Detection of parturition in cow and mare by a useful warning system

Abstract An automatic device that uses the prolonged elevated position of the tail as an index of parturition in the cow and the mare has been tested, and the tail movements which accompany eliminative behavior and other events have been recorded in pre-partum vs mid-gestation animals. During the last week of pregnancy in the cow and the last 48 h in the mare, the mean elevated positions of the tail, corresponding to urination and defecation, increased from 19.5 to 27.6 from 16.4 to 17.4 per day in the mare. The presence of tail movements lasting more than 2 min in duration occurred at the time of parturition in the cow and the mare, but were also detected occasionally from 2 to 5 days before parturition. The use of a warning system which screens out all tail movements lasting less than 150 sec was found suitable for monitoring the time of parturition, especially in the mare. In this species, the number of false alarms occurred only one or two times during the 48 h preceeding parturition, while in the cow such movements lasting less than 240 sec will eliminate the alarms related to fetal kinesis or uterine contractions rather than parturition.