DigiBrush - Creating insight on brush use in dairy cows through the development of automated assessment methods

The intensification of farming has made it crucial to provide optimal indoor environments for dairy cows.

Cow brushes are an important resource that promotes grooming, cleanliness, comfort, stress reduction, and positive emotional states.

Although the provision of brushes is common, there is still limited knowledge about the factors that influence their utilisation, how they are implemented on farms, and for what reasons.

Validated guidelines for farm implementation of brushes are still lacking.To address this gap, an interdisciplinary project will be undertaken.

State-of-the-art tools using computer vision techniques and sensor data on animal localisation will be developed and validated to enable monitoring of individual brush use.

Longitudinal studies will assess how farm set-ups and internal factors, such as parity, production-related diseases, and stressful events affect brush use. Predictive models to detect diseases based on brush use patterns will be explored.

Finally, surveys will map common farm set-ups, and investigate farmer barriers and drivers for brush implementation and existing guidelines will be compiled.The project will lay the groundwork for validated guidelines for best practice, improve welfare assessment methods, and enhance automated health monitoring in dairy farming.