Development of a respiration rate sensor for feedlot cattle with respect to chronic patterns and stress onset

Precision livestock is an ever-growing, multifaceted discipline that requires many data points for various animals under different conditions. Cattle are particularly well-suited for precision livestock sensing due to the diverse and extensive conditions in which they are raised and managed. However, these diverse, extensive, and highly variable conditions pose numerous nuanced challenges ranging from animal ergonomics to data quality. Among these diverse conditions, many improvements to cattle research and welfare within the feedlot setting exist. This matter is significant given the current challenges posed by physiological problems arising from selective breeding focused solely on production traits. These issues are exacerbated by various conditions present in feedlots. Effects of heat stress and cardiopulmonary complications arising from genetic factors are further intensified by conditions in feedlots. In relation to a persistent pattern, stressors resulting in physiological or behavioral outcomes frequently reappear in a way that either escalates in intensity until death or sustains a debilitating new baseline thereafter. Thus, a chronic recurring stress or response would enhance the ability to sense, predict, and intervene. These unique challenges and situations require solutions that have recently emerged through modern sensing technology and the Internet of Things. The primary focus of this study is the calibration and validation of both commercial and handmade products capable of wirelessly acquiring respiration data. These products utilized principles varying from load cell variations to resistance changing devices varying with linear transformation. Lessons from product trials included finding an adequate 3d printable material like carbon fiber reinforced PLA, smoothening geometries to account for animal comfort, making an equine saddle cinch / strap combination to fit the highly variable body of cattle, and discovering a potential sensor solution being a tensile force sensor with the correct force range. The opportunities this created allow for more precise and predictive animal care and improved welfare. Specifically for cattle, these innovations pave the way to enhance welfare in one of the most efficient and productive meat industries globally. The completion of this project entailed a thorough comparative analysis of various sensors and animal ergonomics, resulting in a recommendation for one of the more effective methods of wirelessly collecting respiration rate data from cattle.