Early detection is a particularly important aspect of preventing serious diseases in cattle herds. The sooner a sick or injured animal is identified, the greater the chances of recovery; pain, suffering and damage can be avoided or reduced, thereby improving animal welfare. The risk of tissue and organ damage can be minimised through early detection. Necessary measures, such as moving the animal to a recovery pen and commencing treatment, should be carried out promptly following early detection. Economic considerations should not be the deciding factor; rather, the ethical, moral and legally enshrined obligation towards the animal should take precedence. Nevertheless, early detection and treatment of sick or injured animals can lead to lower economic burdens resulting from reduced performance or treatment and replacement costs. Reduced use of medication also protects the environment and prevents the emergence of resistant pathogens, which also pose a problem in human medicine.

It is therefore important to check the animals daily during routine work and to examine any animals showing signs of distress more closely, so that measures can be taken as quickly as possible to improve their condition.

The observation of animals – whether healthy, sick or injured – always involves documenting the findings.

A major advantage of documentation is that it enables livestock owners to identify changes in the animal and place them in a temporal context, as well as to assess the effect of the measures taken on the herd. This is not comparable to daily routine checks, which focus, for example, on identifying acute changes in general health, but also aims, amongst other things, to detect gradual changes.

Documentation can also be beneficial for the veterinarian, as the course of a disease can be reflected more accurately than is possible through a memory-based account. The clearly visible and recorded progression of diseases does not replace an individual animal examination, but can serve as a basis for further decisions, such as whether an animal needs to be moved to a recovery pen.

Proper documentation is mandatory under Section 11(8) of the Animal Welfare Act, i.e. the animal keeper must be able to produce it upon request by the competent authority

The obligation to document also arises from the amended provisions of EU animal health legislation. Among other things, the record-keeping obligations for holdings have been revised such that the results of animal health visits by veterinarians, as well as test results for examined animals, must be documented on paper or in electronic form.

The daily inspection of animals can also be supported by digital systems. On the one hand, there are apps and software that facilitate the documentation of findings, and on the other hand, there are systems with which animal-specific data can be recorded. Transponders can be used to record individual animal data during milking (milk yield, milk flow, colour, conductivity, etc.), the intake of concentrate or milk/milk replacer at feeding stations, or weight via a scale embedded in the walkway. Furthermore, there are systems for recording animal temperature, activity and resting behaviour, rumination activity and location. Data loggers can be attached to an ear tag, a halter, a collar or an animal’s leg, or can collect data via a bolus inserted into the animal. By regularly monitoring the collected data, gradual changes can sometimes be detected earlier and more effectively than through the farmer’s own sensory observations. Alarm functions can also help to detect anomalies. However, it must be emphasised that Precision Livestock Farming – i.e. the use of digital systems – is a tool and should not replace daily animal observation. For example, the data can be used to check whether a cow has been at the concentrate feeder. However, it cannot be verified whether the cow actually ate the concentrate it accessed. Furthermore, it must be noted that the accuracy of the data and the monitoring efficiency of most systems have only been tested on standard breeds kept in barns. With different husbandry systems, such as grazing, this may lead to inaccurate results.

Deviations from normal behaviour may indicate illness or injury. The easiest behaviours to observe are resting and feeding habits, as well as movement and social behaviour.

Cattle are ruminants and, due to the biology of their forestomachs, require a continuous supply of food. Feeding and rumination phases are spread evenly throughout the day and may extend into the night. Peak feed intake occurs particularly in the morning and evening. There is a tendency for the animals to carry out their main activities (resting and feeding) together within the herd. The duration of feeding in the pasture varies between six and ten hours per day, depending on the availability of feed and the individual characteristics of the animal. In the barn, this is usually two hours less. As soon as feeding is complete, the rumination phase begins, which mainly takes place whilst lying down. This lasts a total of eight to ten hours. Feeding and subsequent lying down with rumination alternate throughout the day. Cattle sleep for only around two to three hours within a 24-hour period.

In the pasture, cattle walk several kilometres a day whilst feeding. This is not necessary in the barn, so the distances they walk are shorter. As described in the previous chapter, cattle are herd animals and live in social groups governed by dominance relationships, which are also expressed through rank-related conflicts. They maintain a personal space between one another. The distance between them is determined by various factors. Rank disputes mainly occur when the rank between animals is unclear (e.g. due to regrouping), when competitive situations arise, or when the personal space between the animals cannot be maintained, e.g. due to lack of space or when being herded.

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