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Viewing animal activity [FREE TRIAL]

You can examine the activity of animals in a group.

Updated over 5 months ago

Use the Activity feature to examine the behaviour of animals in a group. This allows you to:

  • see a snapshot of activity for all the groups on the farm.

  • see how a change in a farm management practice affects animals over time e.g. change in diet, change in weather, change in stocking rate.

  • identify animals which are exceptions, for example animals which are struggling compared to others in the group.

  • compare an individual animal's activities against that of the group.

  • view any activity alerts recorded for the group.

Watch the video to learn:

  • How the activity feature can help you with farm management

  • How to use the Summary screen to compare activity across groups.

  • How to view the activity of animals in group to see how a change in farm management practice has affected the group.

  • How to identify exceptions within a group.

  • How to find cows of interest within the system.

  • How to compare the behaviour of an individual animal with that of the group.

To compare activity across numerous groups:

  1. Click on Activity.

  2. In the Summary screen, yesterday's activity for all groups on the farm is displayed.
    A green arrow indicates that yesterday's activity is 20+ minutes higher than the 14 day average for the group.
    A red arrow indicates that yesterday's activity is 20+ minutes lower than the 14 day average for the group.

To view the activity of all animals in a group:

  1. Click on Activity, then click on a group of animals to examine.

  2. Select a time period.

  3. Select an activity to examine (Rumination, Feeding, Standing, Lying, Resting).

    A sudden variance indicates a marked change in animal behaviour for the group. Consider if this corresponds with a change in farm management practice?

  4. Export data for the time period and activity, if required.

    The example below shows the Rumination activity of animals in the group for a period of 7 days. The dip in Rumination may correspond with something that has happened on the farm e.g. poor weather:

To view animals which are the exception to those in the group:

  1. Click on Activity, then click on a group of animals to examine.

  2. Select an activity to examine (Rumination, Feeding, Standing, Lying, Resting).

  3. Change the parameters in the Below and Above fields, if required.

  4. Click on the subset of animals you would like to examine e.g. the bottom or top 10% of animals in the group.
    Individual animals in the subset will be listed below.

  5. Export data for the sub-set of animals, if required.

    The example below shows the bottom 10% of animals in the group, based on Rumination. There are 25 animals in the group:

To compare individual animal activity against that of the group:

  1. Click on an animal ID to view the individual animal record.

  2. By default, Rumination activity is displayed for the animal and the group. The individual animal's activity is shown as a solid line and the activity of the group as a dashed line.

  3. Change the behaviour and the time period, as required.

    The example below shows the Lying behaviour of an animal compared to that of the group in a 7 day period:

How can I see group activity data for today instead of yesterday?

You can view group activity for today by selecting the 1 day option on the activity graph. This shows you activity for today by the hour.

It is only after midnight that data is available for a full day. This is why yesterday's data is displayed by default.

Why are my groups not showing any activity data?

There can be numerous reasons why a group is not showing any activity data. Reasons include:

  • There may not be enough animals in the group with active tags monitoring animal activity. There must be at least 20 animals in a group contributing data to calculate group activity data AND at least 50% of a group must have active tags fitted.

What are group activity alerts (the alarm bells on the graph)?

Activity alerts can be set up for the group. These are displayed in the Activity screen if the group's behaviour has changed compared to the 14 day average. See Using activity alerts.

Why is the Activity Feature a FREE trial?

For a limited time, we are offering the Activity feature as a FREE trial. We invite you to enjoy the insights the Activity feature offers and see how it will benefit your farming operation.

Coming soon... PRO subscription. Details of the new PRO subscription will be shared with customers soon. A lead-in period will provide ample time for you to explore the features offered with the new PRO subscription and what these mean for your farm.

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Having trouble?

  • Phone the Datamars Smart Farming support team:
    AU 1800 248 774
    NZ 0800 248 722
    US +1 (888) 431-0957 (toll free).
    UK +44 20 4571 7717
    IE and EU +353 (21) 242 8844

  • Ask us a question in the blue messaging tool on the bottom right hand side of your screen.

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