[Fergie]

I've just collected my EID Allflex Bubblegum tags, and they look exactly the same as last year's standard Bubblegum tags (apart from the colour).

[woollyval]

They have just sent me some samples AND......
The EID tag is ok with the eid down the pin so its possible to make it into a small button tag by cutting off the wraparound bit....hooray! That leaves a tiny pinned wraparound for the other ear with the readable id....well done allflex

And before you ask......I see no problem cutting off the flappy bits on the eid tag as it will still beep for the electronic reader and with a normal id tag in the other ear for sight reading I think the sheep will be more than covered.

I also have samples from Daltons and for small sheep with small ears the eid tags are ridiculous!

[kanisha]

Hi I'm still trying to imagine this is a ouessants ear.  any chance of some photos?  Val do you think these would be ok in the ouessants? i'm looking at the best way to do this for next year thank ggodness i don't have to tag any with them this year!

[kanisha]

Hi just seen some  interesting info on the bolus anyone tried / seen these in smaller breeds?

[Fleecewife]

Hi Kanisha.  Two probs with the bolus.  The first is that if the sheep loses the visual identifier you need an electronic reader to find out who it is - but that wouldn't be a prob with the tiny tags you use as they are unlikely to be lost.  The second problem is that boluses or boli or whatever are frequently coughed up.  We give ours copper boluses (Co-Secure) and used to use the scrapie EID boluses too - both can be found liberally sprinkled around the pastures ! It's not a terminal problem, just a nuisance, because as long as the bolus has the number printed on it, you can just put it back down the throat - but those who cough them out are always repeat offenders  (For Co-Secure though you can't put it back as there is no quick way of working out who coughed it up and to put it down a random suspect could result in copper poisoning - you can only tell when a particular sheep is still grey next year).  Also I hate bolus guns.   So we haven't considered the bolus but will be interested to hear any one else's experience.

[woollyval]

Ok....I think the allflex option as I have described it above would be the best option so far for Ouessants.....got more samples on order from different companies but none are same as bubblrgum tag.....

Bolus.....are we allowed that option?
If so I would go for it every time as when I had my pedigree flock of Dorset Downs we were scrapie monitored and all the sheep were bolused as lambs with small boluses that were never a problem either to insert or read.....lambs were size of adult Ouessant when tested.

If we must electronically mutilate a sheep I prefer this option

[kanisha]

A bolus as far as I'm aware is an option.
what do you mean lambs were size of adult ouessants when tested ie when the bolus was (what do you call that) given, dosed, swallowed??

[woollyval]

Right.....the dorset lambs were approx 3 months when we did them and approx the sixe of an adult Ouessant.....they are given by special dosing gun and are swallowed!

Shearwell are apparently developing a smaller bolus and I have asked to be kept informed.

Now the other thing that can be used is a pastern band....BUT no one is producing these as yet...... its a bloomin shambles

[ballingall]

I believe they are using the pastern band in New Zealand ( a goatkeeper friend was judging out there very early this year and saw them).

It's interesting to see the problems you are all having, I am glad we are not having to use the EID tags for the goats (at the moment anyway!). Even the ordinary tags do enough damage to a goats ear. I have a 1 year old, who has an incredibly bad reaction to ear tags. She has such bad scar tissue, that I cannot get a tag through certain bits of her ear...


Bteh

[shrekfeet]

try these
http://www.shearwell.co.uk/electronicID/tags.aspx

nice and small

[VSS]

A bolus as far as I'm aware is an option.

Bolus is definately allowed as the electronic identifier, but if so the visual tag MUST be black.
Another option is to use an EID tag and tattoo for the visual identifier. A sheep never loses that. This is what we do with our sheep.

[woollyval]

Bolus and black tag are an option, but having spoken to Shearwell they will not reccommend them for sheep under 15kg. since it takes over a year for some Ouessants to get over 15kg.....and some will struggle to get there at all a bolus is not an option. Pastern tags are used on some european goats but have to be applied before 9 months and none have been submitted for approval in UK....and apparently none will be!

Tattoo would be my favoured option as I used to tattoo my goats BUT Ouessant ears are too small for Horstman ear tattoo pliers. I have measured an adult Ouessant ear tonight and its 2 inches x 1.4 inches max. Shearwell are sending me one of their tags to look at.....not optimistic but will see.

In over 28 years of sheep keeping nothing has fazed me as much as this dilemma and the cruelty issues associated with these tags

[Rosemary]

What a bl**dy nightmare. Who's bright idea was this?

[hexhammeasure]

to my mind the idea of the electronic tag was invented by the desk wallahs that had to type in the ID's from the old movement licences. now they can sit back and sip their coffee as they beep the new identifiers as though they were tesco till workers

[woollyval]

Just got Shearwell samples.....better than the Allflex for small sheep I think.....just! Research continuing.....