Good sheep health is vital to productivity.
Having the right handling equipment can make animal husbandry more effective and efficient.
Mike Hemsley, Gallagher WEID product manager, said managing livestock well is inherent in lifting on-farm productivity.
He said it is Gallagher’s aim behind all its products, including the innovative sheep handling range.
“This range includes the Gallagher sheep Auto Drafter and three handlers – the Auto Weigh Crutch and Dag, Crutch and Dag, and Auto Weigh – which provide an OH and S friendly solution to capture and contain animals, while saving labour,” Mr Hemsley said.
“If you look at the Gallagher sheep Auto Drafter, for example, it has health and safety advantages both for sheep and the operator.
“There are no trapping points or metal bars to walk into, and it has short-travel split-gates for rapid capture and release of sheep at the crate’s entry and exit.”
The Gallagher Auto Drafter is also compatible with Gallagher electronic identification (EID), reader controllers and Gallagher and other-branded EID-compatible electronic weigh scales.
“EID has lots of benefits around sheep health, including easy identification of individual animals, quick access to accurate information, precise record keeping on a host of areas, and automated drafting,” Mr Hemsley said.
“No matter how big or small a flock, individual animal management was critical for sheep health.
“EID lets producers individually manage and monitor animals in a much more accurate and quicker way than manually capturing data.
“The follow-on advantage here is they are far more likely to collect this data.”
“The ever-growing capabilities of weigh scales, and even handheld readers, let producers see data on the screen in real time whether they’re in the yards, office or paddock, so they can make informed decisions on previously collected data and then implement those decisions on the spot.
“These could be decisions around vet treatments, animal-health requirements, feed strategy, culling or keeping, or other management decisions.”
Mr Hemsley said many producers found weigh scale equipment, such as the TSi2 and TWR ranges, invaluable tools.
“The new TWR-5 weigh scale and reader has an integrated EID reader for hands-free EID reading,” he said.
“It can record up to nine life data and traits per session, allows you to record and administer treatments on the spot, and has built-in graphs and data analysis at your fingertips.
“You can also set animal alerts or notes, such as any health concerns.”
- Visit: www.am.gallagher.com/au.