smaXtec Help Center

No, smaXtec Classic/pH Plus Boli are to be used exclusively for cattle.

In several years of use, no cases of impairment have been reported. The German Agricultural Society (Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft – DLG) tested the resistance of the sensor to rumen fluid; and the US Food and Drug Administration approved the sensor after detailed examination.

No, the smaXtec Classic Bolus/pH Plus Bolus remains in the reticulum and cannot be taken out.

Usually, it takes about 24 hours until the bolus arrives in its final position in the reticulum. In rare cases, it can take up to 10 days. The bolus then remains in the same position due to its own weight.

The minimum body weight for bolus application for both sensors is 450 kg when administered by trained staff (approximately 18 months for Holstein cows) and 300 kg when administered under veterinary supervision. The limiting factor is the diameter of the oesophagus.

Boluses are administered just as other types of boluses using a bolus applicator. We recommend using the smaXtec bolus applicator.

All smaXtec SX.1 boluses have an internal memory, in which the data is saved for upto 50 days. The data cannot be lost within this period. After the 50-day period, new data will replace the oldest data.

No, the battery in the boluses cannot be changed.

The smaXtec Classic Bolus should be administered within the next few hours.

The smaXtec Classic Bolus SX.1 can save data in its internal memory for 50 days. As soon as measured data is read out by one of the read-out devices (smaXtec Base Station or Repeater), the internal storage is available again.

The battery lifetime of the smaXtec Classic Bolus SX.1 is up to 4 years. During this period of time, both parameters (temperature and activity) are measured continuously.

Yes, but make sure the smaXtec pH Plus Boluses are kept in pH7 buffer solution until administration. You should administer them within 4 hours.

We do not recommend reusing smaXtec pH Plus Boluses in other animal for reasons of biosecurity. Furthermore, the sensors are not designed for repeated use. If you administer a sensor to another animal we cannot assume any guarantee for correct measurement because of the mechanical influences and change of medium (rumen/air/rumen). This is also applies for cows with rumen fistulas.

We recommend using the smaXtec pH Plus Bolus in 6-10% of the herd. The other animals receive the smaXtec Classic Boli for monitoring of calving & heat detection and individual health status.

We do not recommend reusing smaXtec Classic Boluses in other animal for reasons of biosecurity. Furthermore, the sensors are not designed for repeated use. If you administer a sensor to another animal we cannot assume any guarantee for correct measurement because of the mechanical influences and change of medium (rumen/air/rumen).

The smaXtec Classic Bolus should be administered within the next few hours. The administration has to take place the same day.

The smaXtec Classic Bolus SX.2 can save data for 6 days on its internal memory. After six days, the oldest data will be replaced by new data.

The battery lifetime of the smaXtec Classic Bolus SX.2 is up to 4 years. During this period of time, all three parameters (temperature, rumination and activity) are measured continuously.

No, all smaXtec Boluses are to be used exclusively for cattle.

In several years of use, no cases of impairment have been reported. The German Agricultural Society (Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft – DLG) tested the resistance of the sensor to rumen fluid; and the US Food and Drug Administration approved the sensor after detailed examination.

No, the smaXtec Classic Bolus remains in the reticulum and cannot be taken out.

Usually, it takes about 24 hours until the bolus arrives in its final position in the reticulum. In rare cases, it can take up to 10 days. The bolus then remains in the same position due to its own weight.

The minimum body weight for bolus application for both sensors is 450 kg when administered by trained staff (approximately 18 months for Holstein cows) and 300 kg when administered under veterinary supervision. The limiting factor is the diameter of the oesophagus.

No, the bolus battery cannot be changed.

There are several reasons why the area in which rumination data is normally displayed doesn’t show data and is highlighted in red:
1. The bolus is currently not in the reticulum. The bolus measures rumination activity based on typical movements of the reticulum, therefore rumination activity is only measured when the bolus is located there. In certain cases, the bolus can be ejected from the reticulum and floats in the rumen freely. In this case, the bolus cannot measure the movement of the reticulum correctly. It can take up to 10 days for the bolus to be back in the right place – usually it is much faster. As soon as the bolus is back in place, rumination activity is displayed in the diagram again.
2. The bolus has only been administered recently. The bolus is still in the process of initialisation. Once the initialisation phase is complete, rumination data is displayed.
3. A technical problem has occurred. This prevents rumination data to be calculated.
4. In rare cases, the absence of rumination data, especially after an alert “reduction of rumination”, may also indicate a serious health problem. In this case, keep a close eye on the other health parameters such as inner body temperature in order to be able to intervene in the case of illness.

The temperature is measured by means of a temperature sensor and has a very high precision (+/-0,03°C.).
The measurement of the inner body temperature is available for the smaXtec system SX.1 and SX.2.

The normal temperature of the cow is calculated based on the last 5 days. This also means that the normal temperature can change for several reasons: Depending on the lactation phase and the outside temperature, the normal temperature of cows is higher or lower. In addition, the normal temperature can increase significantly during longer periods of temperature increases – a recovery of the animal is therefore often accompanied by “decrease in temperature” messages.

In the temperature curve, one can see the water intake behaviour of the animals. If an animal drinks (cold) water, it goes directly into the reticulum, where the bolus is positioned. The environment of the bolus is briefly cooled by the cold water, which results in a few (1-3) measurements being significantly lower (also lower than the body temperature). The temperature regulates itself within a few minutes. The measurements continue constantly and then show again the usual normal temperature in the rumen.
By monitoring the drinking behaviour can be concluded on the health of the animal and indirectly on the feed intake. Strong deviations indicate a change in the animal’s condition. Appropriate warnings are issued by the system. If several animals in the herd show a change in drinking behaviour, the drinking troughs themselves must be checked in addition to the health status.

The cow’s rumen is constantly in motion. Depending on what the cow is doing, the number of contracts in the reticulum differs: If the cow is eating or digesting, the reticulum contracts twice. When the cow is ruminating, a third contraction takes place, which transports the feed back into the mouth. Thanks to the measurement position in the reticulum, the bolus precisely detects how many times it contracts and thus knows whether the cow is currently ruminating.
The measurement of rumination is available exclusively for the smaXtec system SX.2.

The rumination activity provides valuable information on the health status of the animals and allows feeding to be monitored and optimised at the group level.
To gain an accurate insight into the feeding of the herd, to optimise it and to detect problems in feeding management, the targeted use of pH value measurement is recommended. The pH value provides direct conclusions about the feeding of the animals and, in contrast to the rumination activity, is not influenced by other factors such as individual health.

The pH values of the rumen and the reticulum are very closely related (i.e. correlate very strongly with each other). Since measurements are always taken at the same point in the reticulum, changes or deviations in pH can be attributed to management and ration.

Classic Bolus SX.1: The relative measurement accuracy is +/-0.05°C at 39°C.
Classic Bolus SX.2: Relative measurement accuracy is +/-0.03°C at 39°C.

The measurement accuracy is +/- 0.2 up to the 90th day and +/- 0.4 from the 90th to the 150th day.

According to the literature-based formula we use to calculate THI, temperature has a greater impact on THI than humidity. The reason for this is that heat directly stresses or overstresses the body temperature regulation.

Measuring inside the animal has several significant advantages: The device cannot be lost and there is also no risk of injury to the animal from the measuring device. In addition, the measurements are free from falsification, which can occur with externally mounted measuring devices due to external influences.