Heng-Lun Ko and Raúl David Guevara from the Autonomous University of Barcelona were awarded for the 2-week STSM in March 2025 to the University of Milan, hosted together by Monica Battini and Silvana Mattiello.
Vocalization has the potential to be a positive animal welfare indicator because it is relatively feasible to be detected on farms, even without the help of extra technology devices. Two ongoing studies in University of Milan are currently collecting and analyzing the vocalizations (especially the low-pitched ones) produced by cows and calves, and does and kids, during mother-young contact after the reunion.
During the STSM period, Heng-Lun and Raúl received different lectures and training sessions by the hosting research group. The lectures include the principles of QBA (Qualitative Behavioral Assessment) by Monica Battini, and animal laterality by Lisette Leliveld. Training on farm includes Body Condition Scoring and QBA in dairy goats by Stefania Celozzi, and training on the desk includes BORIS (video-based behavioral analysis software) by Lisette Leliveld, and Audacity (audio editing and extraction software) by Stefania Celozzi. Additionally, Heng-Lun and Raúl received training on MATLAB, Praat (speech analysis and vocalization extraction softwares), and JASP (open-source stats program) for the methods of vocalization data analysis by Giorgio Presti from the Department of Informatics of University of Milan.
They visited two commercial farms (one dairy cattle and one dairy goats) where the studies are currently running, and one dairy cattle research farm near the Lodi campus. During the farm visits, Heng-Lun and Raúl were able to see the experimental set-ups and interact with the farmers regarding the practice and challenges of mother-young contact in dairy cattle and goats. As the STSM period was near the time of the WG3 training school, they also used the opportunity to ‘interview’ the farmers regarding their perceptions on positive animal welfare.
The STSM was filled up with lectures, training sessions, visits, and networking opportunities. Thanks to the hosting research group, Heng-Lun and Raúl had an insight on the experimental set-up, data collection, and data analysis on animal vocalization studies in ruminants. Further research collaboration between University of Milan and Autonomous University of Barcelona regarding vocalization studies in dairy cattle is currently under discussion. Apart from work, this STSM was a gift to explore the culture and spirit of Milan and the Lombardy region.
Lucky enough, on the last evening of their STSM, it coincidentally overlapped with the first edition of the go-kart competition of the department, so the STSM was nicely wrapped up with laughter and a big burger. 😊
