Analysis of Dairy Cow Behavior during Milking Associated with Lameness
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Farm Recruitment and Selected Milkings
2.2. Data collection and Parameters
2.2.1. Lameness Assessment
2.2.2. Hind Leg Activity
Technical Details
Limitations of the Sensor-Measurement
2.2.3. Front Leg Activity and Head Movements
2.3. Statistical Analyses
3. Results
3.1. Prevalence of Lameness
3.2. Influence of Parity on Lameness
3.3. Hind Leg Activity and Front Steps
3.4. Head Movements
4. Discussion
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
Appendix A
Threshold [g] | TN | FN | FP | TP | Sensitivity | Specificity | Positive Predictive Value | Negative Predictive Value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0.15 | 3825 | 18 | 432 | 246 | 0.93 | 0.90 | 0.36 | 1.00 |
0.2 | 4051 | 48 | 242 | 210 | 0.81 | 0.94 | 0.46 | 0.99 |
0.25 | 4197 | 76 | 125 | 181 | 0.70 | 0.97 | 0.59 | 0.98 |
0.3 | 4289 | 97 | 58 | 156 | 0.62 | 0.99 | 0.73 | 0.98 |
0.35 | 4346 | 118 | 27 | 130 | 0.52 | 0.99 | 0.83 | 0.97 |
0.4 | 4250 | 128 | 13 | 116 | 0.48 | 1.00 | 0.90 | 0.97 |
Appendix B
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Category | Score and Brief Term | Description |
---|---|---|
Non-lame | 1. Normal | Normal gait pattern with no signs of irregularities or uneven weight bearing between legs. In most cases flat back while walking and standing. |
2. Uneven gait | Cow walks almost normally but with a slightly uneven gait. No evident signs of lameness. Back may be arched while walking but flat when standing. | |
Lame | 3. Mild lameness | Deviation from the regular gait rhythm owing to uneven load on the legs and shortened stride on one or more legs. In most cases arched back while walking and head carried lower than normal. Often difficult to be certain which leg is affected. |
4. Lameness | Obvious lameness with in most cases arched back while walking and standing with clear attempt to unload one or more legs. In most cases head bob while walking. Usually obvious which legs are affected. | |
5. Severe lameness | Cow is reluctant or unable to bear weight on the affected leg while walking or standing. In most cases arched back while walking or standing and head bob while walking. |
Body Part | Behavior | Definition |
---|---|---|
Head | Horizontal movement | Head movement either to the left or the right side or back to the center, no matter how far the movement reaches |
Vertical movement | Head movement up or down into another range 1, no matter how many ranges the head crosses. Therefor dividing the cow’s head position into four ranges 1: 1. Head and neck are held above the horizontal line of the back 2. Head and neck are equal or nearly equal to the imaginary straight line of the back 3. Head and neck are bent down at chest level 4. Head and neck are bent down nearly completely | |
Hoicking | Big rapid expulsive head movement upwards | |
Twitching | Tiny choppy head movement without changing the head position | |
Shaking | Fast rhythmic circular head movements | |
Scratching | Rubbing the head against a component of the milking box | |
Front legs | Stepping | Lifting or shifting the claw |
Kicking | Rapid expulsive movement of the claw with the aim of striking towards the abdomen or the milking cluster |
Behavior (per Minute) | Lameness | Parity | Farm-to-Farm Variability (%) | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mean ± SE | p-Value | Mean ± SE | p-Value | |||||||
Non-Lame | Lame | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5+ | ||||
Hind leg activity | 0.844 ± 0.064 | 0.959 ± 0.073 | 0.026 | 0.762 ± 0.075 | 0.869 ± 0.075 | 0.924 ± 0.077 | 1.019 ± 0.086 | 0.932 ± 0.077 | 0.008 | 23.9 |
Front steps | 0.810 ± 0.048 | 1.045 ± 0.061 | 0.00005 | 1.003 ± 0.065 | 0.919 ± 0.064 | 1.062 ± 0.067 | 0.774 ± 0.080 | 0.879 ± 0.068 | 0.009 | 8.7 |
Horizontal head movements | 1.429 ± 0.061 | 1.465 ± 0.072 | 0.551 | 1.636 ± 0.076 | 1.498 ± 0.075 | 1.449 ± 0.078 | 1.282 ± 0.089 | 1.372 ± 0.079 | 0.0006 | 13.4 |
Vertical head movements | 1.054 ± 0.046 | 1.086 ± 0.061 | 0.600 | 1.197 ± 0.065 | 1.153 ± 0.064 | 1.127 ± 0.068 | 0.879 ± 0.083 | 0.995 ± 0.069 | 0.004 | 6.2 |
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Schönberger, D.; Berthel, R.M.; Savary, P.; Bodmer, M. Analysis of Dairy Cow Behavior during Milking Associated with Lameness. Dairy 2023, 4, 554-570. https://doi.org/10.3390/dairy4040038
Schönberger D, Berthel RM, Savary P, Bodmer M. Analysis of Dairy Cow Behavior during Milking Associated with Lameness. Dairy. 2023; 4(4):554-570. https://doi.org/10.3390/dairy4040038
Chicago/Turabian StyleSchönberger, Diana, Roxanne Magali Berthel, Pascal Savary, and Michèle Bodmer. 2023. "Analysis of Dairy Cow Behavior during Milking Associated with Lameness" Dairy 4, no. 4: 554-570. https://doi.org/10.3390/dairy4040038