Basic advice on buying a reader
The first question to ask when considering which EID reader to buy is:
- Do I actually need an EID reader?
The answer for most people is probably No. If you sell or buy your sheep through a CCP (market or abattoir) there is no need for an EID reader as the CCP will read your sheep for you.
If you are interested in using farm management software or making private sales/purchases then an EID reader will probably be necessary unless you want to individually read each sheep ID manually.
If you have decided that you need an EID reader the next questions is:
- Am I going to deal with my sheep as individuals or as batches?
If you are going to handle your sheep as individuals then you will probably want a reader which can store individual actions and additional data against each individual ID. The readers for recording this data will generally have extra buttons and be a bit more complicated. It would be wisest to check that your chosen reader is compatible with your farm management software before purchasing.
If you are going to manage your sheep on a batch basis then a simple reader is required that can read large groups of sheep quickly. For reading sheep in pens the stick type of reader is generally best. Stick readers generally have a better read range than the small handheld readers. For reading sheep very quickly through a narrow passage the portable race reader will generally be the best solution.
When dealing with sheep in lots it is often helpful to have a counter on the reader to ensure as many sheep as possible have been read. For the counter to be meaningful the reader must be capable of ignoring when the same sheep has been read twice. Therefore, it is often best to check if your reader has a item counter and will allow duplicate reads to be ignored.
The majority of the EID readers will allow data to be stored in lots however, this should be checked before purchase.
If you are likely to be dealing with a large number of lots at once it is highly recommended that you purchase a reader which records a timestamp. The data from the timestamp can be used to identify a lot more easily when a large number of lots over multiple days are stored on the reader. Most importantly if the operator fails to create a new lot the timestamp data can be used to identify where one lot ends and the next lot starts.
