The foundation of the supply chain for meat, milk, electronic ear, and all animal products is traceability. Since animals spend their entire lives in one location before being transported to slaughterhouses or sold only when the time is right. Their identification and traceability serve as the foundation for all commercial operations. The former situations typically occur far from the animal’s original habitat, therefore a lack of knowledge regarding animal’s health may pose serious health problems. Because of this, moving your animals without controls is not conceivable and it is more crucial to be able to follow animals throughout their lives.
What are Ear Tags?
You must know that across the world there are some places where animal identification is required for specific activities or is compulsory. In those places, National Regulatory bodies govern the selling and delivery of any type of identification. This way they can keep a record of the number of registered livestock under the name of the owner. Farmers generally use applicators for placing electronic ear tags on their animals.
- Farmers can make the best choice when it comes to removing animals that are underperforming in a herd. They can do this with the use of animal identification and record keeping.
- Technology has made it quite easy to trace an animal’s history and identify its strengths and weaknesses. Farmers can also manage the animal’s data to maximize profits.
- The output of animal data can be further consolidated by a farmer using a specific farm management program.
- Effective systems must be able to track animals up the food chain from farmer to slaughter or retailer as well as down the food chain from grower to retail using the records that have been kept at each stage of the chain.
- The foundations for livestock product assurance and accreditation schemes include traceability, transparency, and quality assurance. Effective animal identification and movement tracking are essential for traceability.
- Many nations and laws require the identification of farm animals, and the movement of cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs must be tracked both locally and centrally.
Before using ear tagging, all farmers must ensure that:
- The applicators of ear tags are sharpened well and properly kept.
- The ear punches are properly disinfected before puncturing different animals. They also must be kept properly clean.
- Make sure that the ear tags are not placed at the edge of the animal’s ear. Otherwise, they will get lost.
What is the Process of Tagging Cattle?
Step 1: Catching and Limiting Movement
Before applying an ear tag to the animal, it must be caught and restrained from too much head movement. This way the tag position will be accurate. You must have seen that when a calf is born, its mother’s natural instinct is to protect them. But, when it comes to the person making sure that the calf is getting all the attention required, it can get dangerous. This is where the calf cage plays an important role. Through this tool, a calf can be caught and taken care of. Using this tool, there will also be no risk of injury to an individual. With this tool, an individual can tag a calf securely without any other person’s help. But as soon as the livestock ages, a head gate is needed. This way an animal’s head is safe and secure and the individual is also not harmed.
Step 2: Importance of Ear Tag Color
The main purpose of using animal ear tags is for easy identification of livestock. But the color of the ear tags also plays a crucial role. It is not only the color that is important but the meaning of the ear tag too. Every farm has a different method of identifying and using technology to identify their cows. Many combinations can be used to display a variety of meanings. If you are a producer, it depends on you which ear tag and color you choose.
Step 3: Importance of Identification Number
Apart from the ear tag color, producers assign separate numbers to animals for identification. You might see only a number on ear tags but you can also put the date of birth, sire, and damn on it. Numbers are given to the ear tags so the data is recorded for different circumstances. With aged cows, the tags can help in identifying the approximate calving history, breeding date, medical and health records, paster’s location, and calving date.
Step 4: Ear Tag Placement
Once a calf or a cow has been selected, the identification number and the color are given. Location is important because if a tag is placed incorrectly, it could cause problems. The ideal location for an ear tag is in the middle third of the ear. The location needs to be between the ribs or between the auricular cartilage ridges. If a tag is placed too deep into the ear, where the cartilage is thicker, it will fit snugly. This might cause tissue sloughing, which is the shedding of dead cells, or tissue necrosis, which is the death of tissue cells. Tags that are placed too far beyond the ear risk becoming caught or tearing off. The positioning of tags is essential to reduce the risk of infection.
Step 5: Simple Plastic Tags
Always select the best type of tag for your cattle. Simple plastic tags are the most common and cost-effective form of identification used by small-lot farmers. On the large, flat display panel of them is a clear ID number.
Make sure to clean the applicator to reduce the chance of infection. To guarantee the welfare of your animals, you must thoroughly sanitize all items that come in contact with the cow’s ear. Ensure that the applicator is well cleaned both before and after use. After every tagging session, clean and disinfect the applicator to prolong its life and safeguard your cows from infection.
After each labeling meeting, clean and sanitize the implement to drag out its life and defend your cows from contamination.
We hope this blog post helps you with gaining knowledge regarding electronic ear tags. So, you can understand the importance it has for your livestock identification.