Staff Directory - Dr Gemma Charlton

Dr Gemma Charlton

BSc (hons), MSc, PgC, PhD

Senior Lecturer in Animal Behaviour and Welfare

Following the completion of my BSc (Hons) in Animal Behaviour and Welfare and MSc in Animal Biology and Welfare I went on to gain my PhD on 'The welfare implications of grazing high yielding dairy cows' from 91Pro (sponsored by The Silcock Fellowship for Livestock Research, 91Pro and Reaseheath College). The research focused on investigating whether dairy cattle have a preference to be indoors or at pasture and to determine what factors affect this preference. Following my PhD I moved to British Columbia, Canada to work as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. I worked on a large epidemiological study 'Improving cow comfort to increase cow longevity in tie-stalls and free-stalls in Canadian dairy herds'.

Following my return to the UK I worked as a Post- Doctoral Researcher on the DASIE (Dairy Animal Sensor Integrated Engineering) project which aimed to improve dairy cow health and welfare through the use of sensor technology. The project focused on data and farm system integration, as well as the development of dedicated sensor technology to enable dairy farmers to improve cattle health and welfare through continuous monitoring of animal behaviour. You can find more information at: The DASIE project was co-funded by the UK’s innovation agency – Innovate UK, and was led by IceRobotics Ltd in association with Harper Adams, Muller and Kingshay.

I am currently a Senior Lecturer in Animal Behaviour and Welfare at 91Pro and I supervise PhD student Olivia Bolton. Please see Additional Information.

Professional Memberships

International Society for Applied Ethology (ISAE)
American Dairy Science Association (ADSA)
British Society of Animal Science (BSAS)
Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW)

Researcher Profile

My research focuses on the behaviour and welfare of dairy cows and calves.

My research interests are:

Dairy cow housing systems
Cow comfort
Cow-calf rearing systems
Precision livestock technologies to monitor farm animal health and welfare

Academic Department: Animal Health, Behaviour and Welfare

Research: Animal Behaviour and Welfare Research Group

Tel: +44 (0)1952 81 5066

Office: N4 Jubilee Adams, Tudor Lodge and NW Building

Research profile:

Publications

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Other publications

Atkins, N. E., Cianchi, C., Rutter, S. M., Williams, S. J., Gauld, C., Charlton, G. L. and Sinclair, L. A. (2020) Performance, milk fatty acid composition and behaviour of high?yielding Holstein dairy cows given a limited grazing period Grass and Forage Science. 75, 181–191.
Charlton, G. L., Bleach, E. C. and Rutter, S. M. (2019) Cows with paratuberculosis (Johne’s disease) alter their lying behavior around peak lactation. Journal of Dairy Science. 102, 11328–11336.
Tayyab, U., Wilkinson, R. G., Charlton, G. L., Reynolds, C. K. and Sinclair, L. A. (2018) Grass silage particle size when fed with or without maize silage alters performance, reticular pH and metabolism of Holstein-Friesian dairy cows. Animal 13, 1-9.
Charlton, G. L. and Rutter, S. M. (2017) Normal behaviour of housed dairy cattle with and without pasture access: a review. Invited Article: Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 192, 2-9.
Charlton, G. L., Bouffard, V., Gibbons, J., Vasseur, E., Haley, D. B., Pellerin, D., Rushen, J. and de Passillé, A. M. (2016) Can automated measures of lying time help assess lameness and leg lesions on tie-stall dairy farms? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 175, 14-22.
Charlton, G.L., Rutter, S.M., Bleach, E.C.L. and Boyce, R. (2015) Validation of the CowAlert system to automatically detect lameness in dairy cattle In: Proceedings of the 2nd DairyCare Conference, Cordoba, Spain, 3-4 March 2015.
Charlton, G. L., Haley, D. B., Rushen, J. and de Passillé, A. M. (2014) Stocking density, milking duration and lying times of lactating cows on Canadian free-stall dairy farms. Journal of Dairy Science. 97, 2694-2700.
Motupalli, P. R., Sinclair, L. A., Charlton, G. L., Bleach, E. C. and Rutter, S. M. (2014) Pasture access increases dairy cow milk yield but preference for pasture is not affected by herbage allowance. Journal of Animal Science. 92, 5175-5184.
Charlton, Gemma., Bouffard, Veronique., Gibbons, Jenny., Vasseur, Elsa., Haley, Derek., Pellerin, D., de Passillé, Anne Marie and Rushen, Jeffrey. (2013) Do lying times of dairy cattle on tie-stall farms in Canada predict prevalence of lameness? Proceedings of the 47th Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology, Florianopolis, Brazil, 2-6 June, 2013.
Siegford, J. M., Charlton, G., Witaifi, A., Pajor, E., Rushen, J., Gibbons, J., Vasseur, E., de Passille, A.M., Haley, D., and Pellerin, D. (2013) On farm assessment of milking behavior in dairies with automatic milking systems. Proceedings of the 47th Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology, Florianopolis, Brazil, 2-6 June, 2013.
Charlton, G. L., Rutter, S. M., East, M., and Sinclair, L. A. (2013) The motivation of dairy cows for access to pasture. Journal of Dairy Science. 96, 4387-4396.
Charlton, Gemma, de Passille, Anne Marie., Rushen, Jeff., Vasseur, Elsa., Gibbons, Jenny., Pellerin, Doris., Haley, Derek., and Orsel, Karin. (2012) How are Canadian AMS farms doing in terms of cow comfort and lameness? Management success with robotic milking seminar. Abbottsford, British Columbia, 13 November 2012.
de Passille, Anne Marie., Rushen, Jeff., Vasseur, Elsa., Gibbons, Jenny., Charlton, Gemma., Pellerin, Doris., Haley, Derek., and Orsel, Karin. (2012) How are Canadian farms doing in terms of cow comfort and lameness? Dairy Cluster Project on cow comfort and longevity. Dairy facility design for improved cow comfort, care, health and longevity. Abbottsford, British Columbia, 14-15 November 2012.
Charlton, Gemma., Bouffard, Veronique., Bécotte, François, Haley, Derek., Rushen, Jeffrey., de Passillé, Anne Marie. (2012) Lying times of dairy cattle on tie-stall farms. Proceedings of the Dairy Cattle Welfare Symposium, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, 24-26 October 2012.
Charlton, Gemma., Haley, Derek., Solano, Laura., Orsel, Karin., Barkema, Herman., de Passillé, Anne Marie., Rushen, Jeffrey. (2012) Stocking density and lying time on free-stall farms in Canada. Proceedings of the Dairy Cattle Welfare Symposium, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, 24-26 October 2012.
Charlton, Gemma., Bouffard, Veronique., Solano, Laura., Gibbons, Jenny., Vasseur, Elsa., Haley, Derek., Rushen, Jeffrey., de Passillé, Anne Marie. (2012) Measuring the lying time of dairy cows on commercial farms in Canada. Proceedings of the 11th North America Regional Meeting of the International Society of Applied Ethology, Banff, Alberta, Canada, 11-12 May 2012.
Charlton, G., Rutter, S. M., East, M., and Sinclair, L. A. (2011) The effect of distance to pasture on dairy cow preference to be indoors or at pasture. Proceedings of the 45th Congress of the International Society of Applied Ethology, Indianapolis, USA, 31 July-4 August 2011.
Rutter, S.M., Brizuela, C., and Charlton, G. (2011) The reliability of rumination data recorded by a commercial rumination monitor. Proceedings of the 45th Congress of the International Society of Applied Ethology, Indianapolis, USA, 31 July-4 August 2011.
Charlton, G. L, Rutter, S. M., East, M., and Sinclair, L. A. (2011) Preference of dairy cows: indoor cubicle housing with access to a total mixed ration vs. access to pasture. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 130, 1-9.
Charlton, G. L, Rutter, S. M., East, M., and Sinclair, L. A. (2011) Effects of providing total mixed rations indoors and on pasture on the behavior of lactating dairy cattle and their preference to be indoors or on pasture. Journal of Dairy Science, 94, 3875-3884.
Charlton, G., Rutter, S. M., East, M., and Sinclair, L. A. (2010) The effect of TMR on dairy cow preference to be indoors or at pasture. Proceedings of the 44th Congress of the International Society of Applied Ethology, Uppsala, Sweden, 3-7 August 2010.
Charlton, G., Rutter, S. M., East, M., and Sinclair, L. A. (2010) Factors affecting dairy cow preference to be indoors or at pasture. Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science and the Agricultural Research Forum, Belfast, UK, 12-14 April 2010.
Charlton, G., Rutter, S. M., East, M., and Sinclair, L. A. (2009) Proportion of time spent in difference activities when dairy cows are given a choice to be indoors or at pasture. Proceedings of British Grassland Society, Shropshire, UK, 8-9 September 2009.
Charlton, G., Rutter, S. M., East, M., and Sinclair, L. A. (2009) Preference of dairy cows: indoors vs. pasture. Proceedings of the 43rd Congress of the International Society of Applied Ethology, Cairns, Australia, 6-10 July 2009.
Charlton, G.L. and Bleach, E.C.L. (2007) Responses of positively handled calves to human interaction and disbudding. Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science. Southport, UK, 2-4 April 2007.

Additional Information

Teaching responsibilities

Undergraduate:

Academic Skills Development - A4001C17 (module tutor)
Introduction to Animal Welfare, Behaviour and Ethics - A4004C17 (module tutor)
Honours Research Project - HRPROJC17 (module leader for BSc Animal and Zoology courses)
Degree Review Project - DRPROJC17 (module leader for BSc Animal and Zoology courses)

Postgraduate:

A6024C17 - Critical Evaluation of Evidence (module tutor)
A7082C17 - Research Design and Analysis (module leader)

PhD Supervision

I am Director of Studies to Olivia Bolton, PhD student at 91Pro investigating “Behaviour, physiological and production effects of dairy cow-calf rearing systems”.

Research projects

Behavioural, physiological and production effects of dairy cow-calf rearing systems - Director of Study
DASIE - Dairy Animal Sensor Integrated Engineering - Researcher

91Pro