The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: SallyN on May 18, 2019, 04:24:08 pm
-
Hello, I have some lambs and shearlings I need to tag - a long delay involving very boring stuff to do with tag and plier availability explains why I haven't done it earlier. I know that tagging in warm weather is not a good idea because of the risk of fly strike and/or infection, but I'm reluctant to delay as I'm supposed to be selling them at some point this year.
Are there precautions I can take which will minimise the risk? There must be some tagging which happens during the season as ewes/lambs lose their tags from time to time and the Defra website says to retag within 30 days which does suggest that you have to occasionally do it in summer. Any thoughts?
-
Clean the ear with surgical spirit before tagging and a squift of purple spay at the first sign of swelling.
-
Retagging doesn’t always have to make a new hole ;)
I’d agree with Buttermilk’s advice, and might add a smear of Tea Tree Ointment or something else flies don’t like on the ear after tagging.
-
Personally I will only tag sheep going for killing during the summer , Roxan do tags with an anti microbial coating to cut down on infections . Some people have made just a hole and let it heal and then put the tags in later . But if you must then maybe coating the tag pin and hole in pine tar or Stockholm tar may help it heal and keep it safe
-
I've never had a issue with tagging during the summer and now I think of it I've never had a sheep bleed after tagging either. The only issue I've had is when lambs catch/rip the tags when putting their heads through the stock fence to eat the hedge.
-
We have to tag calves within the first 20 days of life, never noted any difference in infection rates between those tagged in the shed during winter and those tagged in the field in summer. I tag all my lambs at birth which prevents tagging in summer though.
-
I made up some Hibiscrub (used by vets and surgeons to scrub up before operating) and put all the tags into it, just fished each one out to load into the tagger. Not a single one out of 30 applied got infected.
-
Over the years I have tagged thousands of lambs and hundreds of calves shortly after birth up to a few weeks old with only the odd problem even with no antiseptic precautions , I assume because they are young fast growing with less bacteria . I have also tagged thousands of lambs and adults ( before the compulsory system really got going ) in the autumn /winter with different or no antiseptic precautions and have had plenty of problems . The modern tags have improved massively and cause less problems , personally I dip all tags in lambing lubricant before applying .