Calf questionnaire
Getting started
Use the menu bar on the left to access the following sections
Calf health
Section
Milk replacer calculatorEnter the specifications of the milk replacer being used to calculate growth rates
Mortality benchmark
Benchmark mortality on your farm against national calf mortality figures
Mortality forecast
Forecast national mortality for specific breed, sex, month of birth and environmental temperature
Weight gain calculator
Download a template for farmers to fill out calf weights and reupload to calculate and analyse weight gain
Colostrum bacteriology
Estimate the levels of bacteria in your colostrum, and find practical solutions to improve hygiene.
Passive transfer calculator
Download and fill out a template to calculate rates of passive transfer in calves.
Calf health plan
An evidence health plan with a downloadable report.
Evidence base
Further reading
Cow health
Section
Antimicrobial calculatorEnter antimicrobial products and calculate AMU for dairy farms
Mobility monitor
Monitor lameness prevalence over time and generate foot check lists
Mastitis pattern analysis tool
Analyse mastitis data to identify patterns as part of the AHDB mastitis control plan
Living Space calculator
Enter housing and stocking density information to calculate space allowance and living space availability for dairy farms
Evidence base
Further reading
Sheep health
Section
Lameness calculatorCalculate annual net gain associated with reducing lameness prevalence
Evidence base
Further reading
Terms and conditions of use
Users uploading data to the toolkit must ensure no identifiable information is present prior to upload, and agree that data uploaded to the toolkit may be used for research purposes.
Computer vision
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We have conducted extensive training and validation of computer vision algorithms for monitoring the health and welfare of animals.
To turn this research into practical tools to improve animal health and welfare we have created the University of Nottingham spin-out company Vet Vision AI.
Instructions
Blood samples from calves between 0-7d of age can determine whether adequate transfer of immunity has taken place.
Download and fill out the passive transfer template and reupload to analyse passive transfer of immunity.
By agreeing to terms and conditions, you agree that uploaded data must be anonymised and may be collected for research purposes.
Upload passive transfer template
Passive transfer results
Passive transfer over time
Passive transfer by breed
Raw data
Instructions
High bacteria levels in colostrum can both increase the chances of calf scour and reduce the levels of immunity absorbed.
Good colostrum hygiene is largely related to the cleaning protocols of collection and feeding equipment. Input the current equipment cleaning protocols in the tool below, and see what effect simple changes might have on your bacteria levels. This tool is intended to provide guidance only and all changes should be discussed with a veterinarian.
Current equipment cleaning
Recommendations
Basis for recommendations
A simple graphical comparison of variations in bacterial levels between cleaning options is shown below for illustration.
Frequency
Using scalding hot water was associated with lower bacterial levels in colostrum than using cold water.
Method
Using Hypochlorite or Peracetic acid to clean colostrum collection equipment was associated with lower bacterial levels than using water.
Temperature
Using scalding hot water is associated with lower bacterial levels in colostrum than using cold water.
Pasteurisation
Pasteurising colostrum was associated with lower bacterial levels than not pasteurising.
Funding
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This tool is based on research funded by the University of Nottingham, AHDB and AFCP
Instructions
Enter your calf mortality figures for several groups of animals, i.e. of 6 month old male dairy calves, there was a mortality rate of 1 calf dying from the 20 born (5%). Select which categories you'd like to benchmark against. Mortality figures are calculated as a percentage of liveborn calves dying before a certain age in months.
These figures provide a rough benchmark only and should be discussed with your veterinarian.
Enter calf mortality details
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Select benchmark group
Cumulative calf mortality
Instructions
Enter the month of birth, breed, sex and monthly environmental temperature for an estimated national mortality figure for calves at 0-3months of age.
This model provides a rough estimate based on statistical models and should be discussed with your veterinarian. As this model uses registered deaths only it is likely an underestimate of mortality rates if stillbirths and perinatal (0-24hr) mortality is included.
Select categories to predict
Instructions
Download and fill out a calf weight template. Reupload to analyse DLWG.
By agreeing to terms and conditions, you agree that uploaded data must be anonymised and may be collected for research purposes.
Upload weight template
Daily liveweight gain summary
Daily liveweight gain by group
Age and weight by sex
Daily liveweight gain by date
Raw data
Instructions
Enter the crude protein, fat/oil and ash % figures from the milk replacer bag alongside the concentration of powder and volume fed per day, along with concentrate (starter) values to estimate the energy you are providing per day. Enter the calf weight, growth rate target, and environmental temperature to estimate the energy required per day. Experiment with different settings to ensure energy intakes are sufficient.
Temperature effects are based on National Research Council figures. These figures are rough estimates only and should be discussed with your veterinarian.
Calf values
Milk replacer values
Feeding plan
Concentrates
The milk replacer calculator was created by Virginia Sherwin
Getting started
First enter your current management details in the following boxes on the left. A traffic light coded recommendation summary is provided for each section on the right. A full report of your custom calf health plan is available to download at the bottom of the page.
Calving pen input
Calving pen recommendations
Colostrum input
Colostrum management recommendations
Feeding input
Feeding recommendations
Temperature and environment input
Temperature and environment recommendations
General management input
General management recommendations
Areas to improve
Top recommendations
Full report
Generate full report
Funding
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This tool is based on research funded by the University of Nottingham, AHDB and AFCP
Instructions
AMU will be calculated by mg/PCU (population correction unit; kg present on farm), DDDvet (defined daily dose) and DCDvet (defined course dose), with highest priority critically important antibiotics (HP-CIAs) highlighted. These figures should be discussed with your veterinarian.
Number of dairy cows
Metrics to use
Products used
Plots
Mastitis pattern analysis tool
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Instructions
Record mobility scores from multiple scoring sessions using the template below. Upload complete template to analyse lameness prevalence, changes over time, and a downloadable foot check list for cows most likely to benefit from treatment.
Calculations are based on differences between previous mobility scores. Calculations for mobility status (Newly lame, chronic lame etc) should be interpereted with caution if there is a long period of time (i.e. more than 1 month) between scoring dates.
By agreeing to terms and conditions, you agree that uploaded data must be anonymised and may be collected for research purposes.
Upload mobility scores
Mobility score results
Mobility scores over time
Foot check list
Download foot check list
Raw data
Living Space Calculator Instructions
Enter the number of animals within a housing group.
Calculate and enter the total indoor and outdoor areas available for the group. In its simplest form this is the length x width of the building. However, for more complex scenarios, you may have to draw out the floorplan and calculate this in more detail.
Enter the dimensions and number of cubicles available.
Use the graphs to benchmark the space your cows have compared with other farms.
Experiment with different numbers of animals, what is the available living space at maximum stocking levels?
Living space definition:
Living space is a bespoke term which identifies the additional space available for dairy cows above the baseline requirement for movement and feeding, excluding lying areas.
It accounts for wider passageways and additional indoor/outdoor areas and therefore provides a useful estimate of true available space.
This calculator allows you to accurately estimate the living space available in the sheds using baseline farm data.
Please Note: The living space value is an estimate of your farms living space, these results to within +- 0.4m 2 . Graph colours: Green Icon = Top third of farms for space allowance/living space; Orange Icon= Middle third of farms; Red Icon = Bottom third of farms
Data entry
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The living space calculator was created by Jake Thompson, based on research funded by AHDB
Your Farm Results
TOTAL space per cow compared with random sample of GB farms
LIVING space per cow compared with random sample of GB farms
Fertility Data Quality Tool Instructions
This tool calculates a set of metrics designed to indicate herd datasets which could potentially have features (mostly missing event data) that may produce misleading results for reproductive performance analysis. Use the box on the left below to upload your data as an uncompressed CDL file, and set the date ranges you wish to analyse.
The data quality measures will appear in boxes at the bottom of the screen; these are colour coded to represent the aspect of data recording each metric is designed to measure (blue: metrics designed to measure recording of insemination and PD data; green: metrics designed to measure recording of calving and exit data; red: metrics designed to measure recording of DNB [do not breed] events). The plot window to the right below can display two different plots to asssist with assessing data quality: the event frequency plot simply shows number of each event recorded in each month, and the metric summary plot shows all the metrics compared to suggested target ranges click the tab labels at the top to switch between plots.
Default dates are set relative to today's date. Dates for lactation-based measures are very historic as these measures (e.g. lactations with no end calving/exit record; long calving intervals) require a lengthy follow-up time for each lactation. Lactations beginning at least 2yrs ago allows all lactations 12mo for the cow to re-conceive plus gestation period and lag time for milk recording date. Users can change the date range, but bear in mind that some of these measures will become less reliable. See the In Practice article for more details.
Note: If the CDL file you want to analyse is downloaded in a format where the ending is .exe, you'll need to double-click the file to run it on your computer first; this will produce a file ending with .dat, which is what you need to upload.
The metrics and the tool are designed simply as potential indicators of data quality issues that the user may wish to investigate. Depending on the management of the herd, and the date ranges selected, it may be appropriate for some metrics to be outside of the target zone. The user should apply their knowledge of the herd from which the data comes, and apply their critical judgement.The tool is used entirely at the user's risk - no warranty of accuracy of any metrics is made, and any decisions made are taken entirely under the user's judgement and at the user's own risk.
Click the '-' symbol at the top of this panel to hide instructions for easier viewing.
Upload data and set dates
Download raw data
This button will download a spreadsheet containing the details for each lactation and insemination used to calculate the data quality measures (so that you can explore further). Inseminations and lactations are in separate worksheets
Sample size calculator
First enter the number of animals in the population and an estimate of disease prevalence. Enter estimates of test sensitivity and specificity and try various sample sizes to analyse the probability of identifying one or more positive animals in the sample.
The calculation of probabilities in the Results box are based on hypergeometric means.
Data input
Results
Johnes prevalence estimation
Bayesian estimations of disease prevalence are based on Diggle (2011), with uniform distribution of priors for the estimation of prevalence, and independent scaled beta distributions for sensitivity and specificity with paramaters (2, 2) for sensitivity, and (4, 6) for specificity. Estimates of disease prevalence depend on the test specificity and sensitivity estimates, the number of samples taken and the number of positive test results in that sample.
Use the sliders below to change the test characteristics or population dynamics to provide an estimate of disease prevalence.
Population and test characteristics
Prevalence estimate
Test characteristics
Sensitivity: percentage of animals with the disease who test positive for the disease.
Specificity: percentage of animals without the disease that test negative for the disease.
Positive predictive value (PPV): percentage of animals with a postive test result that were disease positive.
Negative predictive value (NPV): percentage of animals with a negative test result that were disease negative.
Estimates of disease prevalence depend on the test specificity and sensitivity estimates, the number of samples taken and the number of positive test results in that sample. A test with 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity would be the perfect diagnostic test, where all animals are diagnosed correctly.
Use the sliders below to change the test characteristics and population dynamics to determine the impact of the test on percentages of animals correctly diagnosed.
This tool was created by Dr. Kate Lewis, adapted from Prof. Chris Hudson.
Test characteristics
Number of animals diagnosed
Test predictive values
Out of the positive test results, the proportion of tests that you would expect to be true and false positives is:
Out of the negative tests run, the proportion of tests that you would expect to be true and false negatives is:
Instructions
This calculation is based on data from a study on one lowland spring-lambing commercial flock with 800 ewes and a lambing % of 157. The study ran from tupping (October 2005) to tupping (October 2006). As such the calculation is an example and may not be compatible with other types of sheep production systems. However, playing with the figures may give you some indication of the possible financial gains from using our management programme through an increase in the number of lambs produced and a faster growth rate in lambs.
To use the calculator please enter data relating to your flock in the 'Data input' section below.
For our calculations we assume a difference in value for lambs finished before 4 months of age (finished lambs) and after 4 months of age (store lambs). (See ‘Costs and time’). Store lambs will either be sold on to other farms at a lower value or incur extra feeding and health costs when kept on the farm longer. We therefore ask you to estimate the proportion of lambs being finished before 4 months of age in your flock.
We also ask you for the average percent of ewes that are lame in your flock in a year, and the average number of unproductive ewes per year (ewes that died or were empty).
You can adjust costs and time for treating lame sheep, and the value of lambs and replacement ewes by clicking on the 'Costs and time' tab.
Costs and time
You can enter your own values in the boxes if you prefer.
Costs
Times
Assumptions
- Expected lameness level if intervention programme is followed: 1%
- Number of ewes caught annually per 100 ewes in the flock after lameness is reduced to target levels: 85
- Number of ewes treated annually per 100 ewes in the flock after lameness is reduced to target levels: 63
- Number of lambs caught annually per 100 ewes in the flock after lameness is reduced to target levels: 25
- Number of lambs treated annually per 100 lambs in the flock after lameness is reduced to target levels: 19
- Increase in lambs reared per 100 ewes in the flock for each percentage decrease in lameness: 2.5%
- Increase in percentage of lambs finished at weaning for each percentage decrease in lameness: 3
- Decrease in number of unproductive ewes (died or were empty) per 100 ewes in the flock for each percentage decrease in lameness: 1.2
Data input
Summary results
Income from lambs
NB: 'Finished' refers to lambs finished before 4 months of age, and 'Stores' refers to lambs finished after 4 months of age
Costs of replacing unproductive ewes
Annual treatment costs of new management
The sheep lameness cost calculator was created by Rachel Clifton