Influence of social rank on animal behaviour of cows milked by an automatic milking system: implementation of automated procedures to estimate the rank and the length of stay in the feeding area

A method to estimate the rank of an animal by analysing displacements at the feeding fence was used to describe the effects of different forms of cow traffic on high and low ranked cows. The calculated dominance values led to plausible results for the daily rhythm of feed intake and of visits to the milking box. The restriction of the access to the feeding area and to the milking box (from free to guided cow traffic), led to a lower use of these resources at the preferred times by cows classified as low ranked.