A digital twin of tropical dairy cattle reveals the impact of temperature stress on feeding behaviour
Livestock are increasingly exposed to heat stress which impacts their welfare and productivity. This report describes the development of a digital twin representing the grazing behaviour, environment and heat stress of a group of crossbred dairy cattle in a Kenyan ranch. The digital representation r...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Informe técnico |
| Language: | Inglés |
| Published: |
International Livestock Research Institute
2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/180503 |
| Summary: | Livestock are increasingly exposed to heat stress which impacts their welfare and productivity. This report describes the development of a digital twin representing the grazing behaviour, environment and heat stress of a group of crossbred dairy cattle in a Kenyan ranch. The digital representation revealed that feeding is significantly reduced during periods of high heat stress with some cattle being much more affected than others. Over a 40-day period, we observed some 500 minutes of grazing time lost due to heat stress by the most heat-susceptible cattle in comparison to the least affected animals. This approach offers a scalable phenotype proxy for animal adaptation to environmental stressors. |
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