Calves are very sensitive to diseases of all kinds in their first days of life. The earlier infections are detected, the faster the animals are healthy again. The daily health monitoring and documentation of the calves combined with the fever measurement in case of need is often not yet routine on the farms. Urban now offers a new, DLG award-winning solution. Urban GmbH & Co. KG has developed a practical aid for monitoring calf health: Vital Control, a hand-held device for measuring body temperature and evaluating the health of calves. It has an integrated keypad and a high-contrast color screen. During the stable tour, the animal caretaker uses Vital Control to scan the animal number of the transponder, measure the body temperature of the calf and the device evaluates the measurement result in color in the traffic light system. In addition, other health-related parameters can be visually evaluated and documented, such as. Faeces, respiratory diseases, general condition etc. The software generates alarm lists from the recorded data, processes all entered data into easily legible graphics and can also be coupled with the Urban automatic feeder, so that the drinking behavior can also be included in the animal assessment. In this way, the health status of the calf can be reliably assessed and documented and diseases are detected earlier. For work monitoring, each of the measurements and assessments can be tracked and assigned to the respective employee. The long measuring tip of the Vital Control is slim and made of flexible material, so that the measurement takes place in sufficient depth and is not unpleasant for the animal. The head of the device is rotatable, this facilitates the handling and insertion of the measuring tip enormously. In addition, the thermometer has an integrated light, which radiates in the direction of the thermometer tip, to facilitate handling even in poorly lit stable areas. The waterproof device has a powerful battery and data interfaces (USB, Wi-Fi) for transferring the data to a computer or an automatic feeder. Urban GmbH & Co. KG was awarded the Innovation Award of the EuroTier 2018 in silver by DLG for this aid for health control and digital data management, which can also be used in other animal species and production branches.
