Structure and content of the exported CSV data files
General information
When exporting animal data, regardless of whether to the USB flash drive or to a local mass storage device on the PC, four export files are generated in each case:
- Animal data
(animals.csv) - Body temperature data
(temperatures.csv) - Weight data
(weights.csv) - Animal ratings
(ratings.csv)
All four files are human readable CSV text files. The files are encoded in UTF-8 format, semicolons (;) are used as column separators. The individual data fields are not enclosed in quotation marks. Each row of the respective table represents an animal data set or a measurement or assessment performed on an animal.
Further processing of exported data
You can open each of these four export files in a spreadsheet program of your choice (such as Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice Calc) and perform advanced analysis of the data there. As an example, the view of the table animals.csv in a spreadsheet program is shown below:
Description of data files
The following four sections describe each of the exported data files in detail:
Animal data (animals.csv)
- File name
animals.csv - Description General animal data
- Number of columns 6
Each row of the animal data table represents one animal stored on the VitalControl. An exemplary animal data table thus has the following appearance:
National-ID-Animal;Farm-ID-Animal;Transponder-ID;DateOfBirth;Sex;BirthWeight-Kg
276000312341001;1001;276000312341001;2023-07-03;F;
276000312341002;1002;276000312341002;2023-07-04;F;40.8
276000312341003;1003;276000312341003;2023-07-05;F;38.3
…
The following table lists and describes each column of the animal data table:
| Column | Name of column | Description | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National-ID-Animal | Official national animal number | 15 digits according to ISO1174/85, maybe not recorded |
| 2 | Farm-ID-Animal | Management number | 2- to 6 digits, often equal to number at collar |
| 3 | Transponder-ID | Transponder number | may be missing , may be identical with national animal ID |
| 4 | DateOfBirth | Date of birth | Format: YYYY-MM-TT (Year-Month-Day) |
| 5 | Sex | Sex | Values: M: male, F: female, ?: unknown |
| 6 | BirthWeight-Kg | Birth weight | Unit: kilogram, maybe not recorded / missing |
If needed, you can also download the provided sample file animals.csv.
Body temperature data (temperatures.csv)
- File name
temperatures.csv - Description Temperature values, obtained by taking the rectal body temperature of animals.
- Number of columns 5
Each line of the temperature data table represents a body temperature measurement performed on an animal with VitalControl device. An exemplary temperature table thus has the following appearance:
National-ID-Animal;Farm-ID-Animal;Date;Time;Temperature-Celsius
276000312341001;1001;276000312341001;2023-07-24;38.03
276000312341002;1002;276000312341002;2023-07-24;40.12
276000312341003;1003;276000312341003;2023-07-24;39.97
…
a The following table lists and describes each column of the export file containing the body temperature values:
| Column | Name of column | Description | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National-ID-Animal | 15-digit number of measured animal | according to ISO1174/85, maybe not recorded |
| 2 | Farm-ID-Animal | Management number of measured animal | 2- to 6 digits, often equal to collar number |
| 3 | Date | Date of temperature measurement | Format: YYYY-MM-TT (Year-Month-Day) |
| 4 | Time | Uhrzeit der Temperaturmessung | Format: hh-mm-ss (hour:minute:second) |
| 5 | Temperature-Celsius | Measured temperature value | Unit: Grad Celsius |
If needed, you can also download the provided sample file temperatures.csv. The figure below shows this data file opened in a spreadsheet program.
Weight data (weights.csv)
- File name
weights.csv - Description Weight values obtained by weighing animals
- Number of columns 5
Each line of the weight table represents one weighing of an animal using the VitalControl device for recording the weight value. An exemplary weight table thus has the following appearance:
National-ID-Animal;Farm-ID-Animal;Date;Time;Weight-Kg
276000312341001;1001;276000312341001;2023-07-24;67.8
276000312341002;1002;276000312341002;2023-07-24;F;40.4
276000312341003;1003;276000312341003;2023-07-24;F;104.2
…
The following table lists and describes the individual columns of the table containing the animal weights:
| Column | Name of column | Description | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National-ID-Animal | 15-digit number of weighed animal | according to ISO1174/85, maybe not recorded |
| 2 | Farm-ID-Animal | Management number of weighed animal | 2- to 6 digits, often equal to collar number |
| 3 | Date | Date of weighing | Format: YYYY-MM-TT (Year-Month-Day) |
| 4 | Time | Time of weighing | Format: hh-mm-ss (hour:minute:second) |
| 5 | Weight-Kg | Weight value | Unit: Kilogram |
If needed, you can also download the provided sample file weights.csv. The figure below shows this export file opened in a spreadsheet program.
Animal ratings (ratings.csv)
- File name
ratings.csv - Description Animal ratings obtained by visually inspecting the animals
- Number of columns 8
Each row of the animal ratings table represents the visual rating of an an animal evaluation performed with VitalControl. An exemplary table with animal rating has the following appearance:
National-ID-Animal;Farm-ID-Animal;Date;Time;ScoreCondition;ScoreFeedIntake;ScoreScours;ScoreRespiratory
276000312341001;1001;276000312341001;2023-07-24;Green;Yellow;Yellow;Green
276000312341002;1002;276000312341002;2023-07-24;Yellow;Yellow;Yellow;Red
276000312341003;1003;276000312341003;2023-07-24;Green;None;None;None
…
The following table lists and describes each column of the animal ratings table:
| Column | Name of column | Description | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National-ID-Animal | 15-digit number of rated animal | according to ISO1174/85, maybe not recorded |
| 2 | Farm-ID-Animal | Management number of rated animal | 2- to 6 digits, often equal to collar number |
| 3 | Date | Date of rating | Format: YYYY-MM-TT (Year-Month-Day) |
| 4 | Time | Time of rating | Format: hh-mm-ss (hour:minute:second) |
| 5 | ScoreCondition | Rating of general condition | Ratings: Red, Yellow, Green, None |
| 6 | ScoreFeedIntake | Rating of feed intake | Ratings: Red, Yellow, Green, None |
| 7 | ScoreScours | Rating of status concerning Scours | Ratings: Red, Yellow, Green, None |
| 8 | ScoreRespiratory | Rating of status Respiratory diseases | Ratings: Red, Yellow, Green, None |
If necessary, you can also download the provided sample file ratings.csv. The figure below shows this file opened in a spreadsheet program.
