Tracking cow's conception cycle using a mobile phone

By FREDRICK OBURA Small-scale dairy farmers continue to lose thousands of shillings annually due to lack of relevant information on a cow’s conception period. Normally, cows have a very short receptive period within their cycle, only 11 to12 hours, and will come on heat every 17 to 25 days until impregnated, every year. Experts say the shorter period makes it tricky for the farmers to keep tabs with exact dates a cow should be prepared for insemination. Ms Su Kahumbu, founder Green Dreams Limited has developed a mobile phone application to help farmers detect a cow’s menstruation cycle by sending voice reminders when a cow approaches conception stage. The application, known as iCow, is expected to help small-scale dairy farmers, who traditionally have found it hard to follow traditional methods like calendar to detect gestation period, and monitor closely the life cycle of a cow keenly through a mobile phone. "iCow, is a simple voice based mobile application that will help farmers track the oestrus stages of a subscriber’s cow helping one to manage their breeding as well as cow nutrition leading up to the calving day," she said, adding: "This will be done via a series of voice prompts and sms messages that will be sent to the farmer during the course of the 365-day cow cycle." SERVICE DELIVERYFarmers first register on the application and input relevant confirmed/known ‘cow’ dates. These include the cow ID, last date served or last date calved. iCow will send voice prompts to the farmer at intervals throughout the year, relevant to each specific cow at that particular time of it’s cycle. These prompts will not only be reminders, but also educational. "In some instances the prompts will be followed up with a short message service delivering additional important information for instance a veterinary’s phone number." In 2010 during a first continental competition dubbed App4Africa, iCow won the top cash prize of $5,000 in a challenge, which attracted some of the most innovative ideas from across Africa. Apps4Africa highlights the talent of local developers and to leverage the power of digital technology to make a better world. The challenge is to build the best digital tools to address community challenges in areas ranging from healthcare to education and Government transparency to election monitoring. "iCow application builds on the wider penetration of mobile phones in the country in addressing challenges many farmers face," she says, adding: "There is immense economical lose due to missing minor links. Such ignorance continues to cost farmers in delayed deliveries and in most cases a possible abortion." According to dairy experts, cows like humans, have a nine-month gestation period and a healthy cow will produce a calf a year plus milk for 10 months (305 days) of the year. "In order to produce a healthy calf and optimal milk production, a cow must be given a two-month ‘break’ from milking prior to calving,’ says Evans Kimani, a veterinary doctor in Nyahururu. During this time the should be fed extra nutritious feed to enable her have a successful calving and subsequent good health for her milking period. Two to three months after calving she is served again and the cycle resumes. "Serving her before this period will result in possible abortion as she has not recovered from her last calving, and serving her much after this period will mean she gives birth at a later date whereby reducing her value economically." The value of a cow thus is in her yearly milk yield and yearly production of a calf. PREGNANCY DETERMINATION"If a farmer inputs cow last date served as October 1st 2010 for instance, iCow will send a voice message exactly 3 months later to the farmer advising him to have a pregnancy determination test and will even explain the method and meaning of such a test to the farmer," she explains. In a scenario where a farmer inputs cow last date served as October 1 2010, iCow will send a voice message to the farmer 20 days later reminding him to observe his cow for the following week looking for any signs of being on heat.

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