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Abstract
A system for quantifying eating and ruminating activities of dairy cows was developed and tested. A transducer was constructed using two strain gauges to transform cow jaw movements into electrical signals. The analog signals were processed into discrete jaw movements by a computerized data acquisition system. An interpretative program classified the input data into one of three categories: eating, ruminating, or idling. The accuracy of the system was tested using five cows for 5 d by comparing visual records to chart recorder and computer records. Estimates of time spent eating and ruminating produced by the computer and recorder during 24-h intervals were similar. However, recorder estimates of eating and ruminating were 17.6 and 4.7% longer than visual records, respectively, and computer estimates were 19.4 and 1.3% longer. Eating was overestimated by both automatic systems because the transducer was unable to distinguish between jaw movements caused by eating and grooming activities. In contrast, ruminating was estimated accurately by monitoring jaw movements.
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
March 10,
1989
Received:
July 6,
1988
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Copyright
© 1989 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc.
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