| Title | A mechanical animal-powered cow spacer |
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication | 1983 |
| Authors | Anderson D.M., Mertz D.L. |
| Journal | Journal of Range Management |
| Volume | 36 |
| Pagination | 542-543 |
| Date Published | July 1, 1983 |
| Keywords | animal-powered, automatic spacing, cow spacer, mechanical |
| Abstract | With the integration of electronic and mechanical devices, accurate, automatic data acquisition systems are used in agriculture research with animals. Fiby et al. (1979) reported that weight data were lost because cows bunched together as they moved over the weighing platform. To control the tendency for cattle to follow each other (Grandin, 1980) and alleviate bunching, we developed a low-cost, practical, easy-to-build, low-maintenance device to space individual animals as they move single file through a chute. The mechanical animal-powered cow spacer is one component of an automatic, electronic weighing/identification system now used to monitor individual weight changes of cattle grazing semidesert rangeland on daily basis (Anderson et al., 1981). The cow spacer would also be effective in commercial operations in which automatic spacing of animals is desirable. |
| URL | /files/bibliography/228.pdf |
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Science-based management strategies for sustainability of agriculture and other land uses
