Any suggestions. Recommendations
Have it down to either one of these. Like the idea of the boluses, but CowManager is giving me a very good deal.
Maybe I've ruled out other very good brands.
Couldn't say which is better, but it may be worth looking at which connects better with your existing Herd Management Apps and or Parlour Software. A connection with ICBF for instance would allow easy connection to any other systems which is also connected. Edit: Looks like both of those options have ICBF Links.
Smaxrec here and it’s mostly positive for me …billet proof for heat and health …some of best money I’ve spent on farm …no matter how good you think you are at picking up sick cows or cows in heat this is better …and it works 24/7
i have cow manager and for me its the worst money i have ever spent on the farm, its brill for cows in heat but anything else is a total waste of time ,i got my first cow with ecoil last year i spotted her coming in for morning milking and called the vet ,the vet was gone out of yard after treating the cow when the peace of **** goes off in my pocket. if you are doing all the work with your own stock its a waste of money in my view, i went with them as they gave me a great deal ,well fool me i should have gone with bolus. by the way they never tell you that you are locked into them for 5 years and cant get out it was going to cost me 8k to get out .
Are the bolus options better than the coller/tag options?
For temperature and rumination they have to be more accurate than anything external.
Biggest bug bear is you can't use your mobile to record events you have to use computer, absolute waste of time having to double entry info on ai etc when the likes of sensehub allows you too record on phone
What swung things for me was the internal bolus …simply had to be better and more accurate than any ear tag or collar ….in my mind it 💯 is ,proof in it is mastitis ,milk fever ,ketosis etc are all picked up before it becomes a big problem
Since it integrates with ICBF you may be able to use other apps that integrate with ICBF, to record events.
But I agree totally having to do double entry between different systems doesn't make sense in 2025 but it can be challenge to find links between many of them.
I liked the idea of the bolus too and gave Smaxtec serious consideration. didnt like the subscription model .v happy i went with Moonsyst , straight up ownership from day one and by end of year 2 smaxtec would have cost as much with rolling costs going forward. good customer care and service a big plus
How long have you got the Moonsyst in place? I heard that a few years back that the boluses were giving up after a few months for some unknown reason..
3rd year . Yeah more than you'd like failed over years but have never had an issue with getting replaced. It's the peril of the bolus system , can't be repaired or serviced ,whatever. newer ones v reliable . Alot of boluses leave farm through culls and sales and that's for consideration too
I see in some parts they are being used to monitor the health of Beef cattle, with the bolus being retrieved from the meat factory to be used a second or even third time.
can be done Im sure
Culls through mart or private sale and incalf heifers same.
was lot of reason why I didn’t go that route despite a good sales pitch ….just this week I’ve had my first Smaxtec bolus go dead in a cow originally bolusec 3 years ago …had replacement following day
Not ideal to be going in a second time with some but once committed to any system it's a case of getting on with it. Has ceased to be a problem here .Point is that cows remain constantly monitored one way or another for original once off outlay
That 3yr smaxtec bolus has cost up on 150 euro for lets say 3 lactations and hopefully it's replacement will see the cow give you another 3 + . End result cow monitored for lifetime cost of 300 euro approx Vs 100 .
Will Moonsyst replace the bolus if it gives up at any stage, like is it you only have to pay for one bolus over the cows lifetime?
I put in the collars here this year, was all set to go with moonsyst but then the fact 20 percent were going out the gate each year put me off. First impressions is the collars are a complete waste of time for health. Had 3 milk fevers that weren't picked up and no picked up mastitis. I'd say a cow would be very sick before it would alert you. We would have the cow well spotted before it.
It seems to pick up heat very well though so should save time watching cows for breeding, we are 100percnt ai.
If back again I'd go with the bolus option and just hope that the company doesn't screw you on the annual replacement costs by upping the cost going forward.
which collars have you? I have SenseHub and find them very good for animal health. They won’t pick up mastitis but pick up all our metabolic issues
free lifetime bolus replacement and same monthly monitoring fee …all in the contract …on the monthly fee think it’s worth it for what I’m getting back …also getting a share of free boluses every year based on recommendations I’ve given others …understand this is similar for other Smaxtec customers
They have done up to now . Doubt there's that lifetime cover tbh . 3 yr warranty. They adopted the original bolus and have a newer version which is the replacements I got and new going forward .
They can all raise their prices I suppose .
Worth having a go at them, before doing a deal ,on incoming ich .
You Def would have had a big heads up on the milk fever and Mastitis
anyone using them for sucklers?
you need to get the sensitivity of it adjusted. It should be picking up sick cows
lad beside me was using them on 100 sucklers. He only mentioned heat detection was good. Changed to milking last year. Don't know what brand
As a matter of interest how are those using heat detection, getting on with integrating their different on farm systems? Are you managing to share data with everything or still have to do double entry in to different systems? I'm currently doing a level 8 in digital agriculture in DKIT and I'm also working with a few clients in connecting up their different systems to share data between Parlours, Heat detection, and their herd managment software. Most seem to manage drafting gates fairly well as they have selected brands that work well togother, but parlors and collars are sometimes a bit more difficult, ICBF integration was making a lot of connections simpler but farms in the NGP are finding calf registrations appear through the ICBF too late because of the delay in registrations, which can be over come by exporting calvings from the herd software.
I very nearly did, as I was offered to do some trialing from Moonsyst, but I made the decision to get out of sucklers altogher before it happend.
Sensehub. Reading back my comment maybe seems a bit harsh it's early days. Maybe I need them adjusted. I was disappointed it didn't pick up the cases of milk fever. I did get alerts but a few hours after I had noticed them wobbling. One of the cows was down a couple of hours before an alert.
I wasn't really expecting them to pick up mastitis.
Id say it will be excellent for heat detection and save a lot of watching as well as being more accurate.
Ye in terms of health I'd say the bolus is a better job, but that is understandable. You seem to have a good deal. The annual cost and the fear of not being able to control that meant I went with collars
not poking holes at other systems ,all good in own ways …deal with anyone or company is what you try negotiate …annual cost is annual cost I know what it is …I know other systems slowly going the sub model now too …also a lifespan with collars and they will have to be replaced at a cost …straps for collars only last few years too
Have the Smaxtec system here. I'm very happy with it, easy ro use app. It's accurate with nearly everything, the calving alert is about 90% accurate. Once I got used to reading the graphs I had a good idea when a cow would calf. The bolus leaving with an empty cow is an annoyance but I got over it. I see it as a silent labor unit on the farm that doesn't get tired.
