Electronic identification (EID/RFID) using, for example, ear tags or chips allows animals to be quickly identified. There are low-frequency, short-range systems and high-frequency systems that can read several animals at once. EID is used for weighing, passage, registration and treatments, and is an important part of modern animal husbandry.
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Description
Electronic identification by radio waves (EID/RFID) in the form of ear tags, for example, can be read using various electronic readers. In addition to identification in ear tags, EID can also be placed in collars, foot straps, as a bolus in the stomach or a chip under the skin. The EID number is read with a reader and the number is then matched to an individual animal number. There are different types of readers, hand-held mobile and fixed to fittings, scales, feeding equipment etc.
There are two different types of systems; low frequency and high frequency. The low-frequency system is the one most commonly found in ear tags. The low-frequency system has a shorter reading distance of about 30 cm. The high-frequency system has a much longer reading distance of up to several metres with the possibility of setting shorter distances. One advantage of the high-frequency systems is that they can read a group of animals at the same time, for example when the animals pass through a wide gate. The reader used must be adapted to the type of EID to be read. There are readers that can read both systems but this is rare.
There are many uses for automatic ID reading. The applications that you make can be, for example, weighing, passage at the gate, registration at loading, identification at step counting, heat fitting, treatments, lambing, etc. EID systems are one of the cornerstones of many other applications in animal husbandry.
