Measuring the step and kick behavior of dairy cows during robot milking
M. Pastell1, M. Hautala1, V. Poikalainen2, J. Praks2, I. Veermäe2
and J. Ahokas1
1Department of Agrotechnology, University of Helsinki,
Helsinki, Finland
2Estonian Agricultural University, Estonia
We have worked on automatically measuring the physical health of a dairy
cow. Milking robot offers a unique possibility for a dynamic measurement
of physical data. Four strain gauge scales were installed into a milking
robot in order to measure the weight of each leg separately. The sensors
were connected to an amplifier and the data was collected into a PC using
a dedicated computer program. From the data the dynamic weight or load
of each leg can be measured. The average weight, the weight variation
of each leg, the total weight, the number of kicks and steps, the frequency
of kicks and the total time in the milking robot can be calculated. The
acquired information can be used to judge cow’s restlessness and
welfare, e.g. leg health. The leg weight monitoring was developed into
a real time system with software that alerts the user of possible hoof
diseases and other leg problems.
It is also possible to analyze the step and kick behavior of the cow
during milking and
during the different stages of milking, washing, milking and disconnecting.
In this way it is
also possible to monitor the activity level of the cow and how it changes.
A high stepping
frequency during milking is a good indicator of lameness. The monitoring
of kick frequency
may also be used in mastitis detection.
Paper presented
at Measuring Behavior 2005
, 5th International Conference on Methods and Techniques
in Behavioral Research, 30 August - 2 September 2005, Wageningen, The
Netherlands.
© 2005 Noldus
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