The 2 minute check follow up

The first three columns of the 2-minute-check in the status screen show which cow:
1. is too late; 2. has not given enough milk; 3. has done an incomplete milking.

Most are obvious and are used by ample amount of farmers.

The cow monitor shows other information such as which cow:
1. has higher or new conductivity; 2. have a high or new(!) MDi alert

Also these statistics give are generally welcomed by farmers en used to follow a cows health.

The third colom in the cow monitor that is used for the 2-Minute-Check shows:
3. which cow has varying visiting behavior.
That can be seen in the Average Milking Interval

If you sort the cows by using this colom then the cows that visit most often can be found at the top or bottom. If the indicator beside it is green it means that the cow has visited the VMS the last 10 times with no more than 12 hours in between.

What should be noted is cows that have an good average milking interval (e.g. 8 – 9 hours) yet have a red indicator. This means that she now was  later  than 12 hours since the last milking. Why?

Have these cows been milking for less than 50 days   =>  Rumen Acedosis?
Have these cows been milking between 50-100 days  =>  Heat?
Have these cows been milking more than 100 days     => Claw / hoof / leg problems?

It could be anything, but it is defintley strange behavior!

Also in this column is often as the first indicator a cow found with a new deviation.

2 Minutes-Check Follow-Up.

With the 2 minute follow up check you quickly see which cows are late but also which cows have an unexpected deviation. It is useful to make two columns on a notepad. One for cows that need to be brought to the VMS and another for cows with the unexpected deviation. Also, add which deviation they have. (For example 75% of expected milking yield or 1x increased conductivity).

Does the cow have a different, less,  milk yield on all 4 teats? She is pretty sure sick!

Check these notes again half a day later. What does the cow have now?

If the latest data is correct again: throw the note away. When in doubt, you immediately are certain whether the deviation is an incident or if something is really going on!

2-Minute-Check

As a reflection for the new year, attention is again paid to the “2-Minute-Check”.

The amount of data a milking robot delivers is crucial in order to find cows earlier with varying milk production, (udder)health status and behavior e.g. than in a traditional milking parlor.

This delivers, simultaneously with the possibility to intervene quicker, advantages for cows and farmer.

During a company visit, often the 2-Minute-Check document is left behind. It consists of 2x 3 important columns.

In the Status screen: 1) Who is too late;  2) Who’s given too little; 3) Who wasn’t milked properly or incomplete.

In the Cowmonitor: 1) Which cows have high or new increase conductivity; 2) Which cows have a high or new MDI notification;  3) Which cows have a different visit history behavior?

You can check these measurements and if you as dairyman know your cows you can tell which cows are correlated to previously statistics and more interesting: which are surprising you!

Do this 2-Minute-Check before you make a round to the barn, go clean boxes, etc.

Combining the data from the computer with “the eyes of the farmer” and you have the GOLDEN FORMULA.

At the Tip of the Month February and also March follows further explanation of the 2-Minute-Check.

If you like to get the document with 2-Minute-Check, please send an email.

Different Groups on VMS.

If you have the possibility to make groups in your stalls, this could be an interesting feature.

Often, groups are made according to productivity: high versus low. To be honest, the effect can be dissapointing, especially when the cows have to go from the high productivity group to the low productivity group. Not only does the ration change, but they also, again, have to go up against tough, older, or in late lactation stronger cows.

But we do see great results when you make a group heifers accompanied by the smaller, second time calving cows. In this case, the animals will stay in the same VMS group for a whole year. One advantage is that these heifers don’t have to go up against bigger cows as often.
It is measured e.g.  by “Vetvice” that these cows make about 10% more visits to the troughs and VMS because there are less dominant cows in the way.

That results in higher productivity and a healthier development of the young cows.

For the group, perhaps you can choose different VMS settings, smaller or other teatliners and milking jug.

Lactation Graph

Since DelPro version 4.5 it is not only possible to see the lactation graph for one cow, but also for the whole herd. Go to the tab “Animal”.

We (you and I) are not only curious to see how much your cows produce but also to how it is graphed. How high are the peaks of the cows? How long do they keep it going? Is there a big difference in the curve between heifers and older cows?

In the case that cows peak at around 40-50 days, you can assume that the cow might produce a lot less in the second half of its lactation.

Questions you can ask yourself: Is the peak high enough with cows or heifers? What went wrong? Do they go down quickly after the peak? => Do they get the right ration, the right amount of feed at the right time?

Should I use a different ration when they’re set dry? Does the young cattle get the care they need to excel as heifer or cow?

A very interesting graph!