The company has launched Pro Tagger, an applicator that works with two-piece tags used on sheep, cattle and goats, says Jacob.
From the start of 2012 NAIT required all cattle and deer to carry EID information as well as their herd management information and Animal Health Board lifetime tags.
Unlike the thinner lifetime and management tags the EID tag’s bulky transmitters required a different retainer for the female portion.
While some tried using adaptors to take the tags, these were often the first thing to go missing, Jacob says.
“When questioning farmers about tagging, the problem of needing two taggers to do EID and management tags arose.”
To overcome this Jacob says they added a second part to the unit’s action and changed the bed shape for the female part of the tag. “To achieve this with the different shapes of EID and management tags available the bed for the female tag has been designed to fit the width of all female tags and the base has been made with a spring release to assist movement for longer tags that may bottom out.”
The Pro Tagger has no pin spring, something Jacob says caused problems for farmers in the past. “Farmers told us that the springs on the flip-out pin of traditional flip-out pin taggers were either too soft on older cattle – which meant the tagger opened before the tag was applied – or were too hard for deer and younger animals who ended up with torn ears.”
Engineers resolved this by removing the spring from the pin, putting it instead behind a bar which held the pin in place when tags are being applied. “Tags can be mounted on the applicator and free flip-out in closed position, allowing the joined tags to exit the applicator without hindrance.”
Jacob says customers also complained about male tags sometimes falling off, resulting in a small retaining clip included in the design.
“The snub nose is a late addition to assist the release of the tags when joined, by nudging the base of the male portion as the pin swings free.”
“We found when using other brands, some male tags were inclined to stick.”
He says they have also attempted to make the use of the taggers safer and more comfortable by making the supplied lanyard removable and providing application holes in both handles for left or right handed operation. “The lanyard is designed to pull free for operator safety if the tagger is caught someway and release is required.”
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