One important consideration before investing in a Moocall calving sensor is to know how many devices you’ll need to cover your herd at calving time.
Different cattle operations come in all shapes and sizes, and work in different ways. Therefore there is a variety in how many calving sensors you should be running at any one time.
This can take a while to calculate, especially if you’re not sure about the impact a Moocall device will have, but there’s a solution! We designed a cost/benefit analysis for you to measure your needs.
Link to cost benefit analysis: https://moocall.com/pages/cost-benefit-analysis
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How to use the calculator
Our 4 step system will tell you these 6 things:
- How many Calving Sensors you will need
- How much these devices will cost
- What the total annual charge will be
- Estimated hours saved per calving week
- Estimated profit year 1 (after device costs)
- Estimated profit year 2 (after annual costs)
In order to calculate those things we ask you the following questions:
1. Would you like to cover your whole breeding herd or just key animals?
You have two answers here:
- I would like to try and capture all calvings if possible.
- I would like to focus only on the stragglers & key animals.
Certain cows are more likely to have difficulty calving than others. Conversely, other cows such as older animals, are more likely to be easy calvers.
Where this comes in for the Moocall calving sensor is that you would leave the easy calvers be, and concentrate your efforts more on the younger calvers and heifers who haven’t had as much experience calving.
Additionally, you have animals that have had trouble in the past who might take priority.
2. Please choose your calving system
You have 4 options here:
- All year round calving
- Autumn and Spring Calving
- Block calving over 12 weeks
- Block calving over 4-6 weeks
Naturally, if you have more cows calving together in a shorter period, you’ll need more Moocalls to cover them all. If you are more spread out over the year, you will need less.
3. Input your breeding herd size below:
Here, you just enter your herd size. This is probably the biggest indication of how many devices you’ll need.
4. What is an extra calf worth to you?
This is another big factor when pricing your Moocall calving sensors.
