The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Nethermoor Pigs on April 30, 2014, 03:51:15 pm
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Ideas please. Had a nasty rip out as posted earlier. Which are best to invest in?
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I've recently moved from Ketchum to Shearwell and they are simply so much better! Much stronger and easy to apply plus they offer free replacement I do believe but they are a little mire expensive than the other company
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I like Shearwell :thumbsup:
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Lost 16 Shearwelsl in a month a couple of years ago - hope they've improved since then! Allflex Bubblegum for me.
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Perhaps we need a poll....:)
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Have only tried a few - have not tried Allflex, but Sheawell are the best I have tried in terms of going in, Dalton are the worst. By far. Don't buy Dalton.
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We use Shearwell. We rarely lose one, and use over 700 pairs and 400 single tags/year.
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Have only tried a few - have not tried Allflex, but Sheawell are the best I have tried in terms of going in, Dalton are the worst. By far. Don't buy Dalton.
:wave: funny i moved from shearwell to dalton 2 years ago after bother with shearwell tags pins folding also there auto tagger was dire .found dalton better but retention was poor they have a new design for last year seem to be staying in ok this time . dalton the cheapest by far if last years ewe hogs dont keep in i would continue to use there slaughter tags on price . roxan id have good write ups along with there auto tagger but tags are expensive .
i use allflex on a flock i Shepard with auto pliers good when they work but by the time you sort out any missfire you wouldbe as quick with pliers
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definitely NOT Ritchey. Of the 12 tags we put in last year only one remains- they were a nightmare to put in, we even bought a new applicator thinking that would make a difference. it didn't. some broke during application and several very messy rip outs which took an age to heal. never again. from previous threads on here I've been swayed to try shearwell but happy to be convinced otherwise
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use 1000+ shearwell set tags every year with very few if any lost --
never had one not read with the scanner
Put them in right when they are young and you can't go wrong
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We have used Allflex Babe tags for several years, we have never had them ripped out of the ear with this brand, just one that pulled through a bit. However the fins have been breaking off, leaving the pins in the ear, and we are having to keep replacing them, Allflex claim to have improved the Babe tags now but last year we decided to change to Allflex bubblegum tags, these have the same pins which we have been happy with, as prior to using Allflex had had several torn ears (used Ritchey and Ketchum previously but now several years ago). We had no tag loses from last years lambs with the Bubblegum tags, over 100 lambs, and so are using these again this year and hoping they will last longer than the Babes, they are 75p a set of breeding tags and since we started ordering them direct they have arrived quickly. Have kept with Allflex as despite the problems with the fins on the Babe tags we are really pleased not to have any ripped ears from their tags over the last 6 to 7 years we have been using them.
nb if using their slaughter tags I would also recommend the bubblegum tags over the others with the thinner pins as these didn't stay in, better for using if you don't tag until they go for slaughter though due to the thin pin.
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NOT fearings buttons - they are huge and have caused many ripped ears.
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Another shearwell fan here if you out them in right I havnt had a lost one yet.....
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:wave: funny i moved from shearwell to dalton 2 years ago after bother with shearwell tags pins folding also there auto tagger was dire
There were some teething problems with the first few batches of Shearwells when the compulsory electronic identification came in. They issued new taggers, and updated jaws for old taggers, and we haven't had any problems with folding pins since. They are also much better at going into older ears now, too, for those of us who don't like tagging young lambs.
I haven't used the auto-tagger so I can't comment on that.
We don't get very many Shearwells fall out and given that we have no choice but to tag they are probably the best bet. The only thing I do wonder is whether the ones that are two tabs rather than a loop of plastic are less prone to tearing out. Shearwell don't do the two tabs type.
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:wave: funny i moved from shearwell to dalton 2 years ago after bother with shearwell tags pins folding also there auto tagger was dire
There were some teething problems with the first few batches of Shearwells when the compulsory electronic identification came in. They issued new taggers, and updated jaws for old taggers, and we haven't had any problems with folding pins since. They are also much better at going into older ears now, too, for those of us who don't like tagging young lambs.
I haven't used the auto-tagger so I can't comment on that.
We don't get very many Shearwells fall out and given that we have no choice but to tag they are probably the best bet. The only thing I do wonder is whether the ones that are two tabs rather than a loop of plastic are less prone to tearing out. Shearwell don't do the two tabs type.
:wave: i thought that as welll but the first years dalton tags were 2 tabs and retention was poor this years loop ones seem to be staying in better . but you need 2 pairs of pliers one for eid and one for visual ??? . shearwell kept sending out differnt pliers and saying they had changed the plastic etc but it was sole destroying trying to get them in with pliers or the auto tagger (that was £50 and tags in runs for it were dearer).thats why i jumped ship. daltons service isnt great only there price is :-\ will continue to use there slaughter tag as i only put them in when the lambs are ready to get loaded. may go back to shearwell for my pairs
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There was a fault with the plastic on the Shearwell ones originally. They started to absorb too much moisture from the atmosphere and so would bend when you tried to put them in. You just needed to put them in a low oven to dry them out and then they regained their rigidity.
Always store them in a sealed bag :).
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Shearwell for me in the breeding sheep , keep all spare tags in air tight containers with silica bags and never had a problem with pins bending , have a small problem with tags breaking but shearwell gave me new orange jawed pliers as they say the red and black closed to tightly and stressed the tags ( sent back broken ones to be examined ) and since replacements are free it just a minor irritation , not had a single tag ripped out in 4yrs . Use roxan auto tags on sale lambs for the speed of tagging big lots , new thicker pins much better retention . Used to use allflex bubble gum but as time went by many tags lost their flag portion and only the pin left
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There was a fault with the plastic on the Shearwell ones originally. They started to absorb too much moisture from the atmosphere and so would bend when you tried to put them in. You just needed to put them in a low oven to dry them out and then they regained their rigidity.
Always store them in a sealed bag :) .
:wave: mine were baged and in a tub . after i had used them one neighbor told me to oven them another told me to freeze them . i told them at the time it was ear tags i bought not a leg of lamb . it was more than one batch . changed pliers /auto tagger a few times /replaced ear tags by the end i had enough . may give them a go again for this years ewe lambs .
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Lots of votes for Shearwell so far then!
But before I order mine, which type are best?
These
(http://www.shearwell.co.uk/content/images/thumbs/0003744_scottish-sheep-replica-eid-e23-button_300.gif)
Or These?
(http://www.shearwell.co.uk/content/images/thumbs/0004660_scottish-sheep-replica-eid-set-tag_300.gif)
Thanks!!
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Used to use allflex bubble gum but as time went by many tags lost their flag portion and only the pin left
Oh thats disappointing to read shep as was hoping that they would be better than the babe tags for not losing their fins, which their sales rep of course assured me they would be! So far we have had no loses over the last year and as we have never had a ripped ear with the pins from these or the babe tags which have the same pins will stick with them for the time being. Might have to review in a year or two if we get too many loses of the flags/fins though.
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Nearly everyone seems to use the long thin foldover type, Womble, but I don't know anything one way or the other about the 'management tag' style.
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Lots of ideas! Seems to me that I am choosing between Allflex Bubblegum and Shearwell. I will look at both and try and make the decision.
Does anyone use Cox Agri? I used them for pigs and I know the sheep applicator is the same for EiD as normal and it seems a quality brand pigwise, but don't know on the sheep.
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We use the bottom Shearwell ones. They can get text onto the round bit at the end, for instance we get our Kerry Hill Flock number, which is 4 digits, then our designation letters, DXN, and then two digits for the year, it all fits on fine.
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I use Allflex bubblegum. Last year was my first time though so not much to go on. Have just ordered the same for this year as we haven't had any problems
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Lots of votes for Shearwell so far then!
But before I order mine, which type are best?
The SET tags are the best (the loop ones).
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When I say air tight container I don't mean a bag, a plastic sealed box and the little silica bags absorb any moisture in the box after opening . Use the set tag personally and bare in mind I buy hundreds every year and if the pins were to bend then I wouldn't be using them !! The bubble gum tags have been in 6and 7 yrs and most have lost their flag but they are probably improved now . Used the cox agri loop tags 5 yrs ago seem ok just very long and the more movement the larger the pin hole gets over time :farmer:
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When I say air tight container I don't mean a bag, a plastic sealed box and the little silica bags absorb any moisture in the box after opening . Use the set tag personally and bare in mind I buy hundreds every year and if the pins were to bend then I wouldn't be using them !! The bubble gum tags have been in 6and 7 yrs and most have lost their flag but they are probably improved now . Used the cox agri loop tags 5 yrs ago seem ok just very long and the more movement the larger the pin hole gets over time :farmer:
.they did bend at the time though . as i said they were in a bag and an air tight tub .i had about 100 doubles and 250 slaughter tags . in the end up i had old ritchey s -tags with the locking bump filed of to make a hole in the ear then put the shearwell tag in . was a nightmare. . shearwell did keep trying to resolve it but i really had enough by the end .especially after payin 50 quid for the auto tagger and extra for the tags in tubes to go in it which was ment to save myself some time :-\ . i noticed last night they dont seem to sell the auto tagger anymore must have gave up on it .
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Sorry you had a bad batch , I never tried the auto tagger it looked difficult to use and had some very bad press including if I remember twice putting back the launch due to problems
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I switched to Shearings for my pig tags because I was fed up of pigs running off with tagging pliers still attached to their ears.
Tried out some pliers at a show and their quick-release system really impressed me. Since then, I've bought the sheep ones, too. Very pleased.
And I've tried Dalton, Fearings, Zeetag before, but was never entirely happy with them.
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Sorry you had a bad batch , I never tried the auto tagger it looked difficult to use and had some very bad press including if I remember twice putting back the launch due to problems
was bad at the time .i will give them another go for the ewe lambs this year . how do you get on with the roxan auto tagger ?
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ROXAN auto tagger fine for singles or twin tags not always 100% last tag in a strip often have to use individual pliers , I can tag 300 lambs ready for sale on my own faster then I can dose them.
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apologies for reviving a dead post but as a follow up we went ahead and ordered shearwell data bubble tags. have spent all day feeling anxious as we needed to tag 6 of our flock who we have sold tonight. after last years blood bath with the infernal Ritchey tags was dreading it. bloody marvellous, could not have been easier and I have no worries that they will stay put
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That's good to hear! :relief:
Thanks for the update :)
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Quick update: After advice on this thread, I ordered these tags from Shearwell. We even managed to get our farm name printed on the wee bubble bit on the end, so that's a nice touch.
(http://www.shearwell.co.uk/content/images/thumbs/0004660_scottish-sheep-replica-eid-set-tag_300.gif)
They arrived quickly, but there was a mixup with the order, and half of them arrived with the wrong flock number on them (it was an easy mistake to make, and I can see how it happened). Anyhow, Shearwells apologized profusely, told me to send back the wrong ones and they would issue me with new ones. These arrived yesterday complete with a small envelope of coins to compensate me for my postage.
I always think that the measure of a company is how it manages when things go wrong, so I'm pleased to report that Shearwells passed this test with flying colours. The tags went in very easily and look very secure, so I'm happy and will definitely be sticking with this type in future :thumbsup: .