Hi, I'm Mike and this is Our Wyoming Life.
Calving season continues, so far without many complications and with nice weather.
But that isn't always the case.
Ranchers everywhere fight the elements and Mother Nature during calving season and the
technology of calving hasn't changed in a hundred years.
Until now….
This is the Moocall.
It's a small device that straps on your cows tail and tells you when she's in labor,
usually an hour or so before she calves, but how does it let you know?
Well, it sends you a text or an email and tells you that you better get out there and
check things out.
Its small and it comes in a small box.
Let's take a look at all we have in here.
Nice packaging, I like that.
And as we open it up, this is the moocall device that straps to your cows tail, you
charging accessories, including interchangeable plugs.
Your user guide and a pad that is used if your cow has a thinner tail.
The instructions say to charge the unit overnight before the first use which gives us a chance
to register and set it up.
Registration is very simple; you just need a couple of numbers from your box and a computer
with internet access.
This is the dashboard screen once you have completed registration, you can add phone
numbers that the Moocall will text when your cow goes into labor here.
Also there is an apple and android app for the device.
Which is a great addition if you want to be able to keep up to date with what's going
on from your mobile, The app also shows you the battery status, which is really cool but
I do wish you could register a device on the app as well.
As our device charges, let's take a look at the manual.
Put together quite well, the manual takes through the step by step process of Charging,
Turning on and testing the sensor.
Then the important task of how to put the unit on the cow.
It explains the types of alerts that we will get, then details how to remove, clean and
reset the sensor for the next use
Solid green light means the device is charged so let's turn it on.
First thing it's going to do is download any software updates and once it's blinking
blue its ready to go.
By pressing the button twice quickly it will send a test message to your phone, making
sure that everything is working ok.
Let's open up the buckle and head out to the corral where we have Bambi waiting.
She is getting close to calving and she is going to wear the Moocall for us and test
it out.
We are going to put out a little bit of cake for her, to keep her busy while we put on
the moocall, and while she eats we will put it on her.
She's a pretty tame cow so I doubt she will have much problem with it.
One thing I would suggest is that if you are going to be using the Moocall is that you
practice putting it on a piece of rope or a pipe or something before you try putting
it on a cow, especially one that might not want it on there.
If you are little practiced at it, then it will definitely go a little quicker.
That's it, now we wait.
When Bambi goes into labor the Moocall should send me a text message, giving me enough time
to be here for the birth.
This technology is really going to help ranchers, not only get a couple of extra hours of sleep,
but to manage their herd.
The price tag is right at 300 bucks but you do get a years warranty and a year of free
service with your initial purchase, and it's a small price to pay, if it saves one calf
it pays for itself.
I can see it being very useful for cows that we bring in to calve, cows that we know are
going to calve soon and we really want to keep an eye on, but now, we can keep a moo
call on them as well…..keep your ringer on and we will wait for Bambi to have her
calf and when she does hopefully you will be right here with me.
As always have a great week and thanks for joining us in Our Wyoming Life.
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