Reading a group's chewing profile

The chewing profile places all the animals in a group on the same graph. The position of the cluster of points tells you whether your ration lacks quantity or fibre, or whether your animals are sorting at the feed trough.

What the graph shows:

The graph compares two measurements:

rumination time relative to time spent eating;
total chewing time, i.e. the two times added together.

Each point represents an animal. A point in a different colour marks the group average.

Interpreting the position of the cluster:

Position	Meaning
Bottom left	Insufficient intake. This is often where you find sick animals and subordinate animals, when space at the feed trough is lacking.
Top left	Ration too fibrous and not very digestible: a lot of hay or average-quality silage, cut fairly short to limit sorting.
Top right	Sorting at the feed trough: the animals spend a long time eating and ruminate little. Typical of long fibres, average-quality forage or a large proportion of grazing.
Bottom right	Risk of acidosis: the animals ruminate little in relation to what they eat.

An animal set apart from the others
If a point is clearly far from the rest of the herd, that animal probably has a problem. The bubbles in the four zones of the graph provide explanations.

Group curves:

The group's feed intake and rumination curves are linked: changing the display date updates all the indicators. You can go back in time and change the calendar zoom.

What the graph shows:

Interpreting the position of the cluster:

Group curves:

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