The transition period is one of the most critical periods in a cow’s lactation cycle. Proper management around dry-off and calving can help limit risks and support a healthy start to the next lactation.

Use Transition Monitoring in the Herd app to analyze how groups of animals perform around dry-off and calving. To evaluate transition performance:

1. Select one or more groups of animals you want to analyze.
2. View and compare their average eating or rumination behavior around dry-off or calving.
3. Check and compare the related key performance indicators.

1. Select Animals to Analyze

Use the group selection to define which animals you want to include in the analysis.

You can select animals based on:

• Lactation group

• Time period

• Calving group, if seasonal calving is used.

To compare multiple groups:

1. Select Compare.
2. Select the groups or time periods you want to compare. You can compare up to 7 groups at the same time.
3. Select Close.

The selected group or groups determine which animals are included in the behavior chart and KPI calculations. Each group has its own color.

2. View Average Behavior Around Dry-off or Calving

The behavior chart helps you understand how eating and rumination patterns change before and after dry-off or calving.

How to Read the Chart

• Switch between Dry-off and Calving.
  

• The x-axis shows the number of days before and after the selected event, from 20 days before until 40 days after the event.
• The y-axis shows behavior in hours, from 0 to 15 hours.
• The selected transition event is shown as a vertical dotted line in the chart.
• Hover over a point in the chart to show:

  • The number of days before or after the event.

  • The number of animals included in the data point.

• Use the chart to look for patterns such as:

  • A drop in eating or rumination before or after the event.

  • Differences between lactation groups.

  • Differences between time periods or seasons.

  • Differences between farms or locations.

3. View Effects After Transition Event (coming soon)

This functionality is coming soon....

The 'Effects after transition event' section shows key performance indicators (KPIs) for the selected animals.

• The available KPIs depend on the selected event (dry-off or calving).
• When one group is selected, the KPI section shows the KPI values for that group.
• When multiple groups are selected, the KPI section shows the KPI values for each group, making it easier to compare transition performance between groups, periods, seasons, or farms.

Which Animals are Included in this Feature?

An animal is included in the chart when: The animal was wearing a SmartTag with FER functionality (Fertility, Eating, and Ruminating) during their dry-off or calving event. 

All available behavior data is shown in the chart. If an animal is moved to another farm later in the transition period, the available data around the selected event is still included.