UK milking equipment manufacturer, Fullwood Limited, has announced the launch of a walk over weighing system which offers dairy farmers the ability to monitor the weight of individual cows for improved herd management and early identification of developing health issues.
“The weight of high yielding dairy cattle can be used as one of a number of key indicators of an individual animal’s health and general state of well-being,” explains Les Strickland, UK Field Sales Manager for Fullwood Limited. “Fluctuations in weight, feed intake, activity levels and milk composition can indicate a wide range of animal health issues including displaced abomasums, physical injury, lameness, mastitis and a lack of dry matter intake.
“Weight fluctuations in individual cows can also indicate herd management problems – such as overcrowding or bullying at the feed barrier – whilst weight discrepancies in groups of cattle can point to the presence of roundworms, parasites, poisoning, acidosis or early-onset pneumonia.”
The Fullwood WS walk over weighing system comprises a 2.5 metre by 0.7 metre stainless steel platform which sits on two automatic weigh cells. The system can be installed easily within the confines of any cattle race and is capable of taking accurate weight measurements in less than one second.
“The system can be fitted without the need to install any additional gates or noisy hardware and does not interrupt cow flow,” Mr Strickland adds. “That makes it quick and easy to install and does not cause any undue stress to the animals using it.”
The Fullwood WS system is capable of taking weight measurements with an accuracy deviation of less than two percent and features an auto-calibration function. The system is also fully automated, requiring no human intervention to operate, and can be used as a standalone system with its own digital readout display and memory unit, or in conjunction with compatible cow identification systems such as Fullwood Crysta Act+ pedometers and Crystal herd management software.
By regularly monitoring each cow’s daily weight, it is possible to observe weight gain or loss in real-time. “This not only allows dairy farmers to improve the management of their herds on a cow-by-cow basis,” Mr Strickland adds, “but also provides valuable data to assist in the selection of genetically superior animals that are able to cope with the negative energy balance commonly observed during the transitional period from calving to full lactation.”
Monitoring weight gain trends on a regular basis can also ensure breeding heifers are at the right weight to conceive and that cows approaching the end of their lactation are at the optimum weight to be dried-off, thereby helping to prevent milk-fever or fatty liver disease.
Accurate weight trend data can also be used to evaluate the ration of individual cows or groups of cows, and can be used to calculate precise medicine dosages for individual animals.
“This all adds up to a greater understanding and management of each cow and enables potential health concerns and productivity losses to be identified sooner. Ultimately that leads to improved herd health and increased farm profits,” Mr Strickland concludes.
