What does the herd performance indicator show?
The herd performance graph shows trends and insights on the behavior of groups or your entire dairy herd. It visualizes how external factors and your management strategies influence the behavior of your groups and herd, such as the impact of housing conditions, feeding strategies and milking procedures on your herds performance.
The graph shows how many animals of the complete herd (in %) show unusual behavior. All animals with unusual behavior are included, even when they do not have a health attention yet. The performance trend is indicated by an icon in the upper right corner.
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Positive trend
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Yesterday's number of animals with unusual behavior is less than the average of the previous days.
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Neutral trend
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Yesterday's number of animals with unusual behavior is equal to the average of the previous days.
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Negative trend
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Yesterday's number of animals with unusual behavior is more than the average of the previous days.
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Besides the graph, the system alerts you if a certain percentage of the cows in a group are showing abnormal behavior compared to their previous behavior. This indicates external factors might be affecting cows, posing a risk to their health, milk production and reproduction.
How should I use the herd performance trend?
You can use the herd performance trend to respond to behavior changes and make improvements in your farm management. Aim for as much stability in cow behavior as possible, since stability and regularity are important contributions to the success of a dairy farm. Cows are creatures of habit and perform at their best if every day follows the same format. Any type of change in a cows daily routine causes stress, and stress has a negative effect on milk production, reproduction and health of dairy cows.
The graph should be as flat as possible, and indicate as less behavior deviations as possible. See the picture below for an example of a farm with a stable and good herd performance, with less behavior deviations.
See the instruction video Herd Performance Trends for more information.
