Before the SmartStock bolus was developed, ranchers and feedlot operators would depend on pen-riders on horseback or motor vehicles, to visually look for outward visual signs of “sick cattle”. With reduced available labor in dairies, feedlots and in pastures, each pen rider would have to inspect thousands of cattle daily. Those “sick looking” cattle would then be pulled and a rectal temperature would be performed to determine if the animal was in fact sick.
The core body temperature and other health parameters are monitored and then on a regular basis the data along with a unique animal I.D is transmitted to a collective database. The bolus is an active RFID transmitter that will transmit an RF based signal up to about 300 feet to an integrated data base system. The 300 foot transmission range gives a total diameter of up to 600 feet.
Solar powered Receiver/Repeaters are placed strategically around the dairy, feedlot or grazing pasture and with peer-to-peer networking, are connected to a common database. One system with multiple receiver/repeaters can easily outfit an entire feedlot with animal density of well over 100,000 animals. The life expectancy of our bolus is two years for beef cattle and up to five years for dairy cattle, well beyond the expected life of the cattle.
Utilizing software enhancements, the physiological state of all animals is always known. Animals that fall outside of preset alarm states for physiological conditions will alert the operator immediately.
Temperature monitoring and ID: In most cases, temperature is the first indication of a sick or ill mammal. Our temperature and ID bolus is our most popular bolus. The core body temperature is monitored and transmitted along with the animal ID at regularly programmed intervals. Temperature trending can be accomplished on each animal. Alarm levels can be set for the herd and any animal that exceeds the preset temperature will trip the alarm.
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