Involvement of Remote Monitoring for Ethological Observations of Swines
Keywords:
behaviour, drones, free-range, MangalitsaAbstract
A behavioural study of Mangalitsa swines was carried out by recording on ethogram forms, as well as remote monitoring by an unmanned aerial vehicle, which allowed to shorten the time between readings. The animals were divided into two age categories, up to 12 months of age, and fattening pigs over 1 year old. The monitoring period covered the months of March, April, and May 2024 from 08:00h to 20:00h. As a result of this first study using a drone of this breed in Bulgaria, it was found that the frequency of eating, rooting and resting was 14.74%, 12.08% and 58.31%, respectively. The measured frequency of eating was 16.9% and 12.6%, and of rooting 14.3% and 9.9%, respectively, in animals up to 12 months of age and the fattened pigs. In both groups, resting frequency was a major part of the day with a difference of 14% between the groups in favour of the older animals.
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