The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: MudHutter on April 04, 2012, 12:22:48 pm
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A piece of advice please about slap marks for a first time pig keeper
We slap marked our saddlebacks about 3 weeks ago (on the white shoulder band). All seemed well and I felt fairly confident I had done it effectively.
However now 3 weeks on there is no obvious visible sign of the marks - should i be worried, or is this normal?
thanks
Sam
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Slap them again on the backside and give them a fair whack. I always slap mine the night before slaughter once they're in the trailer then I know the mark will still be there.
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Even if you can't see the slapmark it is almost certainly still visible on the skin for the abattoir - however if you are at all worried there is no problem about slap marking them again.
When we send ours to slaughter I do the slap marking about 3 days before
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can someone explain the slapmark to me - i'm thinking about getting a couple of weaners, but i'm a newbie to pigs
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slapmarking should be done the day the pigs go to slaughter or the day before it is meant to identify a pig after it has went through the killing process if it has been done right it is visible even after skinning
metal tags survive the killing as well as does plastic but some slaughter houses prefer slapmarks or metal tags
it has to be done quite hard to penetrate the skin it can be done on each rear ham or on all the four shoulders :farmer:
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Yes - a good thwack whilst they are eating - last time we did it during apple pressing time so they didn't even notice - they were so busy gorging themselves on the cake
We ended up doing bottoms and shoulders as I got the mirror image of the letters messed up the first time round
I couldn't find any decent videos on you tube about how to do this. We tried making a video but got into an argument half way through!! :D :D :D
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Regarding Slapmarking, the only place I've seen it on YouTube is 'Johnny's Pigs' video, see www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ0TgYa7QvQ&list=FLpSyqa8E9SBAwaTRPhB8KmQ&index=1&feature=plpp_video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ0TgYa7QvQ#) ... the slapmarking starts about 8 mins into it but the whole video is excellent and worth watching.
Pete
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:thumbsup: That's all I can say. :)
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just looked at the video very good viewing for the pig begginers
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We dont have a video, but we do have a guide.....
Follow the link at the bottom of any TAS page and our guide is in the info box on the left.
Thanks
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slapmarking should be done the day the pigs go to slaughter or the day before it is meant to identify a pig after it has went through the killing process if it has been done right it is visible even after skinning
metal tags survive the killing as well as does plastic but some slaughter houses prefer slapmarks or metal tags
it has to be done quite hard to penetrate the skin it can be done on each rear ham or on all the four shoulders :farmer:
That is simply not true Robert - Slapmarking can be done at any time from 10 Weeks old, that is why there are 10mm characters available so you can slap a weaner and the tattoo grows with the animal to slaughter weight. It is a matter of personal preferance when to slapmark, you cannot dictate that it is done the same day or the day before - There is no right and no wrong time to slapmark. I have to hand reports of the trails carried out on the ink we provide and the results are the same if the animals are slapped way in advance of slaughter or on the same day.
Some would argue that it is best not done on the day, as this can add to the stress levels of the animal leading to an increase of adrenilin and so a tougher carcass.
On the subject of plastic tags, I personally would refuse to sell a plastic slaughter tag for pigs, for pedigree markings then yes, but for Slaughter the regulations are quite clear (in England) that it needs to be a metal tag that will withstand the slaughter process, or a slapmark on each shoulder.
My personal view is that a slapmark is far superior to a tag for the following reasons:
1) There is 100% certainty that you are getting your own animal back as the tattoo can not be removed by the slaughter process - and despite what you may think tags do sometimes get pulled out.
2) Shoulder slapping is less stressful to the pig than being restrained while a tag is inserted
3) That 100% of large commercial producers use slapmarks rather than tags.
Rant over thanks :-)
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2) Shoulder slapping is less stressful to the pig than being restrained while a tag is inserted
we did not need to restrain our pigs for tagging just held the ear whilst they ate lined up tag and put it in the barely looked up from breakfast. metal tags i might add.
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well sfs you have said yourself it can be done at anytime
we use plastic tags and they survive the scalding process maybe just maybe the slaughterhouse that the pigs get the tag ripped out are the ones you don't get your pig back
i tag notch or tattoo at weaning that is my preference i have pedigree pigs and that is part of the requirement of being a pedigree breeder and don't find it any more stress full to the piglets than any other operation or even moving them and tagging you can monitor each pigs performance through to slaughter try reading a slap mark on a black pig or even a hairy one
commercial herds are almost 100% white pigs and are they not slapmarked at the grading process prior to leaving the farm :farmer:
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I slap marked mine 6 weeks before slaughter, and even tho they wernt visible when i sent them off, they were clearly there on the carcase i got back. I shouldnt worry too much, but you dont need to whack them too hard with the marker, just a firm smack with the wrist. Yes they do notice if its too enthusiastic! :thumbsup:
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the only thing I can add is to add ink at every slap, we didn't the first time and the mark did not show up on the second slap not even after slaughter.
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When we bought out weaners the seller showed us how to slap mark as he had 2 going for slaughter the next day but he also suggested that we have a try out on a bag of rubbish first i.e. something like a bag of grass cuttings with is a fairly dead weight like a pig.
It won't complain if you do it too hard and gives you the opportunity to try out your 'swing'
Sally
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A piece of advice please about slap marks for a first time pig keeper
We slap marked our saddlebacks about 3 weeks ago (on the white shoulder band). All seemed well and I felt fairly confident I had done it effectively.
However now 3 weeks on there is no obvious visible sign of the marks - should i be worried, or is this normal?
thanks
Sam
the ink lasts 2 weeks, and once slaughtered the meat inspectors will see i t on the carcass. Wont matter that you cannot see it on the skin. Not really meant to unless you use tattoo ink(registration of pigs) and then if you are tattooing then either on the ear or on the lip as the horse people do
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the ink lasts 2 weeks, and once slaughtered the meat inspectors will see i t on the carcass. Wont matter that you cannot see it on the skin. Not really meant to unless you use tattoo ink(registration of pigs) and then if you are tattooing then either on the ear or on the lip as the horse people do
Untrue.
All the tattoo ink I have come across is permanent. In fact the Food Grade Ink we sell has been extensively trialed on an 800 Sow unit and below is an extract of the trail report carried out by the UK's largest producer:
1. Pigs slapped immediately prior to slaughter – to see if the ink would get washed out in the scalding tank.
2. Pigs slapped the day before slaughter or just before transport to the slaughter house – to check whether the ink would come back out of the skin before the tattoo pin wound had totally healed.
3. Slapping at 50kg – roughly 8 weeks before slaughter . To ascertain whether the ink would remain in the skin as a near permanent mark after the tattoo pin wound had totally healed.
The tattoos could be easily read in all 3 trial scenarios
Tattoo's for pedigree markings is a totally different scenario, with shoulder slapping you are marking the pigs skin and potentially the flesh just under the skin. With Ear tatoos you are tattooing the cartilidge of the ear. The cartilidge marks better and displays the mark much easier. It is nothing to do with the ink being permanent or temporary.As the flesh and skin of the pig is impregnated with ink we only advocate the use of food grade ink for this purpose - as you, or someone else, will end up eating it. Gone are the days (I HOPE) of farmers mixing their own paste from a mixture of soot and Diesel!!
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firebright was used as well
green tattoo ink was the worst it turned to water in the tin :farmer:
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Sorry about my previous post - The quote seems to have been garbled, and I did not intend it all to be in Bold