Behavioral Adaptations of Nursing Brangus Cows to Virtual Fencing: Insights from a Training Deployment Phase
Virtual fencing systems have emerged as a promising technology for managing the distribution of livestock in extensive grazing environments. This study provides comprehensive documentation of the learning process involving two conditional behavioral mechanisms and the documentation of efficient, eff...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/22/3558 |
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| author | Shelemia Nyamuryekung’e Andrew Cox Andres Perea Richard Estell Andres F. Cibils John P. Holland Tony Waterhouse Glenn Duff Micah Funk Matthew M. McIntosh Sheri Spiegal Brandon Bestelmeyer Santiago Utsumi |
| author_facet | Shelemia Nyamuryekung’e Andrew Cox Andres Perea Richard Estell Andres F. Cibils John P. Holland Tony Waterhouse Glenn Duff Micah Funk Matthew M. McIntosh Sheri Spiegal Brandon Bestelmeyer Santiago Utsumi |
| author_sort | Shelemia Nyamuryekung’e |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Virtual fencing systems have emerged as a promising technology for managing the distribution of livestock in extensive grazing environments. This study provides comprehensive documentation of the learning process involving two conditional behavioral mechanisms and the documentation of efficient, effective, and safe animal training for virtual fence applications on nursing Brangus cows. Two hypotheses were examined: (1) animals would learn to avoid restricted zones by increasing their use of containment zones within a virtual fence polygon, and (2) animals would progressively receive fewer audio-electric cues over time and increasingly rely on auditory cues for behavioral modification. Data from GPS coordinates, behavioral metrics derived from the collar data, and cueing events were analyzed to evaluate these hypotheses. The results supported hypothesis 1, revealing that virtual fence activation significantly increased the time spent in containment zones and reduced time in restricted zones compared to when the virtual fence was deactivated. Concurrently, behavioral metrics mirrored these findings, with cows adjusting their daily travel distances, exploration area, and cumulative activity counts in response to the allocation of areas with different virtual fence configurations. Hypothesis 2 was also supported by the results, with a decrease in cueing events over time and increased reliance with animals on audio cueing to avert receiving the mild electric pulse. These outcomes underscore the rapid learning capabilities of groups of nursing cows in responding to virtual fence boundaries. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:05:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-25a823571b154a5cabf91e5ca6ead381 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:05:12Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-25a823571b154a5cabf91e5ca6ead3812023-11-24T14:24:59ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-11-011322355810.3390/ani13223558Behavioral Adaptations of Nursing Brangus Cows to Virtual Fencing: Insights from a Training Deployment PhaseShelemia Nyamuryekung’e0Andrew Cox1Andres Perea2Richard Estell3Andres F. Cibils4John P. Holland5Tony Waterhouse6Glenn Duff7Micah Funk8Matthew M. McIntosh9Sheri Spiegal10Brandon Bestelmeyer11Santiago Utsumi12Division of Food Production and Society, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), PB 115, N-1431 Ås, NorwayDepartment of Animal and Range Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USADepartment of Animal and Range Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USAUnited States Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Research Service, Jornada Experimental Range, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USAUnited States Department of Agriculture Southern Plains Climate Hub, United States Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Research Service, Oklahoma and Central Plains Agricultural Research Center, El Reno, OK 73036, USASRUC Hill and Mountain Research Centre, Scotland’s Rural College, Kirkton Farm, Crianlarich, Perthshire FK20 8RU, UKSRUC Hill and Mountain Research Centre, Scotland’s Rural College, Kirkton Farm, Crianlarich, Perthshire FK20 8RU, UKDepartment of Animal and Range Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USADepartment of Animal and Range Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USAUnited States Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Research Service, Jornada Experimental Range, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USAUnited States Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Research Service, Jornada Experimental Range, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USAUnited States Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Research Service, Jornada Experimental Range, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USADepartment of Animal and Range Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USAVirtual fencing systems have emerged as a promising technology for managing the distribution of livestock in extensive grazing environments. This study provides comprehensive documentation of the learning process involving two conditional behavioral mechanisms and the documentation of efficient, effective, and safe animal training for virtual fence applications on nursing Brangus cows. Two hypotheses were examined: (1) animals would learn to avoid restricted zones by increasing their use of containment zones within a virtual fence polygon, and (2) animals would progressively receive fewer audio-electric cues over time and increasingly rely on auditory cues for behavioral modification. Data from GPS coordinates, behavioral metrics derived from the collar data, and cueing events were analyzed to evaluate these hypotheses. The results supported hypothesis 1, revealing that virtual fence activation significantly increased the time spent in containment zones and reduced time in restricted zones compared to when the virtual fence was deactivated. Concurrently, behavioral metrics mirrored these findings, with cows adjusting their daily travel distances, exploration area, and cumulative activity counts in response to the allocation of areas with different virtual fence configurations. Hypothesis 2 was also supported by the results, with a decrease in cueing events over time and increased reliance with animals on audio cueing to avert receiving the mild electric pulse. These outcomes underscore the rapid learning capabilities of groups of nursing cows in responding to virtual fence boundaries.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/22/3558virtual fenceconditional behavioranimal trackingprecision livestock farmingGPS locationaccelerometer and activity |
| spellingShingle | Shelemia Nyamuryekung’e Andrew Cox Andres Perea Richard Estell Andres F. Cibils John P. Holland Tony Waterhouse Glenn Duff Micah Funk Matthew M. McIntosh Sheri Spiegal Brandon Bestelmeyer Santiago Utsumi Behavioral Adaptations of Nursing Brangus Cows to Virtual Fencing: Insights from a Training Deployment Phase Animals virtual fence conditional behavior animal tracking precision livestock farming GPS location accelerometer and activity |
| title | Behavioral Adaptations of Nursing Brangus Cows to Virtual Fencing: Insights from a Training Deployment Phase |
| title_full | Behavioral Adaptations of Nursing Brangus Cows to Virtual Fencing: Insights from a Training Deployment Phase |
| title_fullStr | Behavioral Adaptations of Nursing Brangus Cows to Virtual Fencing: Insights from a Training Deployment Phase |
| title_full_unstemmed | Behavioral Adaptations of Nursing Brangus Cows to Virtual Fencing: Insights from a Training Deployment Phase |
| title_short | Behavioral Adaptations of Nursing Brangus Cows to Virtual Fencing: Insights from a Training Deployment Phase |
| title_sort | behavioral adaptations of nursing brangus cows to virtual fencing insights from a training deployment phase |
| topic | virtual fence conditional behavior animal tracking precision livestock farming GPS location accelerometer and activity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/22/3558 |
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