Clinic for Animal Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, 14163 Germany.
J Dairy Sci. 2011 Jan;94(1):426-30. doi: 10.3168/jds.2010-3239.
The Hi-Tag electronic rumination-monitoring system (SCR Engineers Ltd., Netanya, Israel), based on capturing audio recordings, provides a reasonable measure of rumination time in dairy cows, but has not been validated for milk-fed or weaned heifers. The objective of this study was to validate the Hi-Tag rumination-monitoring system in heifers and calves and to assess whether suckling from a teat interfered with recording from this system. Assessments of 2 independent observers were highly correlated (r=0.99, n=20), indicating that direct visual observations provide a useful standard. Measures from the Hi-Tag system were validated by comparing values with those from a single human observer, using observations from three 2-h intervals from 35 Holstein calves and heifers aged 4, 6, and 9 wk and 3, 6, and 9 mo, respectively. In 9-mo-old heifers, rumination times obtained from the electronic system were highly correlated with visual observations (r=0.88, R2=0.77, n=15), and the mean difference was minor (-4±8 min/2-h interval). The accuracy of data from the automated system decreased when used on heifers less than 9 mo old. Suckling did not interfere with the electronic system (r=-0.1, n=18). These results indicate that the Hi-Tag system is an accurate tool for monitoring rumination behavior in Holstein Friesian heifers from the age of 9 mo.
基于音频记录的 Hi-Tag 电子反刍监测系统（以色列内坦亚的 SCR 工程师有限公司）提供了一种合理的奶牛反刍时间测量方法，但尚未在哺乳期或断奶的小母牛中进行验证。本研究的目的是验证 Hi-Tag 反刍监测系统在小母牛和小牛中的有效性，并评估吮吸乳头是否会干扰该系统的记录。两位独立观察员的评估高度相关（r=0.99，n=20），表明直接的视觉观察提供了一种有用的标准。通过将系统测量值与单个人工观察者的值进行比较，使用来自三个 2 小时间隔的 35 头荷斯坦小牛和小母牛的数据进行验证，这些小母牛和小母牛分别为 4、6 和 9 周龄以及 3、6 和 9 月龄。在 9 月龄的小母牛中，电子系统获得的反刍时间与视觉观察高度相关（r=0.88，R2=0.77，n=15），平均差异较小（-4±8 分钟/2 小时间隔）。当用于年龄小于 9 个月的小母牛时，自动系统的数据准确性会降低。吮吸不会干扰电子系统（r=-0.1，n=18）。这些结果表明，Hi-Tag 系统是一种准确的工具，可用于监测荷斯坦弗里森小母牛从 9 月龄起的反刍行为。
