Abstract
Simple SummaryThis study proposes a method and device for the intelligent mobile monitoring of oestrus on a sow farm; this type of monitoring is applied in the field of sow production. A boar model that imitates the sounds, smells, and touch of real boars was built to detect the oestrus in sows after weaning. The models resulted in recognition accuracy rates of 96.12%, 98.25%, and 90.00%. The interaction times and frequencies between the sow and the bionic boar and the static behaviours of both ears during heat were further analysed. The results show that there is a strong correlation between the duration of contact between the oestrus sow and the bionic boar and the static behaviours of both ears. The average contact duration between the sows in oestrus and the bionic boars was 29.7 s/3 min, and the average duration in which the ears of the oestrus sows remained static was 41.3 s/3 min. The interactions between the sow and the bionic boar were used as the basis for judging the sow’s oestrus states. This approach can more accurately obtain the oestrus duration of a sow and provide a scientific reference for the sow’s conception time.This study proposes a method and device for the intelligent mobile monitoring of oestrus on a sow farm, applied in the field of sow production. A bionic boar model that imitates the sounds, smells, and touch of real boars was built to detect the oestrus of sows after weaning. Machine vision technology was used to identify the interactive behaviour between empty sows and bionic boars and to establish deep belief network (DBN), sparse autoencoder (SAE), and support vector machine (SVM) models, and the resulting recognition accuracy rates were 96.12%, 98.25%, and 90.00%, respectively. The interaction times and frequencies between the sow and the bionic boar and the static behaviours of both ears during heat were further analysed. The results show that there is a strong correlation between the duration of contact between the oestrus sow and the bionic boar and the static behaviours of both ears. The average contact duration between the sows in oestrus and the bionic boars was 29.7 s/3 min, and the average duration in which the ears of the oestrus sows remained static was 41.3 s/3 min. The interactions between the sow and the bionic boar were used as the basis for judging the sow’s oestrus states. In contrast with the methods of other studies, the proposed innovative design for recyclable bionic boars can be used to check emotions, and machine vision technology can be used to quickly identify oestrus behaviours. This approach can more accurately obtain the oestrus duration of a sow and provide a scientific reference for a sow’s conception time.
Highlights
Introduction distributed under the terms andAt present, precision livestock farming (PLF) research has attracted the attention of many researchers [1]
By checking oestrus with a bionic boar, one can use the degree of Regarding weaned sows, mastering detection of the oestrus statuses of sows is a key response exhibited by a sow as a reference for sow oestrus analysis
Based on the deep belief network (DBN), sparse autoencoder (SAE), and support vector machine (SVM) models, we identified the response behaviours of weaned sows, including gnawing on railings, standing still, touching the snout of a bionic weaned sows, including gnawing on railings, standing still, touching the snout of a bionic boar, standing with both ears motionless, and swinging their heads wildly
Summary
Introduction distributed under the terms andAt present, precision livestock farming (PLF) research has attracted the attention of many researchers [1]. The breeding of pigs in a noncontact, stress-free, and healthful manner has always been a research field that scholars worldwide have focused on [2,3,4]. During the process of pig breeding, sows play an important role. Oestrus state, one can determine the best mating times of sows and increase the overall embryo implantation rate. The oestrus period is the period in which a sow can accept a boar and achieve ovulation and conception. The oestrus behaviours of sows are cyclical and transient. When a sow exhibits oestrus behaviour, it needs to be bred in time; otherwise, the breeder will miss the optimal breeding time and must wait for another oestrus cycle. Empty sows lead to increased breeding costs and reduced production efficiency [5,6]
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