[andywalt]

Can anyone advice what type of tags to use, i realise that we need one in each ear, one normal and one EID tag, whilst looking around Ive noticed a thin tag and a circular type tag, what are the pros and cons? do the circular tags snag less?  or are they harder to read? any comments appreciated...

cheers


andy

[supplies for smallholders]

Hi again Andy,

Why are the sheep you are getting not tagged? They should be tagged from the holding of Birth - this is happening all too much this year.

If they are to be slaughtered by 12 months then a single visual / slaughter tag, but if they are to be kept beyond 12 months then they Must have 2 tags - one of them being an EID Tag.

If you have to tag them yourself then the tags will need to be RED Replacement tags.

We like the Qwik EID tags ourselves - but Im not telling you the best place to get them - because I dont want all my posts to your threads to read as self adverts ! 

Thanks

[andywalt]

HI,

The flock are all tagged correctly, I am planning ahead as we will have lambs in January onwards.... I realise I dont need to tag them until next spring summer but I like to plan ahead some what and its nice to get different opinions from differant experiances, you can send me a private message and let me know the best place to buy them without advertising?

thanks

andy

[supplies for smallholders]

you can send me a private message and let me know the best place to buy them without advertising?

Hi Andy,

Read my signature below my post....

[woollyval]

Hi Andy

It really depends on the type of sheep, size of ears etc. If you have 'normal' large sheep then button tags win hands down for me as they are easy to read sit tight to the skin and have no loops to snag of anything. I used to use them for Wensletdales with big ears. I also use the loop types but cut the loop.

For really small eared sheep there is a lot of welfare issues with tags (there are with big sheep too but not so much) I will be using Allflex this year and see how I get on

Hope that helps

[lachlanandmarcus]

I too am going to use Allflex bubblegum (small loop) for my small eared Shetlands. They had good reviews on retention rates, altho there do seem to be probs (with these and prob other tags) if they are tagged when the ears are small and then the ear grows and the prong depth between the strips isnt enough and the ear gets infected.

For that reason and cos they always lose some and at £1 a shot that aint cheap, Im not tagging until nearly the 9 month deadline for outdoor kepts sheep in Scotland. Mad, eh, EID has meant my young sheep go without any ID for longer than they did previously!

In Scotland (dont know about rest of UK), the EID tag is yellow and the non EID one you can choose a colour, mine are pink!

Some will go for meat but as Shetlands normally dont go until their second year (not much on em otherwise, and I prefer them to have a decent lifespan for frolicing), all of mine will be double tagged as routine.

[egglady]

i've used the allflex bubblegum ones for our shetlands too and found them and the applicator (£4) really easy to use - having never done it before i was a bit wary, but the sheep didnt even flinch so i'm thinking that it was think enough not to have bothered them to much.  and, touch wood, they are still in their respective ears!

[andywalt]

So am I right in saying that its best to tag later once the ears have matured and are bigger? big ears use the button tags small ears use the looped type. the only thing about tagging later is that i might have a problem identifying the lamb with the ewe for the records? but its really good to hear all the views in this forum.

[Fleecewife]

This being the first year that EID tags have been used, you can wait to make your decision until next year, by which time we will have had a year to find out, and hopefully sort, all the problems there are this year with the new tags. In this instance there is no advantage in making your decision early.

We have sheep with small ears and use a 'turkey wing tag' at birth.  These usually stay in until the lambs are 4 months old when we tag them with their permanent tags.  This is expensive to do but as we raise pedigree breeding stock for sale it is important that we can identify lambs accurately. Also the turkey wing tags can be sterilised and re-used.

This year we have used Allflex Bubblegum tags for our permanent tags, because they are fairly small (but broad), the EID is in the pin and they are made of a soft and flexible material.  We had problems with putting them in initially because of how flexible they are compared with the tags we used before.  At this stage we have only put in the non-EID tag and will add the EID one once it is necessary.

In Scotland, even animals for slaughter require an EID tag, which is not the case in England I believe.

[Rosemary]

In Scotland, even animals for slaughter require an EID tag, which is not the case in England I believe.

Yes, lambs going to slaughter need one EID tag with the flock number but no individual number. I'm going to do mine as they run up the ramp 

I use Ketchum button tags so am getting EID tags from them too - although I only need one this year. They stay in much better now I've stopped using hatnets for the sheep.