Methodology description of a real-environment commercial farm to analyse cattle vocalisations

Abstract

Animal welfare is an essential concern for our society. Now, various studies show that animal welfare also has an impact on the growth and the reproductive potential of animals, as well as on their productivity. The vocalizations of the cows can be used to infer their well-being, and they can be measured in real time with acoustic sensors, which have a moderate cost and are connected to the cloud. This article details different test pilots in distinct farms, with the goal of observing cow’s vocalizations in various situations: i) labor ii) cow herding, and iii) early detection of coughs and respiratory illnesses. The approaches to be carried out are different depending on the herds and the type of cows monitored. This article describes the elements to be considered for a good preliminary deployment of the technology, which will allow the capture of data and recordings in pilot studies. The aim of this work is to provide a good estimation of what a permanent installation should look like for an automatic and continuous detection of well-being through the cow’s vocalizations.