DE102020107269A1 - Grazing animal husbandry procedures and grazing animal husbandry arrangements - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of keeping grazing animals (2) on a pasture (1), each grazing animal (2) having at least one individual identification feature and at least one identification location (5) being arranged on the pasture (1), characterized by the steps of: detecting the grazing animals (2) at the recognition location (5) according to their individual recognition feature as an event; Monitoring the frequency of the events of appearance; and transmitting the events and / or issuing warning signals. The invention also relates to a grazing animal keeping arrangement for grazing animals on a pasture (1) bounded by an electric pasture fence (3) with a power supply unit (30), each grazing animal (2) having at least one individual identification feature and at least one identification location (5) on the pasture ( 1) is arranged, in particular for a grazing animal keeping method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at the detection location (5) first sensors for detecting the presence of a grazing animal (2) and the respective individual identification feature are provided, which are provided with a data acquisition and transmission device (4) are operatively connected, the data acquisition and transmission device (4) being connected to the voltage supply unit (30).

Description

The invention relates to a method of keeping grazing animals for grazing animals on a pasture, each grazing animal having at least one individual identification feature and at least one identification location being arranged on the pasture. The invention further relates to a grazing animal keeping arrangement for grazing animals on a pasture bordered by an electric pasture fence with a power supply unit, each grazing animal having at least one individual identification feature and at least one identification location being arranged on the pasture.

Pasture animal husbandry meets the highest social requirements in terms of animal welfare, preservation of biodiversity and species protection. However, this type of husbandry is characterized by low economic returns, especially with regard to the remuneration of the hours spent on grazing animals and monitoring. Therefore, useful tools for localizing and / or checking the health of farm animals are required in order to limit the farmer's on-site work in the pastures to acute individual cases.

The localization of animals in stables for agricultural use is already well advanced. Manufacturers can use various radio technologies for localization, whereby the limited space and the available electrical network energy make it easy to create an infrastructure for radio localization. Depending on the technology used in buildings, localization accuracies of around 30 cm can be achieved.

In the outdoor area, on the other hand, there are problems with the location infrastructure for livestock husbandry, since relatively large areas have to be covered and there is neither stable electrical network energy nor sufficiently stable radio networks for data transmission.

It is therefore the object of the invention to provide a method for keeping grazing animals and a keeping arrangement for grazing animals in which the grazing animals on a pasture are adequately monitored and the data determined are transmitted to the farmer for further treatment.

This object is achieved with a grazing animal keeping method according to claim 1 and with a grazing animal keeping arrangement according to claim 8.

If a certain grazing animal is detected at a detection location according to its individual identification features, its presence on the pasture can be detected. Since the frequency of the occurrences of the appearance is also monitored, the regular return to this detection location or between different detection locations can also be recorded and evaluated. It is important that these events are transmitted for further monitoring and evaluation or evaluated on site and at least a warning signal is output if problems can be derived from the recorded events. The problems can be defined in advance and / or recognized by a learning system.

The detection location can be, for example, a watering place on the pasture, to which every grazing animal has to appear regularly to take up water. As an alternative or in addition, the detection location can also be a feeding station to which each grazing animal appears from time to time to take up food. Of course, other detection locations at which a grazing animal will appear regularly are also conceivable.

According to the device, this can be organized in a pasture bordered by an electric pasture fence with a power supply unit in that first sensors for detecting the presence of a grazing animal and the respective individual recognition feature are provided at the detection location, which are operatively connected to a data acquisition and transmission device, the data acquisition and transmission device is connected to the power supply unit. This makes it possible for the data acquisition and transmission device to be connected to the power supply unit for the electric pasture fence and to receive a sufficiently stable power supply. Such power supply units on electric pasture fences are known as units supplied with rechargeable batteries, in which the batteries are regularly exchanged by the farmers or charged on the spot by solar power and / or small wind turbines.

In addition, the electric fence can also serve as a transport line around the pasture for data transmission of sensor data to the data acquisition and transmission device connected to the electric fence.

If the first sensors are motion detectors, cameras and / or RFID readers, the presence of a grazing animal and in particular also the individual identification feature of this one grazing animal can be recognized by, for example, RFID chip ear tags or by facial recognition analyzes based on the camera images.

Because second sensors are arranged at the detection location, which detect additional features of the respective detected grazing animal, the second sensors being infrared temperature meters, weighing cells and / or volume counters, the body temperature of the individually recognized grazing animal, its weight, the amount of feed consumed and / or the The amount of water absorbed by the animal is recorded and processed further via the data recording and transmission device. It is also conceivable that the grazing animals are equipped with data acquisition systems. The data from these systems could then, for example, be read out and transmitted at the drinker. For example, a pedometer could provide information about the animal's mobility up to and including heat detection. In particular, a step counter as a third sensor, which is worn on every grazing animal with a mobile data acquisition system, can measure the animal's movement activity. With a significantly higher step frequency, heat is also detected, for example. All this data is then initially temporarily stored in the data acquisition system of the grazing animal and at a suitable point where the animal regularly passes, for example at the drinking station, transmitted via a read-out station to the data acquisition and transmission device and then further evaluated or transferred from there central server at a farmer or corresponding service company and evaluated there.

According to the method, it is advantageous, in addition to the simple recording of an event, also to record and evaluate the duration of the event. For example, the length of time the grazing animal in question is at the drinking trough can be used to draw conclusions about the drinking quantity.

Because the body temperature of the grazing animal recorded according to the individual identification feature is measured and transmitted for each event, conclusions can be drawn about the health of the individual grazing animal. In this way, diseases can be recorded at an early stage.

If several detection locations are provided so that the movement activity of each grazing animal recorded according to the individual recognition feature is recorded, evaluated and transmitted, movement patterns of the individually recognized grazing animal can be recorded and warning signals can be given in the event of deviations. This makes it possible to detect lame or inactive grazing animals or to determine special events, for example if a wolf attack causes panic in the pasture. If necessary, scare signals to ward off the wolf attack and / or warning signals can then be triggered or transmitted directly to the farmer.

If the amount of water retrieved by the grazing animal recorded according to the individual identification feature is recorded and transmitted for a detection location, which is a drinker, the amount of water actually retrieved by the individual grazing animal can be evaluated for conclusions on animal health.

Because a small feed is given at predetermined times or events for a detection location, which is a feeding station, which is connected to a noise coupled with the feed, the grazing animals can be conditioned to receive a small feed with the coupled noise. The grazing animals will then come to this feeding station when a sound is triggered in order to receive the feeding. Accordingly, missing grazing animals or very slow (lame) grazing animals can be determined. For further individual assignment, it is advantageous if the amount of feed called up by the feeding station from the grazing animal detected according to the individual identification feature is recorded and transmitted.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying figure.

• 1 in einer schematischen Draufsicht eine Weidetierhaltungsanordnung.

It shows:

• 1 in a schematic plan view a grazing animal husbandry arrangement.

1 shows in a schematic plan view a grazing animal keeping arrangement with a pasture 1 on which a wide variety of grazing animals 2 , bordered by an electric fence 3 with power supply unit 30th is shown. The power supply unit 30th has a rechargeable battery 31 as well as a control unit 32 and possibly a photovoltaic system or a small wind generator. The control unit 32 gives short voltage pulses, supplied by the rechargeable battery 31 , via a connecting cable 33 on the electric fence 3 . Furthermore, the power supply unit 30th a data acquisition and transmission device 4th via active line connection 42 assigned by the control unit 32 and the rechargeable battery connected to it 31 is supplied. The data acquisition and transmission device 4th has a radio antenna 41 on, with which the data acquisition and transmission device 4th Can transmit data wirelessly to a computer network (cellular network, LoRaWan or the like).

In the pasture 1 is as a recognition place 5 an area around a potion 51 intended. The potions 51 is for example from a water supply 52 provided. Of course, the water supply can also be provided by surface water from, for example, ditches or ponds; Membrane pasture pumps, in which the grazing animals pump the water themselves from a well or ditch; a water truck that uses a tank to transport the water to the pasture; a pressure pipe that can usually only be found near the courtyard; or a central supply from a higher-level basin can be carried out by means of gravity. In the water supply line 52 is a volume counter 53 provided that the current water consumption at the drinker 51 measures. The volume counter 53 is with effective management 54 to the electric fence 2 or another supply and data line connected, so that the measuring signal of the volume counter 53 to the control unit 32 and thus via the active line connection there 42 on the data acquisition and transmission device 4th is transmitted. Every grazing animal 2 has an RFID chip 21 , for example as an ear tag as the first sensors, with which every grazing animal 2 can be individually customized. The grazing animal 2 ' with his RFID chip ear tag 21 is located in the in 1 the situation shown at the detection location 5 . This is recognized by an RFID reader 22nd , the one at the detection location 5 directly in the area of the drinker 51 is arranged. The RFID reader 22nd is via an effective line 23 either directly to the data acquisition and transmission device 4th or indirectly via the electric pasture fence 3 and the control unit 32 tied up. There are also second sensors 6th provided at the detection location 5 further additional characteristics for the grazing animals recorded in each case 2 ' capture. In the embodiment shown here is an infrared temperature meter 61 provided that the body temperature of the grazing animal in question 2 ' measures and also via an active line not specified here, possibly via the electric pasture fence 3 , to the data acquisition and transmission device 4th for further evaluation.

In the data acquisition and transmission device 4th there is a processor as well as a data memory that records the measured values, stores them temporarily and, if necessary, via the radio antenna 41 sends to a remote monitoring point, for example at the farm of the livestock owner. The processor can transmit measurement results and / or warning notices that have already been derived from the data. In addition or as an alternative, there can also be warning signals on the pasture 1 , for example to scare off a wolf. Alternatively, the recorded data is sent unevaluated. The recipient can be the farmer directly or a central server. The farmer would then have to evaluate and interpret the data using software. Or this process runs on a central server, which “learns” based on the large amount of data and then delivers the interpretation to the respective recipient.

List of reference symbols

1

pasture

2, 2 '

Grazing animal

21

RFID chip

22nd

RFID reader

23

Effective management

3

Electric pasture fence

30th

Power supply unit

31

rechargeable battery

32

Control unit

33

Connecting line

4th

Data acquisition and transmission device

41

Radio antenna

42

Active line connection

5

Detection location

51

Potions

52

Water supply

53

Volume counter

54

Effective management

6th

second sensor

61

Infrared temperature meter

Claims (12)

Grazing animal keeping method for grazing animals (2) on a pasture (1), wherein each grazing animal (2) has at least one individual identification feature and at least one identification location (5) is arranged on the pasture (1), characterized by the steps: - Detecting the grazing animals ( 2) at the detection location (5) according to their individual identifier as an event; - Monitoring the frequency of the events of the appearance; and transmission of the events and / or output of warning signals. Grazing animal husbandry procedures Claim 1 , characterized in that the duration of the event is recorded and evaluated. Grazing animal husbandry procedures Claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that for each event the body temperature of the grazing animal (2) detected according to the individual identification feature is measured and transmitted. Grazing animal husbandry procedures Claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that several detection locations (5) are provided so that the movement activity of each grazing animal (2) detected according to the individual detection feature is recorded, evaluated and transmitted. Grazing animal keeping method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that for a detection location (5), which is a drinking trough (51), the amount of water called up by the grazing animal (2) detected according to the individual detection feature is recorded and transmitted. Grazing animal keeping method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that for a detection location (5) which is a feeding station, feed is given at predetermined times or events, which is connected to a noise coupled with the feed. Grazing animal husbandry procedures Claim 6 , characterized in that the amount of feed called up by the feeding station from the grazing animal (2) detected according to the individual identification feature is recorded and transmitted. Grazing animal husbandry arrangement for grazing animals on a pasture (1) bounded by an electric pasture fence (3) with a voltage supply unit (30), each grazing animal (2) having at least one individual identification feature and at least one identification location (5) being arranged on the pasture (1), In particular for a grazing animal keeping method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that first sensors for detecting the presence of a grazing animal (2) and the respective individual identification feature are provided at the detection location (5) and are operatively connected to a data recording and transmission device (4) , wherein the data acquisition and transmission device (4) is connected to the voltage supply unit (30). Grazing animal husbandry arrangement according to Claim 8 , characterized in that the first sensors are motion detectors, cameras and / or RFID readers (22). Grazing animal husbandry arrangement according to Claim 8 or 9 , characterized in that second sensors (6) are arranged at the detection location (5) which detect additional features of the respective detected grazing animal (2), the second sensors (6) infrared temperature meters (61), weighing cells and / or volume counters (53) are. Grazing animal husbandry arrangement according to Claim 8 , 9 or 10 , characterized in that each grazing animal (2) carries a mobile data acquisition system that records the measured values of the grazing animal (2) via third sensors carried by the grazing animal (2) and transfers them to the data acquisition and transmission device (4) at the detection location (5). is transmitted. Grazing animal husbandry arrangement according to Claim 11 , characterized in that a step counter is provided as the third sensor.

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