A Case Study Using Accelerometers to Identify Illness in Ewes following Unintentional Exposure to Mold-Contaminated Feed

• Published in: Animals (Basel) 2022-01, Vol.12 (3), p.266
• Main Authors: Gurule, Sara C, Flores, Victor V, Forrest, Kylee K, Gifford, Craig A, Wenzel, John C, Tobin, Colin T, Bailey, Derek W, Hernandez Gifford, Jennifer A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: accelerometer; Accelerometers; Animals; Behavior; Case Report; Case studies; Cattle; Change detection; Contamination; Exposure; Feeds; health; Illnesses; Livestock; Metabolites; Microelectromechanical systems; Mold; Morning; mycotoxin; Real time; Remote monitoring; Sensors; Sheep; Veterinary medicine
• ISSN: 2076-2615; 2076-2615
• DOI: 10.3390/ani12030266

Sensor technologies can identify modified animal activity indicating changes in health status. This study investigated sheep behavior before and after illness caused by mold-contaminated feed using tri-axial accelerometers. Ten ewes were fitted with HerdDogg biometric accelerometers. Five ewes were concurrently fitted with Axivity AX3 accelerometers. The flock was exposed to mold-contaminated feed following an unexpected ration change, and observed symptomatic ewes were treated with a veterinarian-directed protocol. Accelerometer data were evaluated 4 days before exposure (d -4 to -1); the day of ration change (d 0); and 4 days post exposure (d 1 to 4). Herddogg activity index correlated to the variability of minimum and standard deviation of motion intensity monitored by the Axivity accelerometer. Herddogg activity index was lower ( < 0.05) during the mornings (0800 to 1100 h) of days 2 to 4 and the evening of day 1 than days -4 to 0. Symptomatic ewes had lower activity levels in the morning and higher levels at night. After accounting for symptoms, activity levels during days 1 to 4 were lower ( < 0.05) than days -4 to 0 the morning after exposure. Results suggest real-time or near-real time accelerometers have potential to detect illness in ewes.