Learn More about HealthVAL Calculations
3 min
healthval provides a precise look at your herd’s health and uses an "animal days at risk" concept to calculate mortality and health events for heifers this method offers a more accurate picture than simple headcounts, especially for dynamic groups like youngstock where animals frequently move between age groups which animals are included in the calf mortality rate? the healthval calf mortality rate includes all female calves and heifers, including cross bred heifers that are sold for beef male calves are not included in the calculation what are "days at risk"? a heifer is "at risk" when it is present in the herd and within a specific age range where an event (like a health issue or death) could occur this is a count in days—not a "high" or "low" risk assessment, and this total is unrelated to the frequency of health or sold/died events entered instead of just counting the number of heifers, pulse calculates how many days each animal spent in specific age brackets why this matters accuracy a calf that just entered a 30 day age bracket has more time to experience an event than a calf about to leave that bracket weighting the data by days at risk prevents underestimating mortality rates consistency this approach provides a realistic occurrence rate regardless of your herd size or how long animals stay in a specific age group real time insights the report updates automatically when opened and is based on based on your latest pulse data, ensuring you see the most current health trends 💡 tip when using custom age ranges, limit the range to fit your specific goal for example, if you want to see the occurrence of heifers sold for reproduction, set your range to start at 365 days this ensures early life mortality data doesn't skew the results for breeding age animals