Animal tag system

An ear tag assembly for an animal, comprising:

• a first attachment member having a first housing;
• an elongated shaft assembly configured to pierce and extend through an outer ear of the animal, the shaft assembly having opposing proximal and distal ends, the first attachment member configured to be affixed to the proximal end of the shaft assembly adjacent a first side of the outer ear of the animal;
• a second attachment member having a second housing and configured to be affixed to the distal end of the pin adjacent an opposing second side of the outer ear of the animal, the respective first and second attachment members cooperating to maintain the ear tag in a fixed relation to the outer ear of the animal;
• a first temperature sensor incorporated into a medial portion of the shaft assembly for placement of the first temperature sensor between the opposing first and second sides of the ear of the animal to obtain an outer ear temperature of the animal;
• a second temperature sensor disposed within a selected one of the first or second housings at a position away from the ear of the animal to obtain an ambient temperature of an environment external to the animal;
• and
• a control circuit disposed within a selected one of the first or second housings and configured to obtain a first sequence of temperature measurements from the first temperature sensor over a selected time interval, obtain a second sequence of temperature measurements from the second temperature sensor over the selected time interval, and transmit, via a wireless communication link, the first and second sequences of temperature measurements to a memory of a receiver unit.