The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: mike21 on December 12, 2017, 07:48:00 pm
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hi, first post here.
we have a flock of shetlands and have tried many different types of ear tags. all get ripped out or hang too heavy that they get infected or stretch the hole. need something no bigger than a 5p piece. anyone any suggestons.
have ewes that have been tagged 5 times and now have no flesh on ears to retag again. poor blighters...
thanks
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Sounds like maybe you are putting them in the wrong place in the ear? To have to re-tag 5 times is a bit excessive. The strongest bit is between the first two lines of cartilage on the top of the ear about 1/3rd of the way from the head (or 1/4). See here: http://www.shearwell.co.uk/topic/t2/SheepTagging (http://www.shearwell.co.uk/topic/t2/SheepTagging)
Search on this forum there are several threads about small ear tags.
They shouldn't get infected even if they are too big - but you must disinfect the tagger and the tag just before you insert it in the ear. And never tag animals when there are flies or midges around.
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We use Bubblegum tags on Hebs, Shetlands and Soay. They're not especially small but they are soft and bendy. We don't put them in to newborns though - we mark those with something tiny like a turkey wing tag, which doesn't leave a mark behind when it is removed to be replaced with a permanent tag at 4 months.
If a tag does tear out, use Superglue to repair it immediately (it was developed for wound closure in battlefield situations and only later used for sticking everything else.)
We have found that certain sheep are more likely to pull tags out - the ones which stick their heads through mesh fences. Hebs grow out of it once their horns grow a bit, but Shetlands can often still get their heads through in adulthood.
I agree that positioning of the tag in the ear is important, but will add that we have found that having the loop at the top reduces tearing - but then others have found quite the opposite :thinking:
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And if you ever have to do any re-fencing, use 8/80/22 rather than 8/80/15 - the 8/80/22 is referred to as "lambsafe" as it has wider vertical wires and prevents heads getting stuck.
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We use Bubblegum tags on Hebs, Shetlands and Soay. They're not especially small but they are soft and bendy.
I use bubblegum too. As well as being soft and bendy, the eid part of the tag is in the shaft, rather than on one side of the coloured tag. I think this improves the weight distribution. They also tear readily (and I think, by design) at the 'u-bend' end, so are less likely to rip out of the ear.
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Bubblegum. Also I cut them at the fold so even less to get caught up. Don't know how extensively you are keeping them but if it is practical worth looking at if there are particular hazards that are causing so many to rip out, it seems an unusually high failure rate.