Shearwell website

[Cheesehead]

Is it just me or is are other people finding the website glitchy when ordering tags as I can order a breeding pair of layout 1 Set tag for our texel crosses but when I try to order the batches of layout 4 for our Romney families things turn screwy.

I'll add the first group ok though I have to refresh the visual tags before the majority of the information is filled in automatically, I'll click add to cart and it sends me to the cart where everything is all correct I then click on continue shopping and it sends me to the visual tag page then it doesn't matter if I click any of the shop links or new run I will fill out the EID tag information and click the "add to cart and choose visual tag" that then comes up either blank or with the tag numbers of the second group where it won't allow us to alter the number of tags to match the third or is filled in while blank causes shopping cart to be covered in warnings that the number of visual tags don't match the EID.

I'm sorry if it doesn't make much sense but it is driving me batty I am tempted to order the Roxan alpha but then that doesn't have the management text option.

 

[HarryB97]

I always order over the phone and use them for their farm works backup over the phone, can not fault the service.

 

[Cheesehead]

It was certainly less stressful than their website (I miss there old one as I never had any issues with that) I doubt it helped with having more ram groups this year but it does help having the information on both tags as our old reader though you could link dam and sire to the lamb it never came up on the reader once you read the tag at a later date.

How do you find their Farmworks software and reader as the battery has gone in our old reader and we can't get one for it now as they're no longer around and so we were thinking of buying the bullet and replacing both the reader and software with the Psion and Farmworks.

 

[neilo]

It was certainly less stressful than their website (I miss there old one as I never had any issues with that) I doubt it helped with having more ram groups this year but it does help having the information on both tags as our old reader though you could link dam and sire to the lamb it never came up on the reader once you read the tag at a later date.

How do you find their Farmworks software and reader as the battery has gone in our old reader and we can't get one for it now as they're no longer around and so we were thinking of buying the bullet and replacing both the reader and software with the Psion and Farmworks.

I have had a Psion (on second one after drove over first one. )and their software since 2010. The Psion is THE reader to have imo, but not the cheapest of course.

As for the software, having tried Border’s suite as well, I think the Border program is much better at analysing all that data, but the Farmworks Psion software was more intuitive. I would recommend you get the free demo disc for both before purchasing, and go with whichever one of them you like most.
I would have Border if I started now, but too much hassle/too lazy to change over now really.

 

[Cheesehead]

I have had a Psion (on second one after drove over first one. )and their software since 2010. The Psion is THE reader to have imo, but not the cheapest of course.

As for the software, having tried Border’s suite as well, I think the Border program is much better at analysing all that data, but the Farmworks Psion software was more intuitive. I would recommend you get the free demo disc for both before purchasing, and go with whichever one of them you like most.
I would have Border if I started now, but too much hassle/too lazy to change over now really.

The biggest problem we have had with our existing one is when recording what ram or pair of rams a group of ewes have gone to before it was never a problem as we just put a coloured dot or line on the ewes but where we have them shorn when they come inside over winter we don't bother with that now until after they have been scanned so the marks can't get confused if the ewes decides to bounce around causing the dot on the shoulder to become a zig zag line down its back and side.

Our existing one though it recorded batches or linked the ewe to the ram it never showed it when you then read the tag later and the only way to get it was to go through and manually add a letter or something to management number or like this year after it failed completely search the tag numbers manually on the tag records. It did mostly everything we wanted when we first got it about 15 years ago but not now. It would be nice to be able to record more on it like instances of mastitis, prolapse etc rather than just by a visual X as they can run and fade away and have all of that information when the tag is red at a later date. Though it would be nice to be able to record some treatments like ectofly as a field batch rather than by individual numbers but easily be able to record any cases of needing a dose of oxytetracycline or penicillin by tag number as we currently do that by paper record so my dad can do that as well as he could never read the screen let alone work the reader mind you I doubt that would change much what ever we got as he needs a crib sheet to use a basic mobile (Press * and green let to unlock the screen, dial number, press green key to call then red button to hang up once done) he just started getting the hang of it and the phone company cut it off because he didn't use it enough even when he shared it with my mum after that he said he was done with mobiles and handheld gadgets unless it turns the TV over. I think the only reason why he does his accounts on the computer still is because the accountants charge more otherwise.

 

[tinsheet]

@Hch

 

[polk_farmer]

I have had a Psion (on second one after drove over first one. )and their software since 2010. The Psion is THE reader to have imo, but not the cheapest of course.

As for the software, having tried Border’s suite as well, I think the Border program is much better at analysing all that data, but the Farmworks Psion software was more intuitive. I would recommend you get the free demo disc for both before purchasing, and go with whichever one of them you like most.
I would have Border if I started now, but too much hassle/too lazy to change over now really.

Just out of interest, what can the border software do that the farmworks can't?

I'm guessing that if it is something that will make life better with farmworks then they may be able to tweak it abit. They must take on board feedback from farmers and change stuff. As I noticed on the most recent upgrade you can enter medicines straight onto the handheld, which is way better. They must have been pestered to make that change

 

[exmoor dave]

Just out of interest, what can the border software do that the farmworks can't?

I'm guessing that if it is something that will make life better with farmworks then they may be able to tweak it abit. They must take on board feedback from farmers and change stuff. As I noticed on the most recent upgrade you can enter medicines straight onto the handheld, which is way better. They must have been pestered to make that change

Would be good to be able to enter bought meds on the app.

Also historic weights on the app would be handy

 

[neilo]

Just out of interest, what can the border software do that the farmworks can't?

I'm guessing that if it is something that will make life better with farmworks then they may be able to tweak it abit. They must take on board feedback from farmers and change stuff. As I noticed on the most recent upgrade you can enter medicines straight onto the handheld, which is way better. They must have been pestered to make that change

It’s been a couple of years since I had a play with FarmIT but at that time you could actually use the data you collect. Weights for example, you can analyse that data and sort in order, plot graphs of dlwg, such as for different bunches of lambs on different fields/crops. You can do little with the data on Farmworks.

Another bugbear of mine is that you cannot record a batch vet treatment in Farmworks, such as to a bunch of, as yet, untagged lambs. Treatments etc can only be recorded against tag numbers. Someone more cynical than I might suggest that has something to do with being a company that sells tags.
I tag & record female replacements at birth. I don’t want to spend the money tagging most of their male litter mates, but do want to record their birth mode. The only way I can do that is to record the untagged lambs as ‘born dead’, which means I cannot also record meaningful data on lambs that have actually been born dead, if I should wish to.