Liveweight, electronics and range cattle production

TitleLiveweight, electronics and range cattle production
Publication TypeConference Paper
Year of Publication1985
AuthorsAnderson D.M., Weeks D.L.
Conference Name38th Annual Meeting, Society for Range Management
Date Published1985
Keywordselectronics, liveweight, production, range cattle, stress
AbstractWith the use of mechanical and electronic equipment, it was possible, by exploiting an animal's need for water, to eliminate the stress often associated with the frequent weighing of individual cows while automating the entire process. It was then possible to evaluate how the frequency of obtaining individual cattle liveweights would influence the liveweight profile of a single herd of cows grazing arid southern New Mexico rangeland between July 1980 and February 1983. Approximately every 28 days, individual cows were weighed using conventional procedures. Between the 28 day weighings, each cow was automatically weighed before being allowed to drink water each time it entered a corral which contained drinking water. The liveweight profile obtained from the two weighing procedures differed (P<.10). If a cow was assumed to be biologically the same over seven consecutive days, it was possible to detect a change (P <.10) in her liveweight profile on the eighth consecutive day after automatic weighing began. Thus, the cause and effect of events involving a change in liveweight, such as parturition, were monitored and liveweight data became a tool rather than a product of management.