1. A system for monitoring the behavior of an animal, the system comprising: a network adapter configured to couple to a network and receive data indicative of a measured characteristic of an animal from a measuring device, the measured characteristic being received subsequent to a sensor detecting a presence of the animal at the measuring device; and a processor configured to: calculate derived data associated with the animal from the measured characteristics, the derived data including at least one of: an average weight of the animal over a period of time, a maximum weight of the animal over a period of time, a minimum weight of the animal over a period of time, average, maximum and/or minimum rates of food and/or water consumption, expressed in weight of food and/or water consumed per unit of time, a cumulative duration of time between each detection of the presence of the animal and departure of the animal, and an average time interval between instances where presence of the animal is detected; compare either the measured characteristic or the derived data to threshold alert data, and send, via the network adapter, an alert associated with the animal to be displayed on a remote display when the measured characteristic or derived data crosses the threshold alert data.