Changes in skin temperature and behaviors of preweaning Holstein calves in a hot environment monitored by a multimodal tail-attached device

This study aimed to determine the applicability of a tail-attached device in monitoring animal-based indicators (ABI) associated with changes in environmental conditions in calves through investigating the relationship between sensor-derived ABI and the temperature-humidity index (THI). Furthermore, to identify effective ABI indicative of heat stress status, sensor-derived ABI of calves under differing heat stress levels based on rectal temperature (RT) were compared. The tail-attached device, which is capable of measuring skin temperature (ST), activity intensity, and roll angle along the longitudinal axis of the tail at 3-min intervals, was attached to 99 preweaning female Holstein calves for an average of 4 wk (26.4 ± 6.8 d). After selecting data from mild to hot days (daily average THI of ≥55), physiological (daily maximum tail ST) and behavioral (daily average activity intensity, daily total lying time, and daily total body position change) ABI were computed, and their relationship with the daily average THI was determined using piecewise regression analysis. Additionally, during the hot season, RT of 20 randomly selected tested calves were measured thrice a week (every 2.4 ± 0.5 d), and a comparison was conducted between the ABI of calves with normal RT (<39.5°C) and those with high RT (≥39.5°C), utilizing data from days characterized by potential heat stress (daily average THI of ≥75). During the study, ambient temperature (°C) and relative humidity (%) were recorded every 10 min using an automatic digital data logger, from which the daily average THI was calculated. Piecewise regression analysis identified THI breakpoints of 73.6 for tail ST, 79.1 for average activity intensity, 72.3 for lying time, and 79.1 for position change. All the tested ABI tended to increase as THI increased, and this trend was pronounced in tail ST, activity intensity, and position change after the breakpoint. These 3 ABI were higher in calves with high RT compared with those with normal RT, whereas lying time shared similar values between the RT groups. Overall, these findings suggest that the tail-attached device can simultaneously monitor both physiological and behavioral ABI in calves, and among the ABI, tail ST, activity intensity, and position change are the effective ABI indicative of heat stress status.