Evaluation of an indwelling bolus equipped with a triaxial accelerometer for the characterisation of the diurnal pattern of bovine reticuloruminal contractions.
Giovanni Capuzzello, Lorenzo Viora, Elena Borelli, Nicholas N Jonsson
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
This observational study aimed to describe the diurnal pattern of reticuloruminal contraction rate (RRCR) and the proportion of time spent ruminating by cattle, using two commercial devices equipped with triaxial accelerometers: an indwelling bolus (placed in the reticulum) and a neck collar. The three objectives of this study were firstly to determine whether the indwelling bolus provided observations consistent with RRCR as determined by clinical examination using auscultation and ultrasound, secondly to compare estimates of time spent ruminating using the indwelling bolus and a collar-based accelerometer, and finally to describe the diurnal pattern of RRCR using the indwelling bolus data. Six rumen-fistulated, non-lactating Jersey cows were fitted with an indwelling bolus (SmaXtec Animal Care GmbH, Graz, Austria) and a neck collar (Silent Herdsman, Afimilk Ltd. Kibbutz Afikim, Israel), and data were collected over two weeks. Cattle were housed together in a single straw-bedded pen and fed ad libitum hay. To assess the agreement between the indwelling bolus and traditional methods of assessing reticuloruminal contractility in the first week, the RRCR was determined over 10 min, twice a day, by ultrasound and auscultation. Mean inter-contraction intervals (ICI) derived from bolus and ultrasound, and from auscultation were 40.4 ± 4.7, 40.1 ± 4.0 and 38.4 ± 3.3 s. Bland-Altmann plots showed similar performance of the methods with small biases. The Pearson correlation coefficient for the time spent ruminating derived from neck collars and indwelling boluses was 0.72 (highly significant, P < 0.001). The indwelling boluses generated a consistent diurnal pattern for all the cows. In conclusion, a robust relationship was observed between clinical observation and the indwelling boluses for estimation of ICI and, similarly, between the indwelling bolus and neck collar for estimating rumination time. The indwelling boluses showed a clear diurnal pattern for RRCR and time spent ruminating, indicating that they should be useful for assessing reticuloruminal motility.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Dairy Research is an international Journal of high-standing that publishes original scientific research on all aspects of the biology, wellbeing and technology of lactating animals and the foods they produce. The Journal’s ability to cover the entire dairy foods chain is a major strength. Cross-disciplinary research is particularly welcomed, as is comparative lactation research in different dairy and non-dairy species and research dealing with consumer health aspects of dairy products. Journal of Dairy Research: an international Journal of the lactation sciences.