there are four (4) breed types that have been recognized, the Ilocos in North-western Luzon, Batangas in South western Luzon, Iloilo on Panay Island, and Batanes Black on the Batanes Island between Luzon and Taiwan. But in this research we focusses about dairy cows.Dairy Cows Dairy cattle or Dairy Cows are those breeds that have been developed primarily to produce milk. (Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.) Cow has an ability to store milk and have a largest share of the world total milk production. They are social animals that follow a leader from pasture, feed bunk and milking parlor. Cow’s behaviour can be determined by inheritance and they exhibit wide difference in temperament. They thrive on consistency and gentle treatment by the handlers. Different Breed of Dairy Cows There are seven (7) dairy cows that they breed namely; Holstein (it is the most common dairy breed that originate in Netherland brought to America in 1621 by a Dutch settler. It produces more milk that other dairy breeds.), Jersey (it weight at 800-1200 pounds and consider as the smallest of all the dairy breeds. Its color ranges from light to dark brown and has a big eyes and a quit nature. It is originate at the Isle of Jersey in the British Channel. It is the most heat-tolerant of all dairy breed and produces milk with very high butterflat content), Brown Swiss ( according to the dairy historian, it is consider as the oldest of all the dairy breeds and it is originated in Alps of Switzerland. Its color vary from silver to dark brown and has a large ears. It has high protein-to-fat ratio and it is ideal for making cheese.), Guernsey ( it is originated in the monks on the Isle of Guernsey in the English Channel and because of its high levels of beta carotene, a source of vitamin A, it has a rich, golden color of milk. Its color range of fawn to golden in color and has a white legs and white areas on its body.), Ayrshire (also called aristocrat because of its size and vigor.it is originated in Ayr Scotland and brought to America around 1800.), Milking Shorthorn (it is from Great Britain that is considered as dual purpose breed which can be used for beef and milk production that has high protein-to-fat ratio), and last the Red and White Holstein (it is come from in Netherland that is known for its strong immune system and tolerance to heat.). FEEDING/EATING BEHAVIOUR OF COWSThe amount of feed and grain mixture that the cow consumed is determined by the quantity offered. Cows on silage eats a large amount of less nutritious feed than when on pasture. However, dry matter feeding is higher when cattle or cows are fed by hay rather than they are in silage or pasture. Some research shows that cow eat less hay when fed individually than group fed.Feeding behaviour pattern change according to the physical consistency of the share. Cracked, ground, processed grains are usually offered to dairy cows while they are in a stanchion, headlock or stall. Feed are put in the manger where it is located in front of the cow. The cattle eat by gathering feed up with their tongue and suck it with their mouth and then chewing process takes place. The major organ for mastication of feed are the teeth, lips and tongue.Pellets, silage, chopped forages, whole grain, and small roots are scooped into the mouth by lips and tongue movement, and it is followed by chewing. Cow can notice quickly how to choose hay from the leaves and how to figure out the transponder to get what they want. Like humans, cattle also eat roots, large tubers, and fruits, such as sugar beets, carrots, potatoes, and apple. Farmers also give salt block that cow can licked.NutritionNutrition plays a significant part in keeping cow healthy and strong. Giving a sufficient nutrition program can improve the reproductive performance and milk production of dairy cows. Nutrition of dairy cows depend on the quality and quantity of feed they eat. Consideration to improve cow’s milk productionMilk Production of dairy cows depends on its feeding behaviour. Dairy cows feeding behaviour is very important to understand its production, nutrition, management of the wellbeing and its overall health. Feeding behaviour of dairy cows also varies. . According to (Grant and Albright 1995) feed intake is mediated by the cow’s behaviour including where, when, and how feed intake she eats the diet provided. Dairy cows feeding behaviour influenced by management practices at the feed bunk, the quantity and quality of feed they consume, and factors associated with the physical and social environment. Fresh feed also have a greater impact on motivating cows to eat to produce more milk. Pattern of Feeding BehaviourAccording to Bјrger et al 2000, it has been reported that cows in a feedlot system spend from one to six hours/day eating, four to twelve hours/day for grazing. According to O’Connell et al., 1989; Orr et al., 2001; Gibb et al., 2002 that on grassland, times of sunrise, sunset and removal of cows from grassland for milking influences the feeding behaviour of cows. The major peaks of mastication behaviour occur immediately upon entry to the field following milking with a smaller peak around midnight.Indoor housing changes the social and physical factors (e.g., artificial lighting, confinement, and reduced availability of space) that substantially alter both the level of distribution of various behavioural activity of cow. According to DeVries et al., 2003a, in indoor housing TRM are fed twice daily, cows in the alley are feed every minute of the day during day time and early evening with the highest percentage present on it and lowest percentage during early morning and late evening. Fresh feed has a stronger feeding stimulus than the return from milking (DeVries and von Keyserlingk, 2005). Feeding behaviour of cows largely influenced by timing of fresh feed delivery, rather than the times of sunset and sunrise, or return from the milking parlor. Cows with access to feed after milking stood longer (48 versus 21 min) than cows unable to feed after returning from milking (Tyler et al., 1997). Fresh feed will help reduce the variation in diet quality consumed by cows it has a benefits for milk production.Feed bunk DesignFeed bunk physical environment can also influence cows feeding behaviour. According to Endres et al., 2005, the average daily feeding times did not differ between headlock barrier and post-and-rail barrier feed systems. But it is good to use headlock barrier because it can reduce aggression at the feed bunk and improve access to feed of cows during feeding periods. It can also provide protection against its competitor by offering physical separation between adjacent cows. Cows prefer to stand on a soft floor rather than to a rough concrete. Flooring used in the feed bunk highly affect the feeding behaviour of cows. According to some researcher, using rubber flooring (Olsson et al., 2005) and sawdust platform (Tucker et al., 2006) can increase the time of cows spend in the area and the time spent eating can id beneficial for its health and lameness.Overcrowding feed bunkOvercrowding of feed bunk can affect the feeding behaviour of dairy cows. Cows may be forced to stand and wait for an available feeding spot. According to DeVries and von Keyserlingk, 2006; Huzzey et al., 2006, when more bunk space was provided time spent standing inactive of cows will decrease that occur during period of peak feeding activity. According to Batchelder, 2000, overcrowded cows preferred lying down over eating after milking. So, to increase the feeding time especially during peak eating activity, reduce the aggression in the feeding area and reduce the cow time spend in standing inactive waiting to gain access in the feed bunk the farmer must reduce overcrowding at the feed bunk. Headlock feeding barrier can also be used.Social effectACCELEROMETER An accelerometer is a device that measures proper acceleration and the specific force of an object. Movement of the object can be seen by the use of dynamic accelerometer. It has been use the general physical activities of humans as well as the animals. According to Pastell et. Al., 2009; Valeza et al., 2012; Yin et. Al., 2013, accelerometer can also measure the feeding behaviour pf animasl.In order to scrutinize the feeding behaviour of dairy cows, we need a behavioural parameter to measure it. Accelerometer is one of the device use to measure the feeding behaviour of cow by the help of sensor. According Martiskainen et al., 2009; Mјller and Schrader, 2003; Robert et al., 2009; Vzquez Diosdado et al., 2015, accelerometers in combination with the machine learning algorithms become increasingly important to continuously and accurately calculated cows behaviour.