Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61D—VETERINARY INSTRUMENTS, IMPLEMENTS, TOOLS, OR METHODS
  • A61D17/00—Devices for indicating trouble during labour of animals ; Methods or instruments for detecting pregnancy-related states of animals
  • A61D17/002—Devices for indicating trouble during labour of animals ; Methods or instruments for detecting pregnancy-related states of animals for detecting period of heat of animals, i.e. for detecting oestrus

Definitions

• the invention relates to a method for detecting the Wahlschein probability of estrus in a female, non-human mammal, especially in a cattle.
• the quality of the heat detection has a great influence on the profitability of dairy cattle farms. Inadequacies in this area inevitably lead to worse fertility indicators and have a negative impact on the economic performance of the farm. It is becoming increasingly difficult for dairy farmers to recognize a heat and use it for successful insemination. On the one hand, the cows show increasingly fewer and shorter ostentatious symptoms due to the current husbandry conditions; on the other hand, farmers can often spend too little time on visual observation of oestrus due to the greatly altered working conditions. Therefore, a number of methods for detecting heat have been developed.
• WO2009 / 01 1641 AI describes a method with which the activity of the animal is referred to the heat.
• the steps of the animal are counted (pedometry) and the data sporadically (mostly when milking) read out of the sensors.
• the cited document also describes the consideration of other events for determining estrus, eg the day of the last calving or the measurement of the progesterone content in the milk. These are factors which only very approximate conclusions on the Allow time of heat or are unsuitable for daily use on a farm.
• the method according to the invention is initially based on the knowledge that a first measure of the presence of heat in the animals in question is their movement activity. This has, as studies have shown, directly related to the progesterone content in milk and blood, so that an observation of the movement activity allows a first conclusion on the probability of estrus.
• a further parameter is evaluated for those animals in which an increased movement activity could be detected in a predetermined period of time, namely retrograde for the same period in which the increased movement activity was present.
• This second parameter stands for the group formation of the animal with at least one other, similar animal from the group. Group formation is also a property associated with the probability of estrus. One speaks in this respect of sexually active groups. If, according to the invention, only the animals precipitated during the movement activity are also examined with regard to their group formation and both parameters are conspicuous, this stands for a particularly high probability of estrus, whereby cross-correlation of both parameters can additionally be carried out.
• the method can be carried out for example in a cattle bovine, which is equipped with at least one, preferably with a plurality of video cameras for receiving the cattle from above.
• the outputs of the cameras are connected to a computerized image processing system.
• the image processing system is able to reliably detect each individual animal in the group of animals in the playpen. This can be done for example on the basis of a characteristic patterning of the coat of the animals or by applying a pattern to the back or neck area of the animals, in particular in the form of a two-dimensional matrix code.
• Other, non-optical methods eg via RFID encoders and corresponding sensors, are also possible, including the combination of non-optical and optical methods. In any case, it must be ensured that the computer-aided evaluation unit can reliably determine the location of each individual animal within the playhouse at any time.
• the instantaneous movement activity is continuously determined for each individual animal of the group.
• the movement activity is in the simplest case the current speed of the animal or the determined over a certain period average speed of the same, so the distance traveled in a certain time path.
• This parameter can be readily determined and updated for each animal with the above-mentioned image processing methods and the associated computer-technical evaluation. In this way, a substantially constant average of the movement activity is created for each animal.
• the factor by which the mean value of the movement activity is to be exceeded here can be between 10% and 2500% of the average movement activity.
• the factor should be selected so high that a purely random exceeding of the limit does not result in a selection.
• random deviations must also be taken into account, ie the "background noise" of the mean motive activity. The lower this background noise, the lower the limit value can be set, from which a selection of the animal takes place.
• an animal Once an animal has been selected in which the average of the movement activity has been above the threshold for a certain period of time, it is examined for the same animal for the same period on the basis of the stored movement data, if it has participated more than average in group formation. Decisive here can be the distance of the respective animal to at least one other, similar animal in the relevant period. In a first approximation, a predetermined distance value can be set and the parameters that are specific for the group formation of the animal can then be set to positive if this distance value is undershot. In the context of a more detailed evaluation, additional times may be taken into account during which the value of the distance is greater than the predetermined distance and a weighting takes place, after which proportionally a smaller, effective time is assigned to larger distances. In this way, a second, namely the group formation parameter, is set for the same animals that have already noticed positively in the first parameter directed to the movement activity.
• the farmer can check the video recording retrograde again following the fully automated procedure and visually check those animals in which an output for the probability of heat has been generated in the third method step. Based on his experience, the farmer immediately recognizes whether these animals are actually fervent, for example by analyzing additional visual parameters such as tolerance or jumping.
• This third process step can be made easier for the farmer by, in a fourth process step, visually highlighting, for example color-coded, the animals on which an output for the probability of heat has been generated on the video screen so that the farmer immediately recognizes which one Animals should be observed separately.
• the method according to the invention can preferably be used in cattle but also in other cloven-hoofed animals.
• the probability of heat is preferably output as a percentage.

Landscapes

• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Biophysics (AREA)
• Pregnancy & Childbirth (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Animal Husbandry (AREA)
• Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
• Zoology (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Investigating Or Analysing Biological Materials (AREA)

Priority Applications (4)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=48790383

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Cited By (3)

Families Citing this family (19)

Citations (4)

Family Cites Families (3)

• 2012
  • 2012-08-01 DE DE102012107012.1A patent/DE102012107012A1/de not_active Ceased
• 2013
  • 2013-07-02 DK DK13736828.8T patent/DK2879615T3/da active
  • 2013-07-02 LT LTEP13736828.8T patent/LT2879615T/lt unknown
  • 2013-07-02 EP EP13736828.8A patent/EP2879615B1/fr not_active Not-in-force
  • 2013-07-02 WO PCT/EP2013/063960 patent/WO2014019791A1/fr not_active Ceased
• 2015
  • 2015-01-29 IL IL237002A patent/IL237002A0/en unknown

Patent Citations (4)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events