Machine Learning Approaches for Early Identification of Subclinical Ketosis and Low-Grade Ruminal Acidosis During the Transition Period in Dairy Cattle

This study evaluated six supervised machine learning (ML) models for early detection of subclinical ketosis and low-grade ruminal acidosis in dairy cows during the transition period. Ninety-four Holstein cows were monitored for 21 days postpartum using in-line milk analyzers and intraruminal sensors that continuously recorded milk composition, behavioral, and physiological parameters. Based on clinical examination, blood β-hydroxybutyrate concentration, and fat-to-protein ratio, cows were classified as healthy (<i>n</i> = 44), subclinical ketosis (<i>n</i> = 24), or subclinical acidosis (<i>n</i> = 26). Among the tested models, Random Forest and XGBoost achieved perfect accuracy within this dataset, while Logistic Regression reached 89.5%, Decision Tree 84.2%, and both Naive Bayes and Support Vector Machine 78.9%. These results suggest that ensemble approaches, particularly Random Forest and XGBoost, show strong potential for integration with precision livestock technologies, but their apparent performance should be interpreted cautiously and confirmed in larger, multi-farm studies.