Crociati Martina, Sylla Lakamy, De Vincenzi Arianna, Stradaioli Giuseppe, Monaci Maurizio
Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Via S. Costanzo 4, 06126 Perugia, Italy.
Centre for Perinatal and Reproductive Medicine, University of Perugia, 06126 Perugia, Italy.
Animals (Basel). 2022 Feb 8;12(3):405. doi: 10.3390/ani12030405.
Cattle farming is facing an increase in number of animals that farmers must care for, together with decreasing time for observation of the single animal. Remote monitoring systems are needed in order to optimize workload and animal welfare. Where the presence of personnel is constant, for example in dairy farms with great number of lactating cows or with three milking/day, calving monitoring systems which send alerts during the prodromal stage of labor (stage I) could be beneficial. On the contrary, where the presence of farm personnel is not guaranteed, for example in smaller farms, systems which alert at the beginning of labor (stage II) could be preferred. In this case, time spent observing periparturient animals is reduced. The reliability of each calving alarm should also be considered: automatic sensors for body temperature and activity are characterized by a time interval of 6-12 h between the alarm and calving. Promising results have been shown by devices which could be placed within the vaginal canal, thus identifying the beginning of fetal expulsion and optimizing the timing of calving assistance. However, some cases of non-optimal local tolerability and cow welfare issues are reported. Future research should be aimed to improve Sensitivity (Se), Specificity (Sp) and Positive Predictive Value (PPV) of calving alert devices in order to decrease the number of false positive alarms and focusing on easy-to-apply, re-usable and well tolerated products.
养牛业面临着需要养殖户照料的牲畜数量不断增加的情况，同时对单头牲畜的观察时间却在减少。为了优化工作量和动物福利，需要远程监测系统。在人员随时在场的情况下，例如在拥有大量泌乳奶牛或每天进行三次挤奶的奶牛场，在分娩前驱期（第一阶段）发出警报的产犊监测系统可能会有所帮助。相反，在无法保证农场人员随时在场的情况下，例如在较小的农场，在分娩开始时（第二阶段）发出警报的系统可能更受青睐。在这种情况下，观察围产期动物所花费的时间会减少。还应考虑每个产犊警报的可靠性：用于体温和活动的自动传感器的特点是从警报到产犊的时间间隔为6至12小时。放置在阴道内的设备已显示出有希望的结果，从而能够识别胎儿排出的开始并优化产犊辅助的时机。然而，也有一些关于局部耐受性不佳和奶牛福利问题的报道。未来的研究应旨在提高产犊警报设备的灵敏度（Se）、特异性（Sp）和阳性预测值（PPV），以减少误报数量，并专注于易于应用、可重复使用且耐受性良好的产品。
