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Behavior assessment and applications for BRD diagnosis: beef

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2021

John T. Richeson Open the ORCID record for John T. Richeson [Opens in a new window]
John T. Richeson*
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Sciences, West Texas A&M University, PO Box 60998, Canyon, TX79016, USA
*
Author for correspondence: John T. Richeson, Department of Agricultural Sciences, West Texas A&M University, PO Box 60998, Canyon, TX79016, USA. E-mail: jricheson@wtamu.edu
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Abstract

Assessment of behavior is a longstanding strategy to assist the diagnosis of clinical bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in beef cattle. Cattle with systemic inflammation caused by infectious pathogen(s) display predictable behavioral adaptations compared to healthy cohorts. Behavioral alterations in BRD-affected cattle include lethargy, social isolation, and anorexia. However, behavior assessment to support BRD case definition in the production setting is challenging because: (1) other bovine diseases cause behavior alterations similar to BRD; (2) cattle have inherent prey instinct to disguise sickness behavior during human evaluation; (3) labor constraints dictate very brief observation of animal behavior; and (4) traditional behavior assessment is subjective and agreement is often poor. Some of these challenges may be overcome with the use of advanced technologies that allow continuous, remote, and objective behavior assessment of individual cattle. Automated methodologies for behavior assessment include three-axis accelerometers that quantify physical behaviors, systems that document feeding/watering behavior, and triangulation systems that document spatial behavior. Each of these behavior-monitoring approaches generates unique information and may facilitate early detection of BRD compared to traditional methods. Nevertheless, adoption of behavior assessment technologies for BRD diagnosis in beef operations hinges upon improved detection, positive return on investment, and successful integration within existing BRD management practices.

Keywords

Beef cattlebehaviorbovine respiratory diseasetechnology
Type
Special issue: Papers from Bovine Respiratory Disease Symposium
Information
Animal Health Research Reviews , Volume 21 , Issue 2 , December 2020 , pp. 192 - 195
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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