Measuring platform for feed intake by dairy cows

奶牛育种当前和未来的研究目标是在资源效率、环境相关性、理解生理关系、动物健康和动物福利等领域获得科学知识。对于以知识为基础的方法来澄清这些复杂的问题，连续测量单个动物的采食量是绝对必要的先决条件。计划在Karkendamm基尔大学研究农场新建的奶牛舍中实施奶牛采食量测量平台，该研究农场负责动物育种和畜牧业研究所。该装置配置确保记录时间点、持续时间和奶牛在各自饲料槽的每个单独喂养过程的饲料摄入量。为此，专门制造的饲料槽配备了称重装置，由称重传感器和检测电子元件组成，它们又以电子方式连接到中央单元。个体动物的识别通过RFID（射频识别）应答器进行；这意味着每个进食过程都可以分配给特定的动物。新鲜饲料的摄取量是根据动物到访前后称重槽内食物的重量差来计算的。该信息与动物识别一起传输到中央单元。所有单独的喂养过程按时间顺序保存，并通过访问的各种称重槽汇总为每日值。定期的饲料分析和标准化的饲料干燥程序，部分在农场进行，可以确定每只动物的干物质摄入量。在此基础上，该设备收集的数据与农场常规记录的数据（产奶量、奶成分）可用于确定单个动物或畜群水平的能量平衡、饲料和氮效率。农场的中央设备通过一条专线与研究所自己的数据库相连，每天进行一次自动数据传输。对于特定的科学问题，可以将动物特异性信息与基因分型结果或生理参数等联系起来，并进行综合评估。该系统集成到奶牛的正常饲养过程中，由养殖场员工填充、清洗和维护槽。所有负责任的研究人员都可以免费使用该设备；所有其他用户都可以访问该研究所自己在计算中心的数据库，以便使用测量数据。

The current and future research topics in dairy cattle breeding aim at gaining scientific knowledge in the field of resource efficiency, environmental relevance, understanding the physiological relationships, animal health and animal welfare. For knowledge-based approaches to clarify these complex questions, the continuous measurement of individual animal feed intake is an absolutely essential prerequisite. The implementation of a measuring platform for feed intake by dairy cows is planned in the newly built dairy cattle barn at the research farm of Kiel University in Karkendamm, which is in charge of the Institute for Animal Breeding and Husbandry. The device configuration ensures the recording of time points, the duration and the amount of feed taken up for each individual feeding process of a dairy cow at the respective feed trough. For this purpose, the specially manufactured feed troughs are equipped with weighing devices consisting of load cells and detection electronics, which in turn are electronically connected to a central unit. The identification of the individual animal takes place via RFID (radio-frequency identification) transponders; this means that each eating process can be assigned to a specific animal. The amount of fresh feed taken up is calculated from the weight difference between the contents of a weighing trough before and after the animal’s visit. This information is transmitted to the central unit together with the animal identification. All individual feeding processes are saved chronologically and aggregated into daily values ​​via the various weighing troughs visited. Regular feed analyzes and standardized feed drying procedures, which are partly carried out at the farm allow to determine the dry matter intake for each individual animal. Based on this, the data collected by the device together with data routinely recorded on the farm (milk quantities, milk ingredients) can be used to determine the energy balance, feed and nitrogen efficiencies at the individual animal or herd level. The central unit on the farm is connected to the institute's own database via a dedicated line and automated data transmission is once daily. For specific scientific questions, the animal-specific information can be linked with e.g. genotyping results or physiological parameters and evaluated integrally.The system is integrated into the normal process of dairy cattle feeding and the troughs are filled, cleaned and maintained by the employees of the farm. All responsible researchers have free access to the device; all other users have access to the institute's own data base at the computing center in order to use the measurement data.