LC & AJG Knowles of Hollingshill Farm, Worcestershire started using the smaXtec system only 6 weeks ago and they are already seeing significant benefits.
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he dairy herd is a high yielding, three times a day milking system with currently 430 milking cows. Austin Knowles says of the smaXtec system:
“Calving notification is the biggest benefit we have seen so far. We have been alerted that cows are calving which you just cannot tell by eye that they are. We value not getting up in the night to check cows that aren’t calving! Since the boluses have been inserted we haven’t had any calves born dead and cows aren’t calving for too long without some intervention. The next big thing for us will be to see how they affect the herd’s fertility. We have invested heavily in fertility and we have a team that are very focused on this.”
“It is a great innovation, which assesses the pH levels and the eating habits of the herd. It also gives us reassurance on the diet and helps us to monitor feed efficiency.”
“It is a no brainer for anyone, temperature assessing cows that they should move to smaXtec temperature boluses. The stress involved in taking the cow’s temperature manually shouldn’t be under estimated and the time it takes doing this is all saved by the use of smaXtec.”
The smaXtec system is an innovative new cattle sensor system offered by Moletech, the technical arm of Molecare Veterinary Services. It is an integral solution that covers heat detection, feed management and health monitoring. This gives the user an advantage both in terms of cost and the use compared to other systems that only cover single functions.
There are two sensors available, which can be used on their own, or together. One sits in the fore stomach, has a four year life and measures temperature and motion activity at ten minute intervals. This allows the detection of oestrus behaviour, the onset of calving as well as early detection of diseases such as ketosis. The second also sits in the rumen and tracks pH, temperature and motion activity.
If you would like to find out more about the smaXtec system speak to one of the Moletech team or visit uk.smaXtec.com
Telephone: 01392 873265
Email: [email protected]
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