Lameness in beef bulls during the breeding season can reduce their ability to reproduce, but early detection of lameness can minimize these impacts. This study investigated how remote monitoring technologies (RMT, i.e., collars equipped with accelerometers and GPS) can estimate behavioral changes in bulls to detect lameness early. The study monitored 25 bulls over 2 breeding seasons using RMT and video observations. Videos were analyzed to visually identify lame bulls. Different behaviors were estimated from the RMT data and the behaviors of lame and non-lame bulls during the same period were compared. Lame bulls were compared to a baseline period when bulls were not lame. The same period of non-lame bulls was compared to their own baseline. Overall, behavioral metrics related to movement (i.e., walking, distance traveled, velocity, and home range) were reduced in lame bulls up to 3 days before lameness was identified, either in comparison to their baseline or when comparing lame and non-lame bulls. These behavioral differences were not observed in non-lame compared to their baseline. These findings suggest that RMT can be used for the early detection of lameness in beef bulls. The study highlights the potential of RMT to improve the health and productivity of beef bulls by enabling timely interventions.

Read the full article in the Journal of Animal Science.