USER GUIDE
Release 1.3 August 2021
Contact Us:
support@cowalert.com
+44 (0)131 541 2040
Contents
2
3
3.1
3.2
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
6.1
6.2
6.3
7.1
7.2
7.3
7.4
7.5
7.6
7.7
1
Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 3
1.1 Minimum System Requirements to view CowAlert ............................................................... 3
Getting connected to CowAlert ..................................................................................................... 3
CowAlert Dashboard ...................................................................................................................... 5
Navigation Bar Details ............................................................................................................ 6
Search for Cow or IceQube Numbers ..................................................................................... 6
4
IceScore Mobility ........................................................................................................................... 7
4.1
IceScore Mobility .................................................................................................................... 7
5
Heat Alerts ..................................................................................................................................... 9
Viewing recent heat alerts and their associated behaviour graphs ....................................... 9
Viewing all Heat alerts .......................................................................................................... 10
Behaviour graph: Hours view ............................................................................................... 11
Behaviour Graph: Multi-day view ......................................................................................... 12
Behaviour Tables .................................................................................................................. 13
Receiving Heat Alerts by email ............................................................................................. 14
6
Lying Behaviour ........................................................................................................................... 15
Lying Behaviour for the herd ................................................................................................ 15
Lying Behaviour by group ..................................................................................................... 16
Lying Behaviour graphs for an individual cow ...................................................................... 16
7 Managing Cows and IceQubes ..................................................................................................... 17
Attaching IceQubes to Cows ................................................................................................. 17
Selecting Manage Options .................................................................................................... 17
Viewing Cows ....................................................................................................................... 18
Groups .................................................................................................................................. 19
Attaching an IceQube to a Cow within CowAlert ................................................................. 19
Adding new cows to CowAlert ............................................................................................. 20
Detaching an IceQube from a cow number .......................................................................... 20
8
Reports ........................................................................................................................................ 22
8.1
IceQube Population .............................................................................................................. 22
9
Site Information ........................................................................................................................... 23
9.1
User Settings ........................................................................................................................... 23
10 Help and Support ......................................................................................................................... 24
11 Compliance Information .............................................................................................................. 25
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FCC Compliance Information and Notice to Users ........................................................................... 25
ISED Compliance Information and Notice to Users .......................................................................... 26
1 Introduction
1.1 Minimum System Requirements to view CowAlert
CowAlert can be viewed on any internet-enabled device such as a PC, Mac, laptop, smartphone, tablet
PC. It is suggested that equipment with a reasonably sized screen is used to fully benefit from the
advanced graphing capability.
Using your unique User ID and password, you can access CowAlert from anywhere with a reliable
internet connection and modern web browser, whether in the farm office or from the other side of
the world. There is no software to be installed and all updates are automated so the most recent
version will always be available.
2 Getting connected to CowAlert
In the address bar of your preferred internet browser, type this address and then press enter;
www.cowalert.com
1. You should now see this screen:
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2. Click on Log In at the top right hand corner which will take you to the Log In page
3. Enter your Username and Password and press Log In – this will take you to your CowAlert
Dashboard.
Your username and password are unique to you. Please do not share these details with others as they
will then be able to make changes that may affect your data and therefore the effective functioning
of the system. If however, you would like to authorise someone else to have access, please email
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support@cowalert.com and a separate username and password can be issued for each additional
user.
If you forget your password, or believe that it is no longer secure, please email
support@cowalert.com and a replacement will be issued.
3 CowAlert Dashboard
Click on your farm name or CowAlert logo to return to Dashboard.
Heat Alerts: Clicking on any row in this table takes you directly to the details for the
selected time period.
The Navigation bar allows you to access the different features of CowAlert.
Download Metrics: This section shows the download performance and latest downloads
and times.
Farm User: Click here to logout from the system and select your language preference.
Users can logout from any page.
IceScore: These are your IceScore Health Alerts. The red button are cows with an IceScore
alerts (red), The cows assigned to an inspection list are in the orange, diagnosed problems
from an IceScore show up in blue, while the green button represents cows with no
significant change in Icescot.
Lying Time (hrs): This shows the average lying time for the herd for the previous day.
Average Lying Time: Click on this text to display a graph of lying time distribution.
Latest Data: Live data automatically refreshed every 120 seconds is displayed here
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3.1 Navigation Bar Details
Separate sections will be covered in more detail:
Click on your farm name or CowAlert logo to return your Dashboard
IceServer Online Indicator: Colour of house icon indicates if your CowAlert system is
connected to the internet
Green = Good connection
Orange = Offline for more than 30 mins but less than 10hrs
Red = Offline! Site not seen for more than 10hrs
Heats: Select this link to access all the Heat Alerts for your farm
Manage: Select to view Cows, unused IceQubes, administer groups, associate cows with
IceQubes, and remove cow IceQube attachments.
Reports: Access Lying Time, Health Alerts (subscription) and IceQube population reports.
Site: Shows site information and allows you to select settings to edit AI window and Cow
page view window parameters
Help: Access copy of user manual and other update notes as they become available
Cow: Search by Cow number
IceQube: Search by IceQube number
3.2
Search for Cow or IceQube Numbers
Search by Cow: Entering a cow number shows
all the cows that have the number contained in
their number in a drop down list. For example, if
you enter 12 you would see cow 12, 120, 121,
122. A maximum of 4 rows is shown. You could
simply hit enter to bring up that cows page.
Search by IceQube: In the same way you search
for cows you can search for specific IceQubes.
Numbers are matched, with a maximum of 4
rows displayed.
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4 IceScore Mobility
IceScore Mobility
4.1
IceScore is an optional subscription service. It provides an alert for animals exhibiting a change in
mobility which may be related to health issues such as lameness or mastitis.
Home Page Dashboard
New alerts are shown here . Click on red circle to display cows – see New Alerts list below
If a diagnosis is made the recorded cow and symptom will be stored and shown here, in
the blue circle. Cows that are diagnosed WILL NOT alert for 25 days – see Alert Processing.
Animals without an alert are shown here. If a cow is in the green circle she has no health
issue identified. You can return a cow to the green group by selecting no health issue
identified and then choosing how long to ignore the alert. When you choose to ignore
you will be able to select the time frame to ignore for after 1 day, 1 week or 1 month, she
will not create any new health alerts during this time (note: the default is Four weeks).
This displays the percentage of cows in the herd with a high score (>3). These cows may or
may not have a mobility issue that relates to a health problem. The graph shows trend
over time up to 1 year. Some cows due to the way they walk will have a naturally high
IceScore, this graph is useful for evaluating overcrowding and heat stress over time.
Note: If the Inspect or Observe categories are not selected then the Orange status will not show on
the home page.
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New Alerts List
Filter to view alert categories
Alert Value (4 = max value)
Decreasing or increasing alert notification. An improving (decreasing) score is just as
relevant to health issue as an increasing score.
Edit icon to allow cow classification (inspect, diagnose, no issue). Refer to images below
for further information.
Alert Processing and Classification
Click on red alert circle on the home page.
Select the change action.
Coloured text matches the options (yellow = inspect, blue = diagnose, green = no issue
identified)
Different alert timeframes are available when moving cows from red to green.
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5 Heat Alerts
5.1
Viewing recent heat alerts and their associated behaviour graphs
Heat alerts are shown in the left-hand table on the farm homepage.
Heat Alerts: Click on any row to open the details of the highlighted alerts.
Heats: This opens the table on the Heats webpage (for these specific heats) which are also
accessible via the Heats link in the navigation bar.
Drop Down Menu: Click to open drop-down menu to select different search criteria.
Heat Started: This column displays the time the heat started. The search box below it also
allows further refinement. Click column header to order by date/time.
Page Forward: Move to the next page and select view options of 100 or 500 rows per
page.
AI Window: This is the recommended AI window and is set by the farm by selecting Site
from the main menu bar, and then Settings. Note: The default is set to reflect the current
CowAlert recommended window, however this can be adjusted to reflect your
management practices.
Ignore Button: To cancel a heat alert (eg if caused by a known event). The Info button
displays further details and to if necessary reinstate an alert (e.g. if ignored by accident).
Graph Icon: Click on the small chart icon to show the 24 hour window to view to heat
activity graph.
Cow Number: Click the cow number to show all activity graphs for the animal.
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Viewing all Heat alerts
5.2
A list of all cows and heat alerts can be accessed by selecting Heats from the navigation bar.
Cow: The table can be sorted by Cow by clicking the column heading. Enter a cow number
in the white search field and hit <enter> to look for a specific cow.
Group: The table can also be sorted by Group via the Group column heading. For farms
integrated with DC305 group information is taken from DC305.
Comments: Sorting by Comments can also be done by selecting this column heading.
Heat Start: This column reflects the time the heat started. The search box below it also
allows further refinement. Click column header to order by date/time.
Days Since: Number of days between current heat and previous one are shown here. This
information can be used to help identify cows with unusual cycles.
AI Widow: Cows within a current AI window are highlighted in yellow. See section 9.1 on
how to set the AI window.
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5.3
The Hours graph can be accessed either by:
Behaviour graph: Hours view
• Selecting a heat event and clicking on the chart icon
• Selecting the Hours tab on the main cow activity screen
Select the time period (hours to 90 days) to view the data for that period.
Behaviour shows detailed behaviour information for the cow.
Clicking on any of these headings hides/shows them on the graph.
Scroll back/forward in time.
Options to print and export the graph.
The Hours view is fixed width. Data will progressively fill the window.
Standing/Lying Time is denoted by the yellow line. Here the cow is standing.
Recommended AI Window (editable) is shown in blue.
The pink line shows the Motion Index. This is a measure of how active the animal is. Note
the raised activity level during oestrus.
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5.4
Behaviour Graph: Multi-day view
An example of a 30 day activity graph is shown below:
Motion Index (MI). Note the sharp peak associated with oestrus and the reduced lying
time.
MI, Lying time and IceScore are shown by defualt. Another 6 graphical options are
available. Click to select.
Yellow line shows lying time. Hours are shown on right hand “Y”-axis.
Blue line shows IceScore with score value. Numbers above 2 indicate a potential health
problem.
Drag your cursor across the screen to view a popup box of average scores for each day.
Highlight a line with the mouse cursor and a pop up window appears showing the date
and numerical values of Motion Index, Lying Time and IceScore.
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5.5
Several tables are shown on the screen displaying the behaviour graph.
Behaviour Tables
Details:
Delete a cow by clicking delete. Note
that this will remove the animal from the
cow list along with all its data. The data
cannot be recovered, so this function
should be used with caution.
Summary information on the cow,
including optional Group allocation and
Eartag number. The table shows the
number of the IceQube currently
attached, when it last downloaded, and
when the last heat event occurred.
Click on Edit to edit the Cow Number,
Group, Comments, or Eartag fields. Use
Cancel to exit without saving. Fill in the
fields as required.
The Events table provides a list of the
dates of previous heat alerts.
The IceQube Attachments table provides
details on when IceQubes were attached
and removed from the cow, and the
associated IceQube numbers.
The Summary Information table
provides summary movement
information for the current day, the
average of the last 7 days and the
average of the last 14 days.
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Receiving Heat Alerts by email
5.6
In addition to viewing heat alerts at any time via CowAlert, automated email messages can be sent
to specific email addresses.
To set up automated email alerts, email support@cowalert.com with the following information:
• Farm name
• Name and email address of the person/people to receive email alerts.
• When the email alert should be received, eg once a day, 3pm, twice a day, at 6am and 6pm.
The email will include heat alerts generated within the last 72 hours.
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6 Lying Behaviour
CowAlert allows the user to monitor the lying times of the group or herd down to individual cow
level.
Lying Behaviour for the herd
6.1
From the Navigation bar select Reports then Lying Time for the drop down menu. Herd lying time
can also be accessed from the Home page by clicking on the average lying time figure. The left hand
graph shows 7 day average lying time and the right hand graph shows herd average lying time over
the last 60 days.
The 7 day average lying time of the herd is shown as bar charts in intervals of 2hrs. The
horizontal axis shows the average hours of lying time and the vertical axis shows the
number of cows lying within that period.
The end date for the 7 days can be changed here.
The hourly range distribution can be changed to show 1hr to 8hr groupings. 2hrs is the
default view.
The graph can be exported by clicking here.
The average lying time for the herd is shown for the past 60 days.
Moving the cursor over any of the bars on the chart shows the number of animals in that
group. Clicking on any bar reflects the specific animals in that group
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6.2
From the Navigation bar, select Reports then Lying time – Groups from the drop down menu.
Lying Behaviour by group
Hover the cursor over any of the bars to see the number of animals in that bar. Click on a bar to
create a list of those cows.
The right hand chart shows the average lying time of each group over time. Click on any of the lines
to show or hide the group on the graph.
Lying Behaviour graphs for an individual cow
6.3
Selecting Behaviour from the activity graph page accesses a comprehensive graph for each cow
showing trend analysis over a 90 day moving window.
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Click on the titles to turn displays on or off on the graph
This cow has very steady behaviour but the graph can help spot trends in lying time
This view shows the number of lying bouts over the 90 days and is a moving 90 day window
The display is a moving 90 day window
7 Managing Cows and IceQubes
Attaching IceQubes to Cows
7.1
When attaching IceQubes for the first time the best method to organise your data is to create a
manual list of which cows (i.e freeze brand numbers) have been given which IceQubes.
Many farmers fill out a spreadsheet with this information. The date and time of attachment should
be included.
Cow Number
IceQube Number
Date attached
Time attached
IceRobotics can upload this spreadsheet into CowAlert for you to make the initial association easier.
Note: If you wish to make the cow to IceQube associations yourself, you must create the list of cow
numbers in CowAlert first. Once the list of cows is created it is a simple task to match the cow to the
IceQube – see section 7.4, adding a new cow to CowAlert.
Selecting Manage Options
7.2
Select Manage from the main menu at the top of the Home page to access the selection.
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Select Cows to access the Cows page – see next section
Select Unused IceQubes to view all unattached devices.
Select Groups to associate cows to groups to faciliate herd managment – see section 7.4
For DC305 and Uniform Agri mastered sites, Attach and Remove IceQubes is not available
as all associations must be done via DC305 or Uniform Agri.
This shows the last download date. No date shown indicates the IceQube has never been
seen.
7.3
Viewing Cows
Insert search criteria in the white boxes.
Click on any column heading to change the ordering sequence – for example lowest
number to highest (or vice versa) or ordering alphabetically (A-Z or Z-A).
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7.4 Groups
Last seen shows when a cow last downloaded. Clicking the heading will change the ordering
from most recent to furthest away in time.
The lying time for the 24hrs since the last download are shown in this column. This allows
IceQubes which may have been attached upside down to be identified (lying time =
23:59:59). Cows demonstrating a sudden change in their lying time may have a health
issue or indicate a need for a management change.
Select the group – note you must request IceRobotics to define these for you.
Clicking on the cow number will move the cow into the right hand “group” column.
Click on the cow number here to move it back.
Once you have set all the cows in the group click “Set Group”
Attaching an IceQube to a Cow within CowAlert
7.5
Select Manage in the main menu, Attach IceQubes.
A form will open allowing you to select the IceQube number, the cow it is to be attached to and the
date and time of attachment. Please be as accurate as possible with attach and detach times to
avoid any data overlaps or gaps.
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The list of available (unattached) IceQubes is shown here (via a drop down menu).
Similarly, the list of available (unattached) cows is shown here. If the cow number does
not exist add the cow number (see #4)
The current time will display as the default, so it is unneccessary to change this. You
cannot input a time prior to this.
Click here to add a cow number – see section 7.6 for more detail.
You can indicate which leg the IceQube is attached to.
Click here to add additional rows.
Once complete, select submit.
Adding new cows to CowAlert
7.6
To add a new cow number to CowAlert, click on the Add Cows option within the Attach IceQubes
form seen in option 4 on the above diagram.
Enter the new cow number. If
adding more than one cow, enter
the numbers on separate lines. A
group description can also be
added for the cow(s).
Detaching an IceQube from a cow number
7.7
If you remove an IceQube from a cow you must update CowAlert. To remove the association
between a cow and IceQube:
Select Manage in the main menu, and then select Remove IceQubes
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Select Remove IceQubes.
To remove associations, select the Cow Number or the IceQube Number. Numbers can be
separated with a space, a colon, or entered on a separate line. When a cow number is
entered, a dialogue box will open to confirm the cow number or provide a warning if there
is no IceQube currently attached to that cow.
To remove associations, select the Cow Number or the IceQube Number.
Add the date – a calendar menu option opens up - and time (hrs and mins) of removal. Be
as accurate as possible to avoid data gaps or overlaps.
Click here to confirm the detachments. This opens a table summarising the changes made.
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8 Reports
A variety of reports are available to evaluate your farm. These can be accessed from the Reports
option on the main menu bar:
Click here to view Lying Time – see sections 6.1, 6.2 6.3 on pages 15 and 16.
Click any of the three categories to view the list of cows – see section 4.1 pages 7 & 8.
Click here to view the IceQube population – see section 8.1
IceQube Population
8.1
The IceQube Population chart displays all IceQubes registered to your farm. Each segment shows the
number of IceQubes seen over the indicated time period.
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9 Site Information
The Site option from the main menu bar provides:
-
-
Summary information on the farm and its location
Settings information the user can edit
9.1 User Settings
This section contains settings the user can edit according to their preferences:
Select Settings.
To change your timezone select Edit/Update these settings/
You can edit the views (30, 60, 90 day views) for the Cow page, select Edit/Update these
settings and make your changes.
When the changes have been made, under Edit Site Settings select Save.
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10 Help and Support
If you require assistance or have questions on CowAlert, the Support team can be contacted in three
ways:
1. Select the Help option from the main menu. This will open a web form which is shown
below. Fill in the required details and follow the on screen instructions. An email will be sent
to support@cowalert.com.
Your email address should appear automatically. If not, enter it (or change it to another user
on your farm).
2. Email:
support@cowalert.com
3. Telephone : 0131 541 2010 and select “Support” (option 2)
Telephone support is available between 0800 and 1800, Monday to Friday. Messages can be left
on this number at any time.
Any support requests will be dealt with as quickly as possible.
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11 Compliance Information
FCC Compliance Information and Notice to Users
FCC ID: WWP-I-HUB
FCC ID: WWP-I-QUBE
This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and
used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this
equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be
determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the
interference by one or more of the following measures:
• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
•
• Connect the equipment to an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is
Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver.
connected.
• Contact IceRobotics for help
This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two
conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any
interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. See 47 CFR Sec.
15.19(a)(3).
IceRobotics has not approved any changes or modifications to this device by the user. Any changes
or modifications could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment. See 47 CFR Sec. 15.21.
The IceHub is designed to operate with the two antennas shown below:
Use with ANY other antennas invalidates the FCC certification. Per FCC 15.203, the system must be
professionally installed and the installer has the responsibility to ensure that the correct antennas are
used.
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ISED Compliance Information and Notice to Users
IC ID: 8143A-IQUBE
HVIN: I-Qube
PMN: I-Qube
FVIN: 2.002
IC ID: 8143A-IHUB
HVIN: I-Hub
PMN: I-Hub
FVIN: 1.008
This device contains licence-exempt transmitter(s)/receiver(s) that comply with Innovation, Science
and Economic Development Canada’s licence-exempt RSS(s). Operation is subject to the following
two conditions:
• This device may not cause interference.
• This device must accept any interference, including interference that may cause undesired
operation of the device.
This device must be installed to provide a separation distance of 20cm from all persons.
L’émetteur/récepteur exempt de licence contenu dans le présent appareil est conforme aux CNR
d’Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique Canada applicables aux appareils radio
exempts de licence. L’exploitation est autorisée aux deux conditions suivantes :
•
•
L’appareil ne doit pas produire de brouillage;
L’appareil doit accepter tout brouillage radioélectrique subi, même si le brouillage est
susceptible d’en compromettre le fonctionnement.
Cet appareil doit être installé de manière à assurer une distance de séparation de 20 cm de toutes
les personnes.
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