scholarly journals Pre-Exposure to an Electrical Stimulus Primes Associative Pairing of Audio and Electrical Stimuli for Dairy Heifers in a Virtual Fencing Feed Attractant Trial

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Verdon ◽  
Caroline Lee ◽  
Danila Marini ◽  
Richard Rawnsley
Keyword(s):  
Training Session ◽  
Electrical Stimulus ◽  
Lower Proportion ◽  
Dairy Heifers ◽  
The Third ◽  
Electric Fence ◽  
Electric Fencing ◽  
Audio Stimulus ◽  
Electrical Stimuli ◽  
Strip Grazing

This experiment examined whether pre-exposure to an electrical stimulus from electric fencing attenuates associative pairing of audio and electrical stimuli in dairy heifers. Two treatments were applied to 30 weaned heifers naive to electric fencing. Heifers in the ‘electric-fence’ treatment were exposed to an electrified perimeter fence and two periods of strip-grazing using electrified poly-wire. Control heifers remained naïve to electric fencing. The pairing of audio and electrical stimuli was assessed in a feed attractant trial using manually controlled training collars. Heifers received an audio stimulus (2 s; 84 dB) when they breached a virtual fence after which a short electrical stimulus (0.5 s; 120 mW) was administered if they continued to move forward. If the animal stopped moving forward no further stimuli were applied. By the third training session, electric-fence heifers received a lower proportion of electrical stimuli than control heifers (p = 0.03). The more exploratory interactions a heifer had with the electric fence, the lower the proportion of electrical stimuli she received during training (rs = −0.77, p = 0.002). We conclude that experience with electrical fencing enhanced the salience of the electrical stimulus delivered by manual collars used for virtual fence training.

scholarly journals The Effects of Dairy Heifer Age at Training on Rate of Learning and Retention of Learning in a Virtual Fencing Feed Attractant Trial

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Verdon ◽  
Richard Rawnsley
Keyword(s):  
Best Practice ◽  
Extended Period ◽  
Electrical Stimulus ◽  
Dairy Heifers ◽  
Audio Cues ◽  
Rate Of Learning ◽  
Audio Stimulus ◽  
Electrical Stimuli ◽  
Previous Training ◽  
Effect Of Age

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.

scholarly journals A Case Study on the Use of Virtual Fencing to Intensively Graze Angus Heifers Using Moving Front and Back-Fences

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Verdon ◽  
Brian Horton ◽  
Richard Rawnsley
Keyword(s):  
Close Contact ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Electrical Stimulus ◽  
Weight Changes ◽  
Exclusion Zone ◽  
Visual Contact ◽  
Electric Fencing ◽  
Virtual Boundary ◽  
Electrical Stimuli ◽  
Angus Heifers

Virtual fencing contains and controls grazing cattle using sensory cues rather than physical fences. The technology comprises a neckband-mounted device that delivers an audio cue when the animal nears a virtual boundary that has been set via global positioning system, followed by an electrical stimulus if it walks beyond the boundary. Virtual fencing has successfully been used to intensively graze cattle using a simple virtual front-fence, but a more complex intensive grazing system comprising moving virtual front and back-fences has not been assessed. We studied the effectiveness of virtual fencing technology to contain groups of Angus heifers within grazing cells defined by semi-permanent electric side-fences and virtual front and back-fences, compared to groups of heifers contained in cells defined only by electric fencing. Four groups of 10 Angus heifers were randomly allocated to a “control” (grazed with a conventional electric front and back-fence, n = 2 groups) or “virtual fence” treatment (grazed with a virtual front and back-fence, n = 2 groups). The groups of heifers grazed four adjacent experimental paddocks that were established using TechnoGrazing™ infrastructure. An estimated 9.5 kg pasture DM/heifer.day was offered in each of three 3 day allocations (9 day study period). Data collected include cues delivered by the neckbands, time beyond the virtual boundaries, pasture consumption for each allocation and heifer live weight changes over the study period. The virtual front and back-fences successfully contained one group of heifers in their grazing cell, but the second group of heifers spent an increasing amount of time in the exclusion zone during the second and third allocations and consequently received an increasing number of audio and electrical stimuli. There were no effects of electric or virtual-fence treatment on live weight change or pasture utilization. By grazing heifers in adjacent paddocks our experimental design may have produced a motivation for some heifers to cross the virtual boundary to regain close contact with familiar conspecifics. Despite this, valuable learnings were gained from this study. Most notably, virtual fencing should not be used to manage cattle that have close visual contact to other mobs. We conclude that the successful application of virtual fencing technology needs to accommodate the natural behaviors of cattle.

scholarly journals Training dairy bull calves to stay within light-built electric fences (Research Note)

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 121 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. MARTISKAINEN ◽  
L. TUOMISTO ◽  
A. HUUSKONEN
Keyword(s):  
Research Note ◽  
Training Period ◽  
Training Procedure ◽  
Bull Calves ◽  
Electric Fence ◽  
Electric Shocks ◽  
Electric Fencing ◽  
Dairy Bull

Training cattle to avoid electric fences before turnout to grazing reduces the risk of the animals breaking out from their paddock. We investigated the time needed for dairy bull calves to learn to avoid a light-built electric fence. Nineteen dairy bull calves were trained to an electric fence in a training yard during seven days. The number of electric shocks the animals received from the training fence was recorded continuously. After the training period, the calves were turned to pasture. Nine of the animals were also grazed the following summer as yearlings, and observed before turnout in a smaller enclosure. The calves got more shocks from the fence during training hour 1 than during any of the following seven hours. The number of shocks the calves received from the fence also declined from training day 1 to 2 and from training day 3 to 4. The results indicate that the dairy bull calves learned to avoid an electric fence quickly, even within an hour from release into the training yard. A simple training procedure was sufficient to ensure that the animals could be grazed in and would avoid a light-built electric fencing system as calves and, even after a winter-housing period, as bulls.;

scholarly journals Commercial practice of out-wintering dairy heifers in Great Britain

2020 ◽  
Vol 82 ◽  
pp. 161-169
Author(s):  
Norton E. Atkins ◽  
Keith E. Walley ◽  
Liam A. Sinclair
Keyword(s):  
Great Britain ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Herd Size ◽  
Dairy Farmers ◽  
Commercial Practice ◽  
Dairy Heifers ◽  
Supplementary Feed ◽  
Strip Grazing

The majority of dairy cattle in Great Britain (GB) are housed during winter but replacement heifers are out-wintered on some farms, a practice that may reduce the need for high capital-cost housing and facilitate herd expansion. Dairy farmers that were out-wintering replacement heifers in GB in 2012 were surveyed to determine current practice and attitudes. A typical system involved heifers strip grazing pasture or a crop, with baled grass silage as supplementary feed; strongly resembling outdoor wintering systems in New Zealand. Many used more than one grazed forage; predominantly, pasture on 68%, kale on 53% and fodder beet on 33% of farms. Supplementary feed was 44% of the diet in younger, and 35% in older heifers. Although farms were approximately three times larger than the national average and 60% were expanding, expanding herd size was not the primary reason for out-wintering, with the main reasons being to reduce cost and improve animal health and welfare. Farmers that out-wintered heifers typically reported good animal average dairy gain of 0.6 kg/d and high body condition, however, this contrasts with some measured performance in GB. Farmers may benefit from accurate feed allocation and monitoring heifer live weight during winter to ensure high performance.  

Nociceptive Temporalis Inhibitory Reflexes Evoked by Co2-Laser Stimulation in Tension-Type Headache

Cephalalgia ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 361-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
M de Tommaso ◽  
M Guido ◽  
G Libro ◽  
L Losito ◽  
V Sciruicchio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Co2 Laser ◽  
Electrical Stimulus ◽  
Tension Type Headache ◽  
Nociceptive Response ◽  
Temporalis Muscle ◽  
Laser Stimulation ◽  
Type Headache ◽  
Tension Type Headaches ◽  
Electrical Stimuli ◽  
Second Period

The aim of the study was to evaluate the laser-induced suppression periods of the temporalis muscle in patients with tension-type headache, compared with the pattern of temporalis activity suppression induced by electrical stimulation. Fifteen patients with chronic and 10 with episodic tension-type headaches were selected. Suppression periods were recorded simultaneously from both temporalis muscles using both electrical stimuli and CO2-laser stimuli. A significant reduction in the later electrically induced suppression period was found in both tension-type headache groups. Laser stimulation induced a first suppression period (LSP1) with a latency of about 50 ms in all patients. The features of LSP1 were similar across groups. The LSP1 should correspond to the first suppression period induced by electrical stimulus, which is partly a nociceptive response, whereas the second period seemed negligibly linked with the activation of pain-related afferents, though probably their activation may contribute to increase the reflex duration and to emphasize abnormalities in tension-type headache.

scholarly journals Probing and predicting ganglion cell responses to smooth electrical stimulation in healthy and blind mouse retina

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larissa Höfling ◽  
Philipp Berens ◽  
Günther Zeck
Keyword(s):  
Microelectrode Array ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Gaussian White Noise ◽  
Electrical Stimulus ◽  
Mouse Retina ◽  
Linear Filters ◽  
Large Space ◽  
Retinal Pathways ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Electrical Stimuli

ABSTRACTRetinal implants are used to replace lost photoreceptors in blind patients suffering from retinopathies such as retinitis pigmentosa. Patients wearing implants regain some rudimentary visual function. However, it is severely limited compared to normal vision because non-physiological stimulation strategies fail to selectively activate different retinal pathways at sufficient spatial and temporal resolution. The development of improved stimulation strategies is rendered difficult by the large space of potential stimuli. Here we systematically explore a subspace of potential stimuli by electrically stimulating healthy and blind mouse retina in epiretinal configuration using smooth Gaussian white noise delivered by a high-density CMOS-based microelectrode array. We identify linear filters of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) by fitting a linear-nonlinear-Poisson (LNP) model. Our stimulus evokes fast, reliable, and spatially confined spiking responses in RGC which are accurately predicted by the LNP model. Furthermore, we find diverse shapes of linear filters in the linear stage of the model, suggesting diverse preferred electrical stimuli of RGCs. Our smooth electrical stimulus could provide a starting point of a model-guided search for improved stimuli for retinal prosthetics.

scholarly journals The Nerve Net of the Actinozoa

1935 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. F. A. PANTIN
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Stimulus ◽  
Electrical Stimulus ◽  
Conducting Layer ◽  
Electrical Excitation ◽  
Sense Organs ◽  
Nerve Net ◽  
Duration Relationship ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Electrical Stimuli ◽  
Stimulation Of

1. Certain features have been supposed to characterise the nerve net. Response is said to vary with the strength of stimulus: and while conduction may occasionally take place in an all or nothing manner, yet in general conduction is supposed to take place with a decrement. To investigate these points, the responses of Calliactis parasitica to mechanical and electrical stimuli have been investigated. 2. Electrical excitation of the column of the anemone shows that a response results from a succession of stimuli and not from a single stimulus. The character of the response is independent of the strength of the individual stimuli. It depends solely upon the number of stimuli and upon the interval of time between them. All responses are highly developed facilitation phenomena. Each electrical stimulus induces a single excitation impulse in the nerve net. 3. But a mechanical stimulus is followed by the discharge of a battery of impulses from the sense organs. These increase in number and frequency with the intensity of the mechanical stimulus. A response may therefore vary with the strength of a mechanical stimulus, but only in relation to the number and frequency of impulses discharged by the sense-organs. 4. Stimulation of the intact column of the anemone shows complete conduction over its whole nerve net. Mechanical stimulation of the disc appears to show conduction with a decrement. Such a stimulus excites a battery of impulses. Each impulse is conducted without decrement, but it facilitates the entrance of succeeding impulses into adjoining sections of the disc nerve net. There is no decrement of excitation strength under any conditions in the nerve net. But there may be a numerical decrement as a battery of impulses spreads from a stimulus. 5. The nerve net is physiologically similar to ordinary nerve. A method is described for determining the strength duration relationship for the threshold of electrical excitation of the nerve net. The relation is of the usual form with a chronaxie of about 2-4σ. The nerve net has well-defined relative and absolute refractory periods: the latter is about 40-65σ. The relation of facilitation to refractory period is considered. 6. The whole nerve net of the column of the anemone acts as a conducting layer in its most simple form, directly transmitting excitation from the stimulus to the muscle. Facilitation takes place between the nerve net and its appropriate muscles. Conduction in the disc nerve net involves facilitation between parts of the nerve net in addition. 7. The true characteristics of the nerve net are diffuse conduction and the extreme development of facilitation. Diffuse conduction may be total, as in the column, or restricted, as in the disc of Calliactis. Facilitation may be between the nerve net and the muscles, or between parts of the nerve net.

scholarly journals The Effect of Virtual Fencing Stimuli on Stress Responses and Behavior in Sheep

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tellisa Kearton ◽  
Danila Marini ◽  
Frances Cowley ◽  
Susan Belson ◽  
Caroline Lee
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Electrical Stimulus ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cortisol Response ◽  
Treatment Control ◽  
Welfare Impact ◽  
Electrical Stimuli ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Vaginal Temperature

To understand the animal welfare impact of virtual fencing stimuli (audio cue ‘beep’ and electrical stimulus) on naïve sheep, it is necessary to assess stress responses during the animal’s first encounters with these stimuli. Eighty Merino ewes were exposed to one of the following treatments (n = 16 animals per treatment): Control (no stimuli), beep, dog bark, manual restraint, and electrical stimulus. Collars were used to apply the audio and electrical stimuli. The restraint treatment showed an elevated cortisol response compared with the control (p < 0.05), but there were no differences between the other treatments and the control. There were no differences between treatments in vaginal temperature (p > 0.05). For behaviors, the sheep receiving the bark and beep treatments were more vigilant compared to the control (p < 0.05), there were more aversive responses observed in the electrical stimulus treatment compared to the control. Together, the responses showed that the beep stimuli were largely benign, the bark stimuli was minimally aversive, the electrical stimuli was acutely aversive, and the restraint was moderately aversive. These data suggest that, for sheep, their first exposure to the virtual fencing stimuli should be perceived as less aversive than a commonly used restraint procedure.

Restricting the movements of brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) on farmland with electric fencing

1992 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
PE Cown ◽  
DS Rhodes
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Bovine Tuberculosis ◽  
Trichosurus Vulpecula ◽  
Electric Fence ◽  
Electric Fencing

A trial was conducted to test whether an electric fence would limit local movements of brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) on farmland in the central North I. of New Zealand. If effective, such a system could be used to reduce possum and cattle interactions and the spread of bovine tuberculosis. A 3-km-long, 9-strand electric fence was erected from ridge to ridge across a valley catchment of about 160 ha. Possums were live-trapped and released at bush patches within the study area and in open areas immediately adjacent to the electric fence. Only about 30% of possums caught at local bush patches were ever retrapped at the fence, and most were caught only once at the fence. About a third of possums caught at the fence were trapped at least once on both sides of the fence. The electric fence reduced possum movements through the fenced area by about 60-80%. Most possums trapped at the fence had come from bush patches within 200 m of the fence. When the fence was switched off, possum captures on the outside increased rapidly. The effectiveness of the fence was reduced because of frequent voltage reduction by earthing from a wide variety of causes, and because possums learned to move around the ends of the fence and the fences along the farm roads. Improvements to fence design are discussed.

Effects of age and liveweight of dairy heifers at first calving on multiple lactation production

2004 ◽  
Vol 44 (10) ◽  
pp. 969 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. Dobos ◽  
K. S. Nandra ◽  
K. Riley ◽  
W. J. Fulkerson ◽  
A. Alford ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Milk Fat ◽  
Milk Protein ◽  
Total Production ◽  
Combined Effects ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Dairy Heifers ◽  
The Third ◽  
Grazed Pasture ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Supplementary Feed

This paper reports on both the individual and combined effects of age and liveweight at first calving (AFC and LWFC, respectively) for Australian Holstein–Friesian heifers on multiple lactation production. One hundred and thirty-five heifers were allocated to 1 of 3 AFC treatments. Within each AFC treatment, heifers were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 LWFC treatments. From 16 weeks of age until first calving, heifers in all groups grazed pasture and were provided with supplementary feed when the quantity and quality of pasture was inadequate to meet growth requirements. Mean AFC and LWFC achieved were 25.1 ± 0.121, 29.9 ± 0.11 and 33.9 ± 0.09 months and 498 ± 4.09, 549 ± 5.40 and 595 ± 5.09 kg, respectively. As AFC increased, total production over the first 3 lactations increased. For each month's delay in AFC an extra 56.7 L milk, 1.78 kg milk fat, 1.45 kg milk protein and 3.23 kg fat + protein over the first 3 lactations was produced but by the third lactation the response was minimal. By end of third lactation the remaining heifers that calved at 25.1 months AFC were producing similar amounts to those that calved at the older AFC. As LWFC increased from 498 to 595 kg, production over the first 3 lactations increased. The response to an extra kilogram increase in LWFC was 4.82 L milk, 0.20 kg milk fat, 0.18 kg milk protein and 0.38 kg fat + protein over the first 3 lactations. The greatest benefit was when LWFC increased from 498 to 549 kg. Increasing LWFC from 549 to 595 kg did not significantly increase milk, milk fat and milk protein yields from the second to third lactation. The combined effects of AFC and LWFC indicated that to reduce the negative effects on production due to decreasing AFC, LWFC would have to increase by 7.2, 2.9 and 2.2 kg for each month decrease in AFC (for milk, fat and protein production, respectively). By the end of the third lactation, only 58 heifers remained in the herd. The number of heifers remaining within the 9 groups ranged from 4 to 10. Increasing LWFC while decreasing AFC reduced the chances of a heifer remaining in the herd but this may have been biased by the feeding regime imposed during lactation. Responses to increasing AFC decreased as the number of lactations increased, indicating that heifers calving at younger AFC produce similar amounts to their older herd-mates by the end of third lactation. Increasing LWFC from 498 to 549 kg had the greatest benefits for yield, indicating a possible maximum LWFC of 549 kg for our study. Therefore, the negative effects due to decreasing AFC can be offset in part, by increasing LWFC. However, on-farm resources and ultimately milk price will determine the choice of combination of AFC and LWFC.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document