This guide shows the various ways of making bunk calls, based on your yard management preferences.
Time: 7:05
Let's check out how bunk calls are made in Fusion. Just tap the "Bunk Calls/Deliver Load" button to open the window we'll be using.
On the left side, you'll see the Pen Focus window which displays a list of pens you can make bunk calls for. The window on the right shows the controls for making a bunk call for the selected pen. At the top, you can easily change the feeding protocol, ration, bunk score, and bunk call by tapping on the respective fields. Below that, you'll find the bunk call graph and a list of bunk call indicators that provide helpful information for your bunk call decision.
Different yards have different approaches when it comes to who makes the bunk calls. Some prefer the person feeding to make the calls while doing their first round of feeding. Others have the feed manager handle all the bunk calls in the morning before feeding begins. For the first part of this video, we'll assume you're making calls while dropping off feed.
It's worth noting that Fusion can work with or without feeding protocols. Let's start by showing how to make bunk calls without using feeding protocols.
Currently, we have pen 13 selected, and the Call column in the Pen Focus window indicates that no bunk call has been made for this pen today. Fusion will automatically default to yesterday's bunk call values, which you can either change or leave as they are before accepting the call.
Since pen 13 doesn't have a feeding protocol assigned, we only need to focus on the Ration and Bunk Call fields. To modify the ration, simply tap the Ration field and choose a new one if desired. If you want to slightly increase the bunk call, tap the right arrow. Alternatively, you can use the left arrow to decrease it or directly enter a specific value by tapping the field itself.
Keep in mind that bunk calls are calculated on a per head basis, making it easy to adjust calls without worrying about changes in head count within a pen. Additionally, bunk calls are made on a dry matter basis, ensuring consistent values regardless of ration or ingredient dry matter changes. Fusion takes care of all the internal calculations, making it convenient to compare bunk calls across pens, regardless of the assigned ration.
Once you're satisfied with the bunk call values, simply tap the Accept button to save the bunk call. Since we're also dropping off feed while making bunk calls, Fusion will automatically switch to the Feed Delivery tab so you can proceed to feed this pen. However, since we just changed the ration to one that isn't currently available on the truck, Fusion will helpfully warn us not to feed this pen at the moment. Just tap OK to dismiss the dialog and then click the Next Pen button.
For Pen 14, we don't need to change any values, so we can just tap the Accept button. Remember, it's important to make a bunk call every day, even if the values remain the same. Notice how the Call column updates to indicate that a bunk call has been made for this pen.
Once again, Fusion automatically switches to the Feed Delivery tab for us to feed this pen while we're there. However, we'll skip that part in this video and simply move on to the next pen by tapping Next Pen.
While we're talking about Pen 15, let's take a closer look at the bunk call graph. The background shows the number of days each ration has been used in the pen, while the foreground represents the bunk calls made. The color coding helps us understand the changes: red bars indicate a decrease, green bars indicate an increase, and blue bars indicate no change. The white bars show the actual amount fed, ideally matching the top of the bars.
By the way, both the graph and the list of indicators can be customized for your specific yard. However, we won't be demonstrating that in this video.
Pen 15 has a feeding protocol assigned. You can easily spot Fusion's suggestion to move to step 7 on this protocol, indicated by the purple background for the Step and Ration fields. This means it's recommending a switch to a Steer Optaflexx ration. These suggestions are based on the rules defined in the feeding protocol itself. Fusion doesn't force these changes on you but lets you know it's suggesting a new value by displaying the field label in purple.
Let's go ahead and follow the suggested changes. When using feeding protocols, the bunk score field becomes useful in determining the bunk call. We can tap on the Bunk Score field and choose score 3, which means the bunk is ideal. Notice how the Bunk Call field changes, and the label turns purple to indicate that Fusion has updated the value? We could override it, but since we're happy with Fusion's suggestions, we'll tap the Accept button to make the call.
However, since the selected ration doesn't match what's currently on the truck, Fusion again warns us not to feed this pen at the moment. In this case, we'll tap on the "Next Pen" button instead.
Moving on to Pen 16, it also has a feeding protocol, but it isn't time to change the step or ration yet, so Fusion doesn't highlight them in purple. Let's tap the right arrow for the Bunk Score field a couple of times to select bunk score 2, which indicates that the bunks are slick but there isn't much interest. Again, notice how Fusion automatically updates the bunk call based on the feeding protocol and highlights the field in purple. Since we're satisfied with the new value, we'll tap Accept and the pen is ready to be fed.
So far, we've shown how to make bunk calls while you're in the process of feeding. However, Fusion also provides an option to make all the bunk calls at once, which we'll demonstrate now. Some yards prefer to use Fusion Truck on a laptop and drive around in a vehicle to make the bunk calls, allowing them to free up a feed truck. You can choose the method that works best for you.
Since we're currently on the Feed Delivery tab, we need to switch to the Bunk Call tab. Then, we'll enable the "Just Bunk Calls" checkbox. When this option is selected, Fusion won't automatically switch to the Feed Delivery tab after each bunk call is accepted. Finally, let's change the filter in the Pen Focus window to show all pens. The pens are still arranged in drive order to make it convenient for making the calls as you drive around.
Let's continue making bunk calls in this mode. The sick pen is currently selected, and since we don't want to make any changes, we simply tap Accept. Notice how the next pen is automatically selected, ready for the next call. This time, it's the chronic pen, and again, we want to leave it as it is, so we tap Accept once more.
Now, we've reached Pen 1. We want to change the bunk call to 22.9, so we type in the new value and tap Accept.
If you choose to make bunk calls this way, remember to perform a sync when you're finished so that the feed trucks can receive the calls you made during their next sync.
There are some more advanced features available for making bunk calls, but we'll save those for another video. However, you may be wondering how to fix things if you make a wrong bunk call. With Fusion, you can make as many bunk calls for a pen each day as you want. So, to correct a mistake, simply select the pen, change the values to what you desire, and tap the Accept button again.
