[Beeducked]

When do people tag their lambs?


Mine seem so little and the tags so big! Is it better to leave them till they are a bit better grown or is it better done as young as possible. I know the legal stand point but wondering what is actually best for the lambs.

[mowhaugh]

We are tagging at birth this year.  It is the first time we have done it.  In the past they have been done a bit older.  I have tagged almost 800 lambs now, and have two with infections around the site of tagging.  I am fairly sure that is less than we have normally, but still two more than I want.  It does seem awful putting the huge tags in the tiny ears, but they are hardly reacting at all, definitely less than when they are a bit bigger.  So I THINK I prefer tagging at birth, but I could still change my mind!

[Tim W]

Tag at birth is the easiest I have found
Get small tags (shearwell set tags are my choice)

Tagging later when it is warmer can increase the risk of infection and flystrike

I break this rule for triplets and any particularly scatty ewes as I don't want to disturb them in the field ---these get done a bit later when I gather the sheep

[Fleecewife]

It depends on the size of the ears    Our breeds have really small ears so we put in temporary mini padlock style metal birth tags, then put the proper tags (Allflex Bubblegum) in at 4 months when we gather them all to take the males out.
If you have only a handful of sheep and can tell the lambs apart then no need to tag them at birth.  If you have a large flock then it's probably easier to tag them from the start.

At four months we have found our lambs sometimes flinch a bit as the tag goes in but only momentarily.  We spray the hole with antiseptic or whatever we have to hand once the tag's in - vet says not to but we did previously have a couple of infected ears, and now we don't, so the spray wins.

[in the hills]

As FW says probably depends on sheepie size and flock size. We only have small flock of Soay. All the lambs look different and we can easily remember who belongs who.

We tagged last years lambs when they were around 8 mnths old.

[twizzel]

My commercial lambs are tagged at 1-2 days old as this is when we pick them up from the farmer (all orphans) and need them tagged for travelling, doesn't have any ill effect on them at all.

[Foobar]

Mine have small ears and I tag when they are about 24 hours old but I only put in the non-eid tag as it's the lightest of the two - just trying to minimise floppy ears .  Then when they are next gathered (say for vaccinations at 2 months old ish) I'll put in the EID tag.  (I should probably just do them both at the same time but hey )
Definitely get all the tags in before the summer though, I find they "grow in" better if tagged very young and you don't get any sores.

[Rosemary]

While I can still easily identify the mother 

I did think about doing it at birth but I don't buy the tags until after lambing as the tags have to have the registration letter and I don't like assuming that all the lambs scanned will need a tag. Plus I only need management tags for ewe lambs 

Tups get their slaughter tag on the trailer going to the abattoir.

[ZaktheLad]

I tag mine at 3 weeks - when they get their first Heptavac jab. 

[Beeducked]

Thanks all.

[Marches Farmer]

I put them in as late as possible.  Before market (August) for store lambs, before slaughter for freezer lambs and late December for the rest.  The less time they're in the less time they have to get broken or lost.

[Foobar]

Never had a broken one, never had a lost one. (Shearwell)
I think if they are put in at birth the skin has a chance to grow strong around it.  If you put them in much later on in life then the tag hole becomes a weak point.