Evaluation of an Accelerometer-Based Device for Testing the Softness of Bedding Materials Used for Livestock
Karina Regina Weimar,
Barbara Pichlbauer,
Christian Guse,
Johannes Peter Schramel,
Christian Peham,
Marc Drillich,
Michael Iwersen
Affiliations
Karina Regina Weimar
Clinical Unit for Herd Health Management in Ruminants, University Clinic for Ruminants, Department for Farm Animals and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria
Barbara Pichlbauer
Clinical Unit for Herd Health Management in Ruminants, University Clinic for Ruminants, Department for Farm Animals and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria
Christian Guse
Clinical Unit for Herd Health Management in Ruminants, University Clinic for Ruminants, Department for Farm Animals and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria
Johannes Peter Schramel
Movement Science Group, University Equine Hospital, Department for Small Animals and Horses, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria
Christian Peham
Movement Science Group, University Equine Hospital, Department for Small Animals and Horses, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria
Marc Drillich
Clinical Unit for Herd Health Management in Ruminants, University Clinic for Ruminants, Department for Farm Animals and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria
Michael Iwersen
Clinical Unit for Herd Health Management in Ruminants, University Clinic for Ruminants, Department for Farm Animals and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria
Lying is a high priority behavior for dairy cows. As the quality of cubicles can influence their lying time, the interest in finding objective methods to assess the quality of floors has increased substantially over recent decades. This study aimed to evaluate a technical device for measuring elastic properties of floors for the application to bedding materials for cows. Ten different floor types were used: horse manure, recycled manure solids, bark mulch, sand, sawdust, and three different rubber mats. Horse manure and bark mulch were additionally tested with chopped straw as a top layer. Two devices of the same kind and two examiners were available for performing comparative measurements. Regression analyses and an ANOVA were conducted to compare the devices, examiners, and different surfaces. Most of the floors differed significantly from each other. Sawdust was the softest material, followed by sand and recycled manure solids. The agreement between the devices (Lin’s concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) > 0.99, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (rS) = 0.99) and examiners (CCC = 0.99, rS = 0.99) was almost perfect. These findings indicate that this device can be used as a new method for assessing the softness of bedding materials for dairy cows objectively.
