D C Mili1
Abstract
The present study was conducted to evaluate the physiological and behavioural patterns of Sahiwal dairy cows through continuous 24×7 Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) camera monitoring under semi-intensive dairy farming conditions. Behavioural activities such as feeding, rumination, standing, lying, drinking, locomotion, social interaction, and resting behaviour were continuously recorded using infrared-enabled CCTV cameras for 90 consecutive days. Physiological parameters including rectal temperature, respiration rate, pulse rate, and milk yield were also measured simultaneously. The study revealed that Sahiwal cows exhibited distinct diurnal behavioural rhythms with maximum feeding and locomotion during early morning and evening hours, while rumination and lying activities were predominant during nighttime. Seasonal variation significantly influenced physiological responses, especially during summer when respiration rate and rectal temperature increased. CCTV-based behavioural monitoring proved to be an effective non-invasive precision livestock farming tool for real-time welfare assessment and disease prediction in dairy cattle. The findings suggest that automated visual monitoring systems can improve dairy farm management, animal welfare, and production efficiency in indigenous cattle breeds like Sahiwal.