Hostname: page-component-7dd5485656-zklqj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-10-30T18:57:17.594Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Comparison of locomotion scoring for dairy cows by experienced and inexperienced raters using live or video observation methods

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

A Schlageter-Tello ,
EAM Bokkers ,
PWG Groot Koerkamp ,
T Van Hertem ,
S Viazzi ,
CEB Romanini ,
I Halachmi ,
C Bahr ,
D Berckmans  and
K Lokhorst
A Schlageter-Tello*
Affiliation:
Wageningen UR Livestock Research, PO Box 338, 6700 AH, Wageningen, The Netherlands
EAM Bokkers
Affiliation:
Animal Production Systems Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 338, 6700 AH, Wageningen, The Netherlands
PWG Groot Koerkamp
Affiliation:
Farm Technology Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 317, 6700 AH, Wageningen, The Netherlands
T Van Hertem
Affiliation:
Division Measure, Model & Manage Bioresponses, KU Leuven, PO Box 2456, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural Research Organisation, PO Box 6, Bet-Dagan 50250, Israel
S Viazzi
Affiliation:
Division Measure, Model & Manage Bioresponses, KU Leuven, PO Box 2456, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium
CEB Romanini
Affiliation:
Division Measure, Model & Manage Bioresponses, KU Leuven, PO Box 2456, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium
I Halachmi
Affiliation:
Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural Research Organisation, PO Box 6, Bet-Dagan 50250, Israel
C Bahr
Affiliation:
Division Measure, Model & Manage Bioresponses, KU Leuven, PO Box 2456, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium
D Berckmans
Affiliation:
Division Measure, Model & Manage Bioresponses, KU Leuven, PO Box 2456, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium
K Lokhorst
Affiliation:
Wageningen UR Livestock Research, PO Box 338, 6700 AH, Wageningen, The Netherlands
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: andres.schlagetertello@wur.nl
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Lameness is considered a major problem in dairy production. Lameness is commonly detected with locomotion scores assigned to cows under farm conditions, but raters are often trained and assessed for reliability and agreement by using video recordings. The aim of this study was to evaluate intra- and inter-rater reliability and agreement of experienced and inexperienced raters for locomotion scoring performed live and from video, and to calculate the influence of raters and the method of observation (live or video) on the probability of classifying a cow as lame. Using a five-level locomotion score, cows were scored twice live and twice from video by three experienced and two inexperienced raters for three weeks. Every week different cows were scored. Intra- and inter-rater reliability (expressed as weighted kappa, kw) and agreement (expressed as percentage of agreement, PA) for live/live, live/video and video/video comparisons were determined. A logistic regression was performed to estimate the influence of the rater and method of observation on the probability of classifying a cow as lame in live and video observation. Experienced raters had higher values for intra-rater reliability and agreement for video/video than for live/live and live/video comparison. Inexperienced raters, however, did not differ for intra- and inter-rater reliability and agreement for live/live, live/video and video/video comparisons. The logistic regression indicated that raters were responsible for the main effect and the method of observation (live or from video) had a minor effect on the probability for classifying a cow as lame (locomotion score ≥ 3). In conclusion, under the present experimental conditions, experienced raters performed better than unexperienced raters when locomotion scoring was done from video. Since video observation did not show any important influence in the probability of classifying a cow as lame, video observation seems to be an acceptable method for locomotion scoring and lameness assessment in dairy cows.

Keywords

animal welfarelamenesslive scoringobserversrepeatabilityvideo-scoring

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 24 , Issue 1 , February 2015 , pp. 69 - 79
Copyright
© 2015 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Archer, SC, Green, MJ and Huxley, JN 2010 Association between milk yield and serial locomotion score assessments in UK dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 93: 4045–4053. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2010-3062CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barkema, HW, Westrik, JD, Vankeulen, KAS, Schukken, YH and Brand, A 1994 The effects of lameness on reproductive-performance, milk-production and culling in Dutch dairy farms. Preventative Veterinary Medicine 20: 249–259. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0167-5877(94)90058-2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barker, ZE, Leach, KA, Whay, HR, Bell, NJ and Main, DCJ 2010 Assessment of lameness prevalence and associated risk fac-tors in dairy herds in England and Wales. Journal of Dairy Science 93: 932–941. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2009-2309CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bench, J, Hoffman, E and Wilson, I 1974 A comparison of live and videorecord viewing of infant behavior under sound stimulation. I. Neonates. Developmental Psychobiology 7: 455–464. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/dev.420070509CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bernardi, F, Fregonesi, J, Winckler, C, Veira, DM, von Keyserlingk, MAG and Weary, DM 2009 The stall-design par-adox: neck rails increase lameness but improve udder and stall hygiene. Journal of Dairy Science 92: 3074–3080. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2008-1166CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Booth, CJ, Warnick, LD, Grohn, YT, Maizon, DO, Guard, CL and Janssen, D 2004 Effect of lameness on culling in dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 87: 4115–4122. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(04)73554-7CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Borderas, TF, Fournier, A, Rushen, J and De Passillé, AMB 2008 Effect of lameness on dairy cows’ visits to automatic milking systems. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 88: 1–8. http://dx.d oi.org/10.4141/CJAS07014CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brenninkmeyer, C, Dippel, S, March, S, Brinkmann, J, Winckler, C and Knierim, U 2007 Reliability of a subjective lame-ness scoring system for dairy cows. Animal Welfare 16: 127–129Google Scholar
Brown, LD, Cai, TT, DasGupta, A, Agresti, A, Coull, BA, Casella, G, Corcoran, C, Mehta, C, Ghosh, M and Santner, TJ 2001 Interval estimation for a binomial proportion. Statistical Science 16: 101–133. http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/ss/1009213286CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruijnis, MRN, Hogeveen, H and Stassen, EN 2010 Assessing economic consequences of foot disorders in dairy cattle using a dynamic stochastic simulation model. Journal of Dairy Science 93:2419–2432. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2009-2721CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bruyere, P, Hetreau, T, Ponsart, C, Gatien, J, Buff, S, Disenhaus, C, Giroud, O and Guerin, P 2012 Can video cam-eras replace visual estrus detection in dairy cows? Theriogenology 77: 525–530. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenolo-gy.2011.08.027CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burn, CC and Weir, AAS 2011 Using prevalence indices to aid interpretation and comparison of agreement ratings between two or more observers. Veterinary Journal 188: 166–170. http://d x.doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2010.04.021CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cha, E, Hertl, JA, Bar, D and Grohn, YT 2010 The cost of dif-ferent types of lameness in dairy cows calculated by dynamic pro-gramming. Preventative Veterinary Medicine 97: 1–8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2010.07.011CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Channon, AJ, Walker, AM, Pfau, T, Sheldon, IM and Wilson, AM 2009 Variability of Manson and Leaver locomotion scores assigned to dairy cows by different observers. Veterinary Record 164: 388–392. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/vr.164.13.388CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cicchetti, DV and Allison, T 1971 A new procedure for assessing reliability of scoring EEG sleep recordings. American Journal of EEG Technology 11: 101–109CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, J 1968 Weighted Kappa: nominal scale agreement with provision for scaled disagreement or partial credit. Psychological Bulletin 70: 213–220. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0026256CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cook, NB 2003 Prevalence of lameness among dairy cattle in Wisconsin as a function of housing type and stall surface. Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association 223: 1324–1328. http://dx.doi.org/10.2460/javma.2003.223.1324CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Danscher, AM, Enemark, JMD, Telezhenko, E, Capion, N, Ekstrom, CT and Thoefner, MB 2009 Oligofructose overload induces lameness in cattle. Journey Dairy Science 92: 607–616. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2008-1271CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
de Vet, HCW, Terwee, CB, Knol, DL and Bouter, LM 2006 When to use agreement versus reliability measures. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology 59: 1033–1039. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2005.10.015CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dippel, S, Dolezal, M, Brenninkmeyer, C, Brinkmann, J, March, S, Knierim, U and Winckler, C 2009a Risk factors for lameness in cubicle-housed Austrian Simmental dairy cows. Preventative Veterinary Medicine 90: 102–112. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2009.03.014CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dippel, S, Dolezal, M, Brenninkmeyer, C, Brinkmann, J, March, S, Knierim, U and Winckler, C 2009b Risk factors for lameness in freestall-housed dairy cows across two breeds, farming systems, and countries. Journal of Dairy Science 92: 5476–5486. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2009-2288CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Engel, B, Bruin, G, Andre, G and Buist, W 2003 Assessment of observer performance in a subjective scoring system: visual classification of the gait of cows. Journal of Agricultural Science 140:317–333. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0021859603002983CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Espejo, LA, Endres, MI and Salfer, JA 2006 Prevalence of lame-ness in high-producing Holstein cows housed in freestall barns in Minnesota. Journal of Dairy Science 89: 3052–3058. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(06)72579-6CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fleiss, JL, Cohen, J and Everitt, BS 1969 Large-sample standard errors of kappa and weighted kappa. Psychological Bulletin 72: 323–327. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0028106CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flower, FC, Sedlbauer, M, Carter, E, von Keyserlingk, MAG, Sanderson, DJ and Weary, DM 2008 Analgesics improve the gait of lame dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 91:3010–3014. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2007-0968CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Flower, FC and Weary, DM 2006 Effect of hoof pathologies on subjective assessments of dairy cow gait. Journal of Dairy Science 89:139–146. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(06)72077-XCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Flower, FC and Weary, DM 2009 Gait assessment in dairy cattle. Animal 3: 87–95. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1751731108003194CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garbarino, EJ, Hernandez, JA, Shearer, JK, Risco, CA and Thatcher, WW 2004 Effect of lameness on ovarian activity in postpartum Holstein cows. Journal of Dairy Science 87: 4123–4131. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(04)73555-9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gibbons, J, Vasseur, E, Rushen, J and de Passillé, AM 2012 A training programme to ensure high repeatability of injury scoring of dairy cows. Animal Welfare 21: 379–388. http://dx.doi.org/10.7120/09627286.21.3.379CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Green, LE, Hedges, VJ, Schukken, YH, Blowey, RW and Packington, AJ 2002 The impact of clinical lameness on the milk yield of dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 85: 2250–2256. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(02)74304-XCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoffman, AC, Moore, DA, Wenz, JR and Vanegas, J 2013 Comparison of modeled sampling strategies for estimation of dairy herd lameness prevalence and cow-level variables associat-ed with lameness. Journal of Dairy Science 96: 5746–5755. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2013-6891CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ito, K, von Keyserlingk, MAG, LeBlanc, SJ and Weary, DM 2010 Lying behavior as an indicator of lameness in dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 93: 3553–3560. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2009-2951CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kottner, J, Audigé, L, Brorson, S, Donner, A, Gajewski, BJ, Hróbjartsson, A, Roberts, C, Shoukri, M and Streiner, DL 2011 Guidelines for reporting reliability and agreement studies (GRRAS) were proposed. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology 64: 96–106. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2010.03.002CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Landis, JR and Koch, GG 1977 Measurement of observer agree-ment for categorical data. Biometrics 33: 159–174. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2529310CrossRefGoogle Scholar
March, S, Brinkmann, J and Winkler, C 2007 Effect of training on the inter-observer reliability of lameness scoring in dairy cat-tle. Animal Welfare 16: 131–133Google Scholar
Martin, P and Bateson, P 1993 Measuring Behaviour: An Introductory Guide. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139168342CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCullagh, P and Nelder, JA 1989 Generalized Linear Models. Chapman & Hall: London, UK. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3242-6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nordlund, KV, Cook, NB and Oetzel, GR 2004 Investigation strategies for laminitis problem herds. Journal of Dairy Science 87: E27–E35. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(04)70058-2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O’Callaghan, KA, Cripps, PJ, Downham, DY and Murray, RD 2003 Subjective and objective assessment of pain and discom-fort due to lameness in dairy cattle. Animal Welfare 12: 605–610Google Scholar
Rogowitz, BE, Pappas, TN and Allebach, JP 2001 Human vision and electronic imaging. Journal of Electronic Imaging 10: 10–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/1.1336802Google Scholar
Rushen, J, Pombourcq, E and de Passillé, AM 2007 Validation of two measures of lameness in dairy cows. Applied Animal Behavioural Science 106: 173–177. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ap planim.2006.07.001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schlageter-Tello, A, Bokkers, EAM, Groot Koerkamp, PWG, Van Hertem, T, Viazzi, S, Romanini, CEB, Halachmi, I, Bahr, C, Berckmans, D and Lokhorst, K 2014a Effect of merging levels of locomotion scores for dairy cows on intrarater and interrater reliability and agreement. Journal of Dairy Science 97:5533–5542. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2014-8129CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schlageter-Tello, A, Bokkers, EAM, Groot Koerkamp, PWG, Van Hertem, T, Viazzi, S, Romanini, CEB, Halachmi, I, Bahr, C, Berckmans, D and Lokhorst, K 2014b Manual and automatic locomotion scoring systems in dairy cows: a review. Preventative Veterinary Medicine 116: 12–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2014.06.006CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thomsen, PT, Munksgaard, L and Togersen, FA 2008 Evaluation of a lameness scoring system for dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 91: 119–126. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2007-0496CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vasseur, E, Gibbons, J, Rushen, J and de Passillé, AM 2013 Development and implementation of a training program to ensure high repeatability of body condition scoring of dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 96: 4725–4737. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2012-6359CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Viazzi, S, Bahr, C, Schlageter-Tello, A, Van Hertem, T, Romanini, CEB, Pluk, A, Halachmi, I, Lokhorst, C and Berckmans, D 2013 Analysis of individual classification of lame-ness using automatic measurement of back posture in dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 96: 257–266. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2012-5806CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
von Keyserlingk, MAG, Barrientos, A, Ito, K, Galo, E and Weary, DM 2012 Benchmarking cow comfort on North American freestall dairies: lameness, leg injuries, lying time, facili-ty design, and management for high-producing Holstein dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 95: 7399–7408. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2012-5807CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Walker, SL, Smith, RF, Jones, DN, Routly, JE, Morris, MJ and Dobson, H 2010 The effect of a chronic stressor, lameness, on detailed sexual behaviour and hormonal profiles in milk and plas-ma of dairy cattle. Reproduction in Domestic Animals 45: 109–117. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0531.2008.01263.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, SL, Smith, RF, Routly, JE, Jones, DN, Morris, MJ and Dobson, H 2008 Lameness, activity time-budgets, and estrus expression in dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 91: 4552–4559. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2008-1048CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Warnick, LD, Janssen, D, Guard, CL and Grohn, YT 2001 The effect of lameness on milk production in dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 84: 1988–1997. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(01)74642-5CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Warrens, MJ 2013 Conditional inequalities between Cohen's kappa and weighted kappas. Statistical Methodology 10: 14–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.stamet.2012.05.004CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whay, H 2002 Locomotion scoring and lameness detection in dairy cattle. In Practice 24: 444–449. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/inpract.24.8.444CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winckler, C and Willen, S 2001 The reliability and repeatability of a lameness scoring system for use as an indicator of welfare in dairy cat-tle. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section A-Animal Science 30: 103–107CrossRefGoogle Scholar