Understand what the heat score is, how it works, and how sensitivity settings impact the insights you receive.
What is the Heat Score?
The Nedap Now heat score shows the likelihood that an animal is in heat.
- Each animal's heat is rated on a 1 to 5-star scale.
- A 5-star rating signals a strong heat, making the animal an ideal candidate for insemination.
- Heat scores appear in the In Heat worklist and on the reproduction graph.
How is the Heat Score Determined?
The score is based on:
Cyclicity
Pregnancy status
Activity level
While activity often increases at the start of a heat, the heat score stars may not update immediately.
You can adjust the heat score sensitivity to tailor heat detection to your herd’s behavior. This changes the number of stars assigned, but does not affect how many heats are detected.
What Do the Star Color and Number Mean?
Color
Each heat is automatically assigned a color based on its star rating:
- 1-2 star heats are grey by default.
- 3-5 star heats are green by default.
User judgement can override default colors:
- Negative judgment (No heat): Stars turn grey.
- Positive judgment (In heat): Stars turn green.
Important
Without user input, colors remain at their default values.
Number
- 1-2 stars: Indicate a small/minor activity increase. These are only considered a heat if they have a positive user judgement.
- 3-5 stars: Indicate a large/significant activity increase. Animals with 3-5 stars are typically selected for breeding.
Heat Score Example
The example graph shows:
- A confirmed heat followed by insemination.
- A slight activity increase with a negative user judgment (not considered a true heat).
- A current heat pending confirmation.
