Method and system for monitoring physiological conditions of, and/or suitability of animal feed for ruminant animals

• US 20030205208A1
• Filed: 01/07/2003
• Published: 11/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vocaltag Limited (Merck & Co., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Avshalom Bar-Shalom
• Inventors: Bar-Shalom, Avshalom
• Granted Patent: US 7,350,481 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 119/859
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 29/005 Monitoring or measuring activity, e.g. detecting heat or mating

Abstract

A method and system for monitoring the physiological condition, and/or suitability of animal feed, of ruminant animals, by: sensing actions of the animal indicating a ruminating activity; and accumulating the time of the ruminating activities over a predetermined time period to provide an indication of the physiological condition of the animal, and/or of desirable changes in its feed for maximizing milk production and/or for maintaining animal health. In one described preferred embodiment, the sensed actions of the animal are chewing actions produced by the animal while chewing animal feed according to a predetermined chewing rhythm indicating a ruminating activity as distinguished from an eating activity. In a second described embodiment, the sensed actions of the animal are regurgitations of a bolus from the animal'"'"'s rumen to the animal'"'"'s mouth sensed by a collar around the animal'"'"'s neck.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring the physiological condition, and/or suitability of animal feed, of ruminant animals, comprising:

sensing actions of the animal indicating a ruminating activity;

and accumulating the time of said sensed actions indicating ruminating activities over a predetermined time period to provide an indication of the physiological condition of the animal, and/or of desirable changes in its feed for maximizing milk production and/or for maintaining animal health.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said sensed actions of the animal are chewing actions produced by the animal while chewing animal feed according to a predetermined rhythm indicating a ruminating activity as distinguished from an eating activity.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein said sensed chewing actions are chewing sounds sensed by a sound sensor carried by the animal'"'"'s neck.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein said sound sensor is carried at the inner face of the upper end of a neckband applied around the animal'"'"'s neck, said neckband including a weight at its lower end effective to press the sensor against the animal'"'"'s neck.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein said predetermined rhythm of the chewing actions indicating a ruminating activity is determined at least in part by counting the number of chewing actions in predetermined sample time periods at periodically spaced intervals, comparing the counted number of chewing actions in each sample time period with the counted number in the immediately preceding sample time period, and determining that the chewing actions in both sample time periods are those of ruminating activities only when the counted number of chewing actions in each of the two consecutive sample time periods are within a predetermined range indicating a ruminating activity.

6. The method according to claim 2, wherein said predetermined rhythm of chewing actions indicating a ruminating activity is determined at least in part by counting the number of chewing actions per unit of time, and comparing the counted number with a predetermined number indicating a ruminating activity as distinguished from an eating activity.

7. The method according to claim 2, wherein said predetermined rhythm of chewing actions indicating a ruminating activity is determined at least in part by measuring the time of each chewing action, and comparing the measured time with a predetermined time range indicating a ruminating activity at distinguished from an eating activity.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein said sensed actions of the animal are regurgitations of a bolus from the animal'"'"'s rumen to the animal'"'"'s mouth.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein said regurgitations of a bolus are sensed by a sound sensor carried by the animal'"'"'s neck.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein said regurgitations are sensed by a first bolus sensor carried by the animal'"'"'s throat close to the mouth, and a second bolus sensor carried by the animal'"'"'s throat spaced from the first sensor a predetermined distance in the direction of the animal'"'"'s stomach, a regurgitation being indicated when said first bolus sensor senses a bolus within a short predetermined time interval after a bolus is sensed by said second bolus sensor.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein said first and second bolus sensors are microswitches carried by a band around the animal'"'"'s throat.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein said sensed actions of the animal indicating a ruminating activity are transmitted to a receiver at a remote location.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein said receiver at said remote location actuates an alarm when the sensed actions indicate the existence of a condition requiring immediate action.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the time of said ruminating activities accumulated over said predetermined time period is compared to a known ruminating time for maximum milk production and optimum animal health to determine whether changes should be made in the animal feed.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the measured total rumination time is used to indicate the effective fiber content of the animal feed, and/or whether the effective fiber content should be increased or decreased to maximize milk production and maintain animal health.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the measured total rumination time is used to indicate the pH of the animal'"'"'s rumen and, thereby, whether the animal may be suffering from acidosis.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein the chewing time of the animal is also measured and is used to indicate the health condition of the animal or the suitability of the animal for continued milk production.

18. A monitoring system for monitoring the physiological condition, and/or suitability of animal feed, of ruminant animals, comprising:

at least one sensor for sensing actions of the animal indicating a ruminating activity;

and a data processor for accumulating the time of said sensed actions indicating ruminating activities over a predetermined time period to provide an indication of the physiological condition of the animal, and/or of desirable changes in its feed for maximizing milk production and/or for maintaining animal health.

19. The monitoring system according to claim 18, wherein said at least one sensor senses chewing actions of the animal produced by the animal while chewing animal feed according to a predetermined rhythm indicating a ruminating activity as distinguished from an eating activity.

20. The monitoring system according to claim 19, wherein said at least one sensor is a sound sensor carried by the animal for sensing chewing sounds of the animal.

21. The monitoring system according to claim 20, wherein said sound sensor is carried by a band around the animal'"'"'s neck, which band also includes a battery which also serves as a weight for pressing said sound sensor against the animal'"'"'s neck.

22. The monitoring system according to claim 19, wherein said predetermined chewing rhythm is determined by measuring both the time of each chew and the number of chews per predetermined time interval.

23. The monitoring system according to claim 18, wherein said at least one sensor is a bolus sensor which senses regurgitations of a bolus from the animal'"'"'s rumen to the animal'"'"'s mouth.

24. The monitoring system according to claim 23, wherein there are two bolus sensors, one bolus sensor being carried at the animal'"'"'s throat close to the mouth, and a second bolus sensor being carried at the animal'"'"'s throat spaced from said one bolus sensor a predetermined distance in the direction of the animal'"'"'s stomach, said data processor determining that a regurgitation occurs when said one bolus sensor senses a bolus within a short predetermined time interval after said second bolus sensor senses a bolus.

25. The monitoring system according to claim 24, wherein said bolus sensors are microswitches.

26. The monitoring system according to claim 23, wherein said data processor determined that the sensed regurgitations are those of a ruminating activity when the time period for a swallow and a regurgitation is within a predetermined known range indicating a ruminating activity, and when the intervals between regurgitations are also within a predetermined known range indicating a ruminating activity.

27. The monitoring system according to claim 18, wherein said at least one sensor includes a transmitter for transmitting information regarding said sensed actions of the animal indicating a ruminating activity, and a receiver at a remote location for receiving said transmitted information.

28. The monitoring system according to claim 27, wherein said receiver at the remote location also includes an alarm which is actuated when the sensed actions indicate the existence of a condition requiring immediate action.