Each case of illness causes time expenditure, treatment costs and can lead to a significant drop in milk production. With smaXtec, you catch diseases at the earliest stage – BEFORE the cow's performance is affected. This is only possible with early detection from the reticulum!
Increase your success with smaXtec
Thanks to smaXtec bolus technology, you’re no longer reacting but practicing proactive health management. You can identify potential diseases at the earliest stage – often even before the actual outbreak – and identify possible causes. A healthier herd results in higher performance and a longer lifespan and therefore more milk in the tank!
Early detection with smaXtec
Every disease tends to exhibit patterns while developing that can be seen in the smaXtec system. This helps you to determine the type of disease it could be before clinical symptoms appear. smaXtec supports you in the early detection of the following diseases:
-
Mastitis -
Subclinical milk fever
-
Pneumonia
-
Subclinical ketosis
-
Hardware disease
-
Lameness
Reduce costs withproactive treatments!
By detecting many diseases in the subclinical stage, you often avoid both the onset of clinical diseases and costly secondary illnesses. This saves high costs, as not only is the treatment expensive, but also additional work, waiting times and reduced milk yield in the current and often the following lactation. With proactive treatments, you can reduce antibiotic use by up to 70%, depending on the disease.
Inner body temperature: the gold standard for early disease detection
A change in body temperature is the first sign of the most common diseases in dairy cows and is therefore considered the gold standard for reliable early detection. Continuous temperature monitoring with the highest accuracy (± 0.01 °C) thanks to smaXtec TruTemp® allows you to detect diseases before rumination decreases or external signs are visible. This head start makes body temperature by far the most valuable parameter you can use to monitor and ensure herd health.
The system provides you with further valuable information on animal health
For optimal use, you can – if you wish – share the data with your vet. When an animal is sick, the vet will have a brief snapshot of the situation and an overview of the cow’s long term health status.
-
Drinking behaviour
The globally unique measurement of water intake and drinking frequency per cow indicates illness or issues with supply, ensuring milk yield.
-
Rumination
The especially precise measurement of rumination activity through contractions in the reticulum provides you with additional information on the state of your cows health.
-
Activity
Activity data is a valuable addition to the assessment of animal’s health status.
-
Heat stress
Quick detection of heat stress, allowing you to take measures to reduce the impact at just the right time.
-
Powerful insights
Thanks to the combination of all measured parameters, you get the most comprehensive insights into your cows' health. Only smaXtec provides you with this level of in-depth knowledge about your cows!
How do you benefit from smaXtec's early detection?
-
Healthier animals through precise health monitoring
-
Less severe diseases on your farm
-
Reduced usage of medications such as antibiotics
-
Reduction of cost caused by diseases
-
Continuous temperature measurement for every animal
-
Increased productivity and improved animal welfare
Together with smaXtec, you canavoid production losses and ensure your farm’s success
Request your offer!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is a cow's internal body temperature the gold standard?
Many common diseases in dairy cows are characterized by the smallest changes in internal body temperature, long before clinical symptoms appear. smaXtec is the only system that continuously measures internal body temperature directly in the reticulum, with a relative measurement accuracy of +/-0.01 °C. You gain crucial time, can respond as early as possible, and reduce severe disease progression, antibiotic use, and associated performance losses.
Why is measuring a cow’s internal body temperature with the smaXtec bolus better than measuring external temperature?
Collars, ear tags and other external systems do measure body temperature, but often only intermittently and inaccurately. External factors such as ambient temperature can also influence the measurement. The smaXtec bolus continuously measures internal body temperature directly in the reticulum, with a relative accuracy of +/-.01 °C. This makes changes visible as early as the first immune response, allowing you to act as early as possible.
Which health parameters does smaXtec measure, and how?
The smaXtec bolus measures each cow’s internal body temperature, water intake and drinking cycles, rumination via rumen motility and activity around the clock. pH can also be measured using the smaXtec pH Bolus. These precise data provide important indications for health and management.
What dairy cow health problems can smaXtec help detect?
With smaXtec, you can identify the following diseases and health-related issues:
- (subclinical) mastitis
- (subclinical) milk fever
- (subclinical) pneumonia
- (subclinical) ketosis
- foreign body disease
- lameness
- unusual findings around calving, including twin births
- fertility problems
- viral infections such as bluetongue, Schmallenberg virus and similar infections
For mastitis, milk fever and ketosis, smaXtec also provides specific suspected-disease alerts. The data helps you check the affected cow in a targeted way and decide on further measures.
How does smaXtec help identify causes?
Your smaXtec advisors support you in considering bolus data in the context of specific conditions on your farm. These may include vaccination schedules, water-management practices, group changes, and lactation stage. This allows possible triggers to be narrowed down, checked on site, and suitable processes to be identified. smaXtec does not provide a diagnosis; it combines precise data with expert advice. This helps you narrow down possible causes and take appropriate measures.
How can smaXtec reduce disease-related costs?
With smaXtec, you can detect health-related changes as early as the subclinical stage and take preventive action. Severe disease progression and secondary diseases can often be avoided or mitigated. This can reduce treatment costs, workload, discarded milk, premature culling, and milk losses in the current and subsequent lactations. Depending on the disease, preventive health management can reduce antibiotic use by up to 70%.
Does smaXtec provide a diagnosis?
No, smaXtec does not provide a diagnosis. The system detects unusual changes and, depending on the pattern, indicates possible health problems. You should then check the affected cow to determine the appropriate action required.
How does smaXtec detect mastitis?
With mastitis, short, sudden increases in internal body temperature can occur before changes in the udder, rumination behaviour or other clinical symptoms become visible. smaXtec detects these early temperature patterns and can send a suspected-mastitis alert as early as “mastitis stage zero,” before any external signs are visible. This allows you to check the affected cow and initiate further measures. smaXtec does not provide a diagnosis.
How does smaXtec detect milk fever?
Around calving, a drop in internal body temperature may indicate milk fever. Reduced rumination activity, less movement, lower water intake, and changed drinking cycles may occur at the same time. smaXtec detects these changes and reports unusual patterns before the cow goes down or shows clinical symptoms. This allows you to treat the affected cow preventively.
How does smaXtec detect pneumonia?
Pneumonia can be characterized by several low-grade fevers before behavioural symptoms appear. This allows you to detect unusual changes at the first immune response, check the affected cow and identify a possible case of pneumonia together with your herd veterinarian.
How does smaXtec detect ketosis?
Changes in internal body temperature, for example after calving, can indicate a metabolic disorder such as ketosis. The different parameters help you assess the development and check the affected cow in a targeted way.
How does smaXtec detect hardware disease?
Hardware disease can be characterised by a persistently elevated internal body temperature before rumination activity decreases significantly. This gives you an early indication, allowing you to check the affected cow and arrange for a cage magnet to be administered if hardware disease is suspected. smaXtec can also identify and show which cows have already received a cage magnet.
How does smaXtec detect lameness?
With inflammatory hoof diseases, isolated or recurring increases in internal body temperature and changes in movement activity can occur before visible lameness. If such unusual findings are detected early, you can specifically check the affected cow’s hooves and take timely action.
How can smaXtec indicate abortions?
Unusual changes in an individual animal’s progression during pregnancy may indicate a possible abortion. This allows you to check the affected cow in a targeted way, verify her pregnancy status, and plan re-insemination at an earlier stage if necessary.
How can smaXtec indicate twin births?
Around calving, certain patterns in the smaXtec data may indicate a possible twin birth. This helps you assess the risk more accurately, prepare specifically for calving, contact your veterinarian if needed, and monitor both the cow and calves closely.