e-stado® is a system of monitoring a diary cow herd

It has been designed to provide the necessary information concerning the health of cows and their breeding cycle. It includes such functions as monitoring the health of animals, heat detection estrous cycle, insemination, and calving. It is non-invasive and safe to use, based on maintenance-free biosensors.

e-stado® provides information about the condition of every animal and the entire heard 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Thus, it effectively impacts the welfare of animals in the herd and their efficiency.

How does e-stado®work?

  • The system consists of biosensors, cowshed sensors, and radio transmitters. Biosensors are maintenance-free, non-invasive, and safe for animals.
  • Based on data from biosensors, the system monitors the herd and the barn’s environment 24 hours. Then, data concerning the condition of animals and those inside the cowshed is sent to the central server, where it is processed and compiled into transparent and easy to interpret information.
  • The user receives access to a web app and SMS notifications concerning urgent cases, where he or she can browse through all of the data in real time.

What elements does the
e-stado® system consist of?


Ear biosensors

They are responsible for providing information concerning a specific animal.

Functions:

  • detecting heat and determining the optimal insemination time
  • measuring and analyzing rumination and feed intake
  • measuring and analyzing inactivity time
  • measuring and analyzing body temperature
  • determining heat stress intensity
  • measuring and analyzing lighting intensity


Environment sensor

It is responsible for providing information concerning a specific object.
Functions:

  • measuring temperature inside
  • measuring humidity inside
  • determining the surrounding THI thermal stress index



Tail biosensor

The biosensor is responsible for providing information in the following areas:
Functions:

  • determining the time of coming calving
  • detecting pre- and post-calving retention


Radio transmitters in the cowshed and pasture

They transmit data from sensors to the central server, where it is then processed and compiled into a database. If there is a need for transmitter monitors on the pasture, the power supply is provided by an autonomous solar power system.



Cowshed monitor

It enables the system to be operated on a large screen in difficult cowshed conditions. The casing has been made in the technology of acid-resistant steel.

What information does the
e-stado® system include?

System modules



Health
  • measurement of inactivity, detection of threat
  • measurement of ear temperature, detection of threat

Early detection of diseases in cows is crucial for effective treatment and minimizing their effects. It also influences the reduction of treatment costs. The biggest problems consist in postpartum period diseases such as ketosis, abomasum displacement, metritis and acidosis. Losses caused by metabolic diseases are estimated at EUR 180 – 450 per cow per year. That is why it is very important to constantly monitor…

Reproduction
  • detection of heat
  • estimation of optimal insemination window

Heats are becoming more and more difficult to detect which results in a significant extension of the calving interval (CI). It is assumed that the time from calving time to second pregnancy (inter-pregnancy period)  shouldn’t be longer than 400 days. Each day above this threshold brings measurable losses. The e-stado® system monitors cow activity and other indicators related to …



Calving
  • estimation of incoming calving time
  • postpartum retention

The cow is preparing to calving much earlier than the visible symptoms of an approaching birth appear. Rumination begins to gradually decrease 2 weeks before calving and drastically drops on the day of delivery. If everything goes well, the cow returns to its rumination pattern within a week. However, many factors make calving more difficult. It is estimated that 20-30% of calving requires human support.

Feeding
  • monitoring of rumination time
  • monitoring of feed intake time

The cow’s nutritional activity consists in the collection and preliminary grinding of feed, as well as its following rumination. A cow spends 3 to 6 hours a day on feeding. Under the conditions of a modern barn, rumination occurs throughout the day and should last from 7 to 8 hours. Increasing or decreasing the total time of nutritional activity indicates a problem with the dose or the quality of feed. This results in…



Photoperiod
  • Measurement of individual photoperiod cicle

Light plays a very important role in the functioning of a cow’s body. It affects the general health and well-being of animals, somatic and hormonal maturation of heifers, reproductive cycle and fertility, manifestation of the estrous cycle, activity, interest in the environment, and feed intake.

Heat stress
  • detection of individual heat stress
  • measurement of barn humidity
  • measurement of barn temperature
  • calculation of barn THI index

A cow feels best in the temperature range from +16 to +22 C, which is called the thermal neutral zone. The animal performs well at lower temperatures, also negative ones, but has problems with thermoregulation even above +22 ° C. The first effect of heat stress is the reduction of milk production. As a result, this leads to a decrease in the entire lactation curve and annual production, the composition of milk is also changed, the level of fat and protein is reduced, and the somatic cells count increases…



Lameness* (expected time: 2020)
  • detection of early stages of lame