Thumbnail Image
Publication

Electronic Animal Identification.

Fallon, Richard J.
; 
Rogers, Philip
; 
Earley, Bernadette
Citations
Altmetric:
Keywords
Electronic animal identification, Meat traceability, Implantation site, Rumen bolus, electronic button tag
Date
2002-01-01
Collections
AGRIP End of Project Reports
Show all metadata
Files
Thumbnail Image
eopr-4623.pdf
Adobe PDF, 142.5 KB
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/11019/1366
Citation
Fallon, R.J., Rogers, P.A.M., Earley, B., Electronic Animal Identification, End of Project Reports, Teagasc, 2002.
Abstract
The technology for electronic identification (ID) of bovines is currently available with the advent of passive electronic transponders. At issue is the most appropriate method to attach the electronic ID to the animals. The options include an electronic button tag in the ear, an implantable electronic chip in the ear base or an electronic bolus placed in the rumen/reticular via the oesophageal route. • Aseries of experiments which compared different implantation sites for electronic chips found that the most suitable site for implantation was under the scutellar cartridge of the ear.This site gave very good retention values and was also a secure site, however, it was not possible to palpate the transponder. • The recovery of injectable transponders post slaughter was problematic and as a result due to potential risk of implantable transponder entering the food chain it was not possible to recommend the injectable (implantable route). • Electronic rumen boluses with a specific density less than 2 were rapidly expelled from the rumen, with 100% expulsion by day 56 following placement in the reticulo-rumen. • Rumen boluses with a specific density of 2.75 and greater had an annual non reading rate of less than 1%, however, the loss rate in adult beef cows was greater than in growing and finishing cattle.The reason for this difference was unclear and may be diet related. • Recovery of boluses at slaughter was undertaken in the offal hall and generally the bolus was present in the reticulum and was easily detected by palpating the reticulum. One hundred percent recovery was not achieved in practice, various unforseen events including accidental dislodgment and cutting techniques prevented recovery. • Abolus dispenser with a long connection will facilitate delivery of the bolus directly to the calf’s reticulum. • Electronic failure of transponders in the reticulo-rumen was not a problem and read-failure rate was associated with boluses expelled from the reticulo-rumen. • There was no differences in read-failure rate (or loss rate) between two commercial boluses which were compared in different catgories of cattle. • Electronic button tags from two commercial companies were compared and it was found that any difference between the electronic button ear tags was associated with a defective applicator taggers. • Overall, the animal loss rate for electronic button tags was somewhat higher than that reported for electronic rumen boluses.
Funder
Grant Number
Embedded videos