1. A Pilot Study on Monitoring Drinking Behavior in Bucket Fed Dairy Calves Using an Ear-Attached Tri-Axial Accelerometer

Accelerometers support the farmer with collecting information about animal behavior and thus allow a reduction in visual observation time. The milk intake of calves fed by teat-buckets has not been monitored automatically on commercial farms so far, although it is crucial for the calves’ development. This pilot study was based on bucket-fed dairy calves and intended (1) to evaluate the technical feasibility of using an ear-attached accelerometer (SMARTBOW, Smartbow GmbH, Weibern, Austria)... L. Roland, L. Lidauer, G. Sattlecker, F. Kickinger, W. Auer, V. Sturm, D. Efrosinin, M. Drillich, M. Iwersen, A. Berger