Moo call - How did/do ye find it?

Mac Taylor

A lot of the threads on Moo call are old so thought I'd start a new one. What are lads views on it.


Does it work? Thanks Mac

charolais0153

Mac Taylor wrote: »

A lot of the threads on Moo call are old so thought I'd start a new one. What are lads views on it.


Does it work? Thanks Mac

It works but whether its worth it is debatable.

Mac Taylor

charolais0153 wrote: »

It works but whether its worth it is debatable.

How do you mean?

pure breed

I think that the cost of the moocall should be a little cheaper for what it does but I still wouldn't be without now.
We have it since last April and the first one we had was useless going off 4 hrs before calving and sometimes not at all put it down to a clitch in the sensor and the replacement one they sent us out has had much better results over the Autumn calving season. Cows calving close to the first or second text notification. It's benefits are for a cold night like tonight not having to get up and out to the shed to check on a cow until you hear that text notification. 😀

charolais0153

Mac Taylor wrote: »

How do you mean?

Very expensive for what it is. If you have a few cpws calfing together you could b caught out. A good camera would do everything it does id say

liam7831

How much is it ?

sonnybill

I find it good but I disagree with the E150 per annum membership

Dakota Dan

liam7831 wrote: »

How much is it ?

Over €300 to buy and a €150 yearly subscription and it only lasts 5 years. You only get one sensor so you'll be still watching if you have more than one cow calving.

lab man

Camera job done an can watch from anywhere 1k I paid 2 mts ago an 20 a month for credit and where my sheds are I can turn it a different direction to become a security camera

Parishlad

Dakota Dan wrote: »

Over €300 to buy and a €150 yearly subscription and it only lasts 5 years. You only get one sensor so you'll be still watching if you have more than one cow calving.

Where did you hear that it only lasts 5 years?

Have one here and I think it's a great job. I know the annual sub is a bit steep but for me, working away from the farm, it is a great help - and if it saves one calf then it more than pays for itself.
Cameras are a great help too but they won't alert you if a cow is calving so you would need to be checking them regularly.

lab man

Parishlad wrote:

Have one here and I think it's a great job. I know the annual sub is a bit steep but for me, working away from the farm, it is a great help - and if it saves one calf then it more than pays for itself. Cameras are a great help too but they won't alert you if a cow is calving so you would need to be checking them regularly.

Fair enough but with the camera yer dead sure with what u see an not guessing if it's on the ground or not. I lost 3 calves here 2 months ago cause of a bull that's breeding big calves no calf lost since

Parishlad

lab man wrote: »

Fair enough but with the camera yer dead sure with what u see an not guessing if it's on the ground or not. I lost 3 calves here 2 months ago cause of a bull that's breeding big calves no calf lost since

Ah I know...the camera is great too. I have one also so between the camera and the Moo Call I am well covered!
The way I look at it is, whatever needs to be done to avoid losing calves unnecessarily is worth it.

Dakota Dan

Parishlad wrote: »

Where did you hear that it only lasts 5 years?

Have one here and I think it's a great job. I know the annual sub is a bit steep but for me, working away from the farm, it is a great help - and if it saves one calf then it more than pays for itself.
Cameras are a great help too but they won't alert you if a cow is calving so you would need to be checking them regularly.

The moo call crowd somehow got my phone number last spring and hounded me with phone calls trying to sell it so I did plenty research and decided not to buy it.

wiggy123

to me..not worth the price! also maybe its ok-for large herds, which you use possibly hard calving bulls..
Same, been rang a few times about it...

JeffKenna

I'd imagine it's probably the best towards the end of the calving season when you've one that might calve where as earlier on if you'd a few you'd more than likely be getting up anyway.

Bitten & Hisses

I got one this year. I was very sceptical about the annual service charge too, I felt it was steep. Like most tech companies I have worked with, this is where the money is made.
After the device notifying me about a monster of a BB calf arriving days before I expected, I feel it has the device and a couple of years support already covered.
I'm going to sound like a fanboy here (I am a customer, I have no other connection with Moocall), but I've also signed up for the heat detection system for next year. From my perspective as a part timer, breeding and calving were always tricky and anything which helps with those tasks is a plus.

Having said all of that, I do agree that the optimum system for calving would be to use cameras plus the moocall unit.

tanko

How does their heat detection system work?

grassroot1

tanko wrote: »

How does their heat detection system work?

Looks good on paper and at the price it is tempting. I suppose to be fair it is a glorified chin ball marker but none the less I am interested.

GiantPencil

First I've heard of that heat detection system they have. It says it relies on a bull jumping on the cow...how would that work for the part time farmer with no stockbull and all ai? Wonder could you put the piece for the stock bull on another cow and go from there?

grassroot1

Ya that's why I was looking at it too. I would like to switch back to 100% AI. The heat detection is the hard part if it helped there I would be happy.
I would think a teaser bull is a vital part of the system it does not work in the same way as the pedometer based systems

GiantPencil

Ya at least if I could get a notification saying that based on the cows jumping on each other the system thinks number 123 is bulling at least then I could follow up myself that evening when I get home from work. Trying to avoid buying a teaser bull...want to avoid having a bull in the yard if at all possible

50HX

on my 3rd year and can't fault it...would be lost without it

i see where some fellas are coming from v camera but why not have both...it does work and when working off farm time is of a premium esp at night with young kids as well

price.......up to each person to weigh that up

in my case its worth it...peace of mind and if you save 1 calf then it'll pay for itself for a good few years (the 150 is a bit steep to keep the gsm open but sure that's where the real profit is for them..same as txt messages but you won't hear of people giving up the mobile phone:D

Hard Knocks

GiantPencil wrote: »

Ya at least if I could get a notification saying that based on the cows jumping on each other the system thinks number 123 is bulling at least then I could follow up myself that evening when I get home from work. Trying to avoid buying a teaser bull...want to avoid having a bull in the yard if at all possible

Would a bullock / weanling bull work?

Buford T. Justice XIX

Hard Knocks wrote: »

Would a bullock / weanling bull work?

A strong weanling bull would be the better option but a bullock would be OK too.

Or keep a late weanling bull from this year, vasectomise him (around 70-80 euro the last time we did a bull) and run him with the cows the next year and sell him at the end of AI/bull going out.

GiantPencil

They have a calculator that helps you work out the cost of the heat detector, would the below be an example of a typical part time farmer? 25 cows and 10 heifers? 

patsy_mccabe

Would you not just keep records of when you either AI or see cows bulling. Use MS excel then for the expected calving date and check the pins on cows then coming close to calving. Use a calving camera then to keep an eye on them.

charolais0153

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

Would you not just keep records of when you either AI or see cows bulling. Use MS excel then for the expected calving date and check the pins on cows then coming close to calving. Use a calving camera then to keep an eye on them.

Seeimg cows bulling is why they're getting the system

Biscuitus

I'd need four or five of them with the way my bulls and AI can push the calving dates forward and back. I much prefer using cameras and being able to check every cow wether I'm in bed or miles away at a function.

liam7831

I don't see how €150 a year can be considered expensive considering the price of vet call out fees, feedstuff etc. It would have been a lot back around 1990 but not today

charolais0153

liam7831 wrote: »

I don't see how €150 a year can be considered expensive considering the price of vet call out fees, feedstuff etc. It would have been a lot back around 1990 but not today

8 cows calved last few weeks . 2 have calved before cows that i would have had the moocall on if i had it. Not that useful imo

Bitten & Hisses

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

Would you not just keep records of when you either AI or see cows bulling. Use MS excel then for the expected calving date and check the pins on cows then coming close to calving. Use a calving camera then to keep an eye on them.

Yes, but unless I give up the day job and sit on the ditch watching them all day, I won't see them in heat. I reckon I've seen less than 5% of activity since we moved to a stock bull 11 years ago.

Biscuitus

I check 2-3 times a day when animals are in heat. Its a full time job keeping track of them and even then there are false heats. Got caught off guard last year with a cow that calved 3 weeks earlier.

grassroot1

This thread is confusing I dont know whether we are putting them incalf or calving them?!!!!!!

tanko

grassroot1 wrote: »

This thread is confusing I dont know whether we are putting them incalf or calving them?!!!!!!

Which came first, the chicken or the egg????

Buford T. Justice XIX

tanko wrote: »

Which came first, the chicken or the egg????

The egg.

Dakota Dan

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

The egg.

So how did the egg come without the hen to lay it?

Buford T. Justice XIX

Dakota Dan wrote: »

So how did the egg come without the hen to lay it?

Dinosaurs laid eggs and chickens are direct descendants of a type of dinosaur so the egg came before the chicken:)

Dakota Dan

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

Dinosaurs laid eggs and chickens are direct descendants of a type of dinosaur so the egg came before the chicken:)

So one day a Dinosaur decided to lay an egg with a chicken in it?