Schmid Simone M, Büscher Wolfgang, Steinhoff-Wagner Julia
Institute of Animal Science, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany.
Institute of Agricultural Engineering, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany.
Animals (Basel). 2021 Apr 2;11(4):1004. doi: 10.3390/ani11041004.
Monitoring the temperature of piglets after birth is critical to ensure their well-being. Rectal temperature measurement is time-consuming, requires fixation of the animal and is stressful for piglets. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of infrared thermometry and thermography as compared to rectal temperatures. We investigated digital thermometers for rectal measurements, infrared ear thermometers, infrared forehead thermometers, infrared laser thermometers and an infrared camera during field trials with piglets aged 1-13 days. Temperatures differed between the left and right ear and ear base ( < 0.01), but not between temples. Three forehead and laser devices yielded different temperatures ( < 0.01). Temperatures assessed with a laser thermometer decreased with distance from the target ( < 0.01). The highest correlation observed was between the rectal and tympanic temperatures (r = 0.89; < 0.01). For temperatures assessed with the camera, inner thigh and abdomen correlated most closely to core temperature (0.60 ≤ r ≤ 0.62; < 0.01). Results indicate that infrared ear thermometry commonly used in humans is also suited for assessing temperature in piglets. The inner thigh and abdomen seem promising locations for estimating core temperature with an infrared camera, but this approach needs to be adapted to reduce time exposure and stress for the piglets to be used under practical conditions.
出生后监测仔猪体温对于确保其健康至关重要。直肠温度测量耗时，需要固定动物，且对仔猪有压力。本研究旨在评估与直肠温度相比，红外测温法和热成像法的有效性。我们在对1至13日龄仔猪进行的田间试验中，研究了用于直肠测量的数字温度计、红外耳温计、红外额温计、红外激光温度计和一台红外摄像机。左耳和右耳以及耳根之间的温度存在差异（<0.01），但太阳穴之间没有差异。三种额温和激光设备测得的温度不同（<0.01）。用激光温度计测得的温度随与目标距离的增加而降低（<0.01）。观察到的最高相关性是直肠温度和鼓膜温度之间的相关性（r = 0.89；<0.01）。对于用摄像机测得的温度，大腿内侧和腹部与核心温度的相关性最密切（0.60≤r≤0.62；<0.01）。结果表明，人类常用的红外耳温测量法也适用于评估仔猪体温。大腿内侧和腹部似乎是用红外摄像机估计核心温度的有前景的部位，但这种方法需要进行调整，以减少仔猪的暴露时间和压力，以便在实际条件下使用。
