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Feeding, Health, Management 

Know how much every cow drinks

smaXtec has developed a globally unique technology that makes it possible for the first time to measure the amount of water consumed by each individual cow. With TruDrinking, smaXtec customers benefit from another valuable early indicator for milk production, can treat sick cows even faster and optimise the water supply.

"Drink plenty of water" is a credo that applies equally to humans and dairy cows. An optimal water supply is essential for both health, as well as being an early indicator for milk production, as milk consists of 87 % water. If a cow drinks too little, her feed intake will reduce, and her milk yield will drop. It is therefore important for the dairy industry to provide all animals with sufficient water of the best quality at all times.

Water means life – and milk!

Sufficient water intake is crucial for the milk yield, the feed intake, the urea content in the milk and the health of the cows. Studies show that milk yield can drop by up to 27 % if cows do not drink enough. No wonder, since a cow needs 3 to 4 litres of water to produce one litre of milk. Moreover, about 87 % of milk and 50 – 80 %1) of the cow's body mass consists of water.

Water is an incredibly important health factor for all living beings! Sufficient water of the right quality prevents many costly diseases from arising in the first place. This is true for our cows and also for ourselves!
Mathias Petermichl, veterinarian at smaXtec

Artificial intelligence provides valuable insights

With its unique bolus technology, smaXtec collects data on drinking behaviour directly in the reticulum of each cow. The bolus measures the inner body temperature and detects how much water has been taken in via AI-supported applications based on the temperature change after each drinking cycle. This allows each animal to be monitored for whether water intake is as expected – without any additional effort.

water intake graph EN

This is how you benefit from TruDrinking:

  • Detect diseases even earlier
    By monitoring individual animals, you can detect diseases even earlier and treat them even faster. After all, if a cow does not drink less due to external circumstances, you can assume that she is sick.
  • Optimal care around calving
    Drinking stimulates the appetite, so sufficient water intake around calving is very important. Only when the cow drinks enough during this sensitive phase, optimal feed intake can be guaranteed. This ensures that metabolism, rumination and milk production can start without problems after birth and costly secondary diseases are avoided.
  • Less workload for water trough maintenance
    By monitoring individual animals, you become aware of faulty water troughs or insufficient water quality at an early stage and can quickly fix such problems. Since you know exactly which animals or groups show conspicuous drinking behaviour, this saves a lot of time and headaches when checking drinking troughs and water supply.
  • Ensured water supply = consistent milk yield
    Water is one of the most important sources of feed and must always be available for all animals in sufficient quantity and quality. With TruDrinking you have another practical tool at hand to help you ensure the water supply.

The result: healthier animals, optimised supply and a consistently high milk yield.

Sources:
1) https://www.lkvsachsen.de/fuetterungsberater/blogbeitrag/artikel/wasser-ein-wichtiger-naehrstoff/

You want to implement the smaXtec system on your farm?