Abstract
A better understanding of factors that influence learning of cattle with respect to new virtual fencing technology is required to inform the development of best practice training protocols and guide the introduction of the technology to naïve dairy cattle. This experiment examined the effect of age on (1) the efficiency of associative pairing of audio and electrical stimuli in dairy heifers and (2) the retention of this associative pairing over a long period of time without use. Fifty-nine Holstein dairy heifers were used in feed attractant trials where audio cues and electrical stimuli were delivered through manually controlled training collars. Heifers were allocated to four treatments that differed in the age at which naïve animals underwent training; these were 6-months (“6M”; n = 15), 9-months (“9M”; n = 15), 12-months (“12M”; n = 15), or 22-months of age (“22M”; n = 14). Animals in the 6, 9, and 12M treatments underwent a second round of training at 22-months of age (i.e., at the same time as naïve 22M heifers). Heifers received an audio stimulus (2 s; 84 dB) when they breached a virtual fence after which a short electrical stimulus (0.5 s; 3 V, 120 mW) was administered if they continued to move forward. If the animal stopped moving forward no further stimuli were applied. There were no effects of age treatment on the total number of interactions with the virtual fence (P > 0.05). During initial training, 22M heifers received a lower proportion of electrical stimuli (i.e., responded to audio without requiring the electrical stimulus; P < 0.001) and more frequently stopped walking (P = 0.01) and turned back (P = 0.008) following administration of the audio cue compared to younger heifers. Previous training at an early age did not improve the responsiveness of heifers to virtual fencing when re-trained at 22-months of age (P > 0.05). We conclude that dairy heifers should be trained to virtual fencing technology close to calving age rather than earlier in their ontogeny and that stock be re-trained following an extended period without virtual fencing technology.
Highlights
Virtual fencing is an emerging technology that has the potential to reduce labor and fencing costs and facilitate more intense or complex grazing regimes in pasture-based dairy systems
Animals are trained to associate an audio cue that is delivered via a neckband mounted device as they approach a boundary set via global positioning system with a pending electrical stimulus, unless they stop moving toward the virtual boundary (e.g., Campbell et al, 2019; Lomax et al, 2019)
The proportion of interactions with the virtual fence in which an electrical stimulus was delivered was lower at 22M than 9 or 12M [F(2, 40) = 21.2, P < 0.001; Figure 4B]
Summary
Virtual fencing is an emerging technology that has the potential to reduce labor and fencing costs and facilitate more intense or complex grazing regimes in pasture-based dairy systems. Acute stress is expected when animals are undergoing this type of avoidance learning, but this learning is essential to successful operation of virtual fencing technology (Lee et al, 2018). The stress response should be minimal once animals have learnt to avoid the electrical stimulus which restores predictability and controllability to their environment (Lee et al, 2018). Efficient and rapid learning of the association between audio and electrical stimuli may minimize the duration and intensity of the acute stress experienced during training to virtual fencing technology. A better understanding of the factors that influence associative learning of the pairing of the audio and electrical stimuli in cattle is required to inform the development of best practice training protocols and guide the introduction of virtual fencing technology to naïve dairy cattle
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