A non-invasive sound technology to monitor rumen contractions

Vargas Bello Pérez, E. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7105-5752, Luis Alves Neves, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2617-6210 and Harrison, A. (2022) A non-invasive sound technology to monitor rumen contractions. Animals, 12 (17). 2164. ISSN 2076-2615 doi: 10.3390/ani12172164

Abstract/Summary

This technical report used a wireless device (CURO MkII) that recorded high-quality rumen sound waves from cows of different production statuses (dry cow vs. lactating cow) and physiological stages (pregnant vs. non-pregnant). Recordings from a dry Jersey heifer fed a diet based on haylage and straw showed a few high-amplitude spikes (3 at 6 dB) but mostly infrequent signals (9 at 12 dB and 22 at 18 dB), with pauses of approx. 2 min with no rumen sounds in between. Analysis of a few individual spikes in the 12 dB range showed that wave frequencies ranged from 230 to 250 Hz and lasted 4 s. Recordings of the high-yielding Red Danish cow fed a total mixed ration (TMR) showed an almost constant frequency of the rumen sounds with considerable amplitude of the waves. Rumen sounds from the Red Danish dry and pregnant cow fed on TMR were less frequent, with a lower amplitude than those from the high-yielding cow. These preliminary results demonstrate that wireless sound recording units are capable of measuring rumen sounds in a production setting and can discern between animals of different production and physiological stages, but more studies are needed to confirm our findings.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/107622
Identification Number/DOI	10.3390/ani12172164
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	No Reading authors. Back catalogue items Life Sciences > School of Agriculture, Policy and Development > Department of Animal Sciences
Publisher	MDPI
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