Beef cattle
Multiple technology areas
Animal technology
Automation
Robotics
Research project
The detection of suckling is a good indicator of wellbeing, as a newborn calf must be able to stand, seek out the udder and attach to the teats of his mother. This project aims to use remote monitoring devices such as GPS trackers attached to cows to find out if a calf has been born, whether it was born alive and if it suckled normally or not. This would provide insights into the key drivers of production of commercial beef herds in northern Australia.