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Comparison of locomotion scoring for dairy cows by experienced and inexperienced raters using live or video observation methods

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

A Schlageter-Tello ,
EAM Bokkers ,
PWG Groot Koerkamp ,
T Van Hertem ,
S Viazzi ,
CEB Romanini ,
I Halachmi ,
C Bahr ,
D Berckmans  and
K Lokhorst
A Schlageter-Tello*
Affiliation:
Wageningen UR Livestock Research, PO Box 338, 6700 AH, Wageningen, The Netherlands
EAM Bokkers
Affiliation:
Animal Production Systems Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 338, 6700 AH, Wageningen, The Netherlands
PWG Groot Koerkamp
Affiliation:
Farm Technology Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 317, 6700 AH, Wageningen, The Netherlands
T Van Hertem
Affiliation:
Division Measure, Model & Manage Bioresponses, KU Leuven, PO Box 2456, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural Research Organisation, PO Box 6, Bet-Dagan 50250, Israel
S Viazzi
Affiliation:
Division Measure, Model & Manage Bioresponses, KU Leuven, PO Box 2456, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium
CEB Romanini
Affiliation:
Division Measure, Model & Manage Bioresponses, KU Leuven, PO Box 2456, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium
I Halachmi
Affiliation:
Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural Research Organisation, PO Box 6, Bet-Dagan 50250, Israel
C Bahr
Affiliation:
Division Measure, Model & Manage Bioresponses, KU Leuven, PO Box 2456, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium
D Berckmans
Affiliation:
Division Measure, Model & Manage Bioresponses, KU Leuven, PO Box 2456, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium
K Lokhorst
Affiliation:
Wageningen UR Livestock Research, PO Box 338, 6700 AH, Wageningen, The Netherlands
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: andres.schlagetertello@wur.nl
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Abstract

Lameness is considered a major problem in dairy production. Lameness is commonly detected with locomotion scores assigned to cows under farm conditions, but raters are often trained and assessed for reliability and agreement by using video recordings. The aim of this study was to evaluate intra- and inter-rater reliability and agreement of experienced and inexperienced raters for locomotion scoring performed live and from video, and to calculate the influence of raters and the method of observation (live or video) on the probability of classifying a cow as lame. Using a five-level locomotion score, cows were scored twice live and twice from video by three experienced and two inexperienced raters for three weeks. Every week different cows were scored. Intra- and inter-rater reliability (expressed as weighted kappa, kw) and agreement (expressed as percentage of agreement, PA) for live/live, live/video and video/video comparisons were determined. A logistic regression was performed to estimate the influence of the rater and method of observation on the probability of classifying a cow as lame in live and video observation. Experienced raters had higher values for intra-rater reliability and agreement for video/video than for live/live and live/video comparison. Inexperienced raters, however, did not differ for intra- and inter-rater reliability and agreement for live/live, live/video and video/video comparisons. The logistic regression indicated that raters were responsible for the main effect and the method of observation (live or from video) had a minor effect on the probability for classifying a cow as lame (locomotion score ≥ 3). In conclusion, under the present experimental conditions, experienced raters performed better than unexperienced raters when locomotion scoring was done from video. Since video observation did not show any important influence in the probability of classifying a cow as lame, video observation seems to be an acceptable method for locomotion scoring and lameness assessment in dairy cows.

Keywords

animal welfarelamenesslive scoringobserversrepeatabilityvideo-scoring
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 24 , Issue 1 , February 2015 , pp. 69 - 79
Copyright
© 2015 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

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