Locomotor activity changes in the final 72 hours prepartum in multiparous beef cows

Abstract Text:

The objective of this study was to quantify changes in locomotor activity of multiparous beef cows during the final 72 h prepartum. IceQube activity monitors (IceRobotics, Edinburgh, UK) were placed above the left hind fetlock (≥4 d prepartum) of 106 multiparous, spring-calving beef cows over 2 yr. Cows that were moved outside of their normal patterns during the 72 h prepartum were removed from the dataset, resulting in 63 cows to be used for analysis. Cows were housed in 18 x 61 m drylots during calving and allowed ad libitum access to hay or haylage in round bale rings placed in the drylots. Each cow’s motion index, standing time, lying time, step count, and number of lying bouts were summed per hour using IceManager 2012 software. Motion index was calculated by the software using a proprietary algorithm. Hour 0 was defined as time of parturition (± 30 min). Data were analyzed by day (d -3 to d -1 prepartum), by 6-h period during the final 24 h prepartum, and by hour during the final 6 h prepartum using MIXED procedures of SAS. Motion index, standing time, step count, and number of lying bouts increased (P < 0.001) while lying time decreased (P < 0.001) on d -1 compared with d -2 or -3 relative to parturition. In the 24 h immediately prepartum, the 6 h preceding parturition (-6 to 0 h) had greater (P < 0.05) motion index, standing time, step count, and number of lying bouts compared with the other 6-h periods before calving.  There was no effect (P = 0.19) of 6-h period on lying time during the 24 hours before parturition. Motion index increased (P < 0.05) from -6 to -4 h and remained steady from -4 h to 0 h. Cows had greater (P < 0.05) standing time and less (P < 0.05) lying time at 0 h compared with -5 and -6 h before parturition.  Step count was greater (P < 0.05) from -3 to -1 h compared with -6 to -5 h. Number of lying bouts increased (P < 0.05) between -3 and -1 h and decreased (P < 0.001) from -1 h until calving. In conclusion, multiparous beef cow activity changes 4 to 6 h before parturition. These data suggest that electronic activity monitors can be used to recognize the earliest signs of parturition in beef cattle. 

Keywords: activity, movement, parturition