Question 1

Will a tracker find sheep out on open moorland?

Accepted Answer

A 4G tag reports from anywhere with mobile signal, which covers most hill ground at least patchily. Where there's no coverage at all, a LoRa tracker talking to your own farm gateway is the more dependable choice — provided the animal stays within radio reach of a gateway, which is shorter across folded, hilly terrain than the open-ground headline figures suggest.

Question 2

Can trackers cope with rain, mud and a thorough scratching?

Accepted Answer

Livestock trackers are sealed to a high ingress rating and built for permanent outdoor wear, so weather is rarely the issue. The bigger test is mechanical: animals rub on gateposts, wallow and barge through gorse, so look for a rugged housing and a strap or tag fixing rated for that abuse.

Question 3

How often do I need to handle the animal to check it?

Accepted Answer

Most farmers fold tracker checks into routine gatherings — dosing, scanning, foot work — rather than handling stock specially. Glance at strap tension and any rubbing then, and watch battery levels on the app between times so you're never caught out in the field.

Question 4

Is collar, ear-tag or bolus best for my stock?

Accepted Answer

Collars hold the largest batteries and antennas and suit cattle and horses well, but can snag and need correct tensioning. Ear-tags are light and hard to lose, which works for sheep, though space limits battery and signal. A rumen bolus sits safely inside the animal and can't be removed by a thief, but it's a one-way fitting and better suited to welfare than location tracking.

Question 5

What do I do when a battery is getting low?

Accepted Answer

A good system flags low batteries days ahead in the app, so you can fold a swap or recharge into the next handling. Rechargeable collars top up on a dock; sealed tags and boluses are replaced as a unit. Solar-assisted collars stretch the interval but still want an occasional check after a run of dark winter weeks.

Question 6

Can I keep tabs on stock across several fields or grazing blocks?

Accepted Answer

Yes — geofencing lets you draw as many zones as you need and get an alert when an animal crosses into or out of one. That suits rotational and mob grazing, and it flags a beast that's pushed through a weak fence before it reaches the road.

Question 7

How accurate will the location actually be?

Accepted Answer

In open fields you can expect a fix within roughly 5–10 metres — close enough to walk straight to an animal. Steep valleys and dense woodland scatter the signal and widen that margin, but it stays good enough to point you to the right corner of the right field.

Livestock GPS — Buyer Guide