“The Heatime System works like a mobile phone or iPhone. If you can use an iPhone you can use Heatime.”
Col Cowan, Owner and Operator
Challenges
Col wanted to catch illnesses related to rumination quicker, to reduce the impact on cows’ health and improve productivity. All of this Col was hoping to do whilst saving time and reducing the labour load on his workers.
System
Allflex SCR Heatime® HR System
Benefits
Rumination monitoring helps Col get an early indication of developing health issues. If a cow’s rumination numbers drop to 200 minutes or less, he checks the cow for acidosis, respiratory trouble, and ketosis.
At a Glance
- Company: Budgeree Holsteins
- Location: Hannam Vale, New South Wales, Australia
- Herd Size: 210 cows producing 1.8 million litres of milk per annum
Summary
Rumination monitoring helps Col get an early indication of developing health issues. “Our nutritionist believes 25-30% of all fresh cows suffer from ketosis, so that’s pretty significant and you really want to pick up on it early. Ketosis can bring her production down, but the drop in production might not be noticeable, say a change from 50 litres down to 40. But the system will pick it up, so then you can look at her and treat her if necessary.”
