[tommytacit]

Have a small flock of Soay.
Had 16 lambs this year and i expect i now need to tag them....!
Can anyone tell me where to get the tagging machine from, and what numbers i need to put on them?
thanks

[Fleecewife]

You get the tags through companies such as Shearwell, Daltons, Allflex etc.  They will issue you with the assigned numbers.  In Scotland they must have 5 digits and start 00001.  This year you need 2 tags, one of which has an EID in (for electronic reading).  There are a couple of earlier threads on here dealing with tagging.  For Soays you need to be very carefull which size of tag you use.  I bought Allflex Bubblegum tags for my Hebrideans but they look huge in the Soays.  You could contact Julie Suffolk of the Soay Sheep Soc who will tell you the type she bought for her flock.
The applicator is different for each type of tag - of course  - and you can buy it when you buy the tags.  Tags can be ordered online - you will need to give your Holding Number and the details are kept on record.

[landroverroy]

  :sheep:Actually you don't need an electronic tag for your lambs if they are going for slaughter, either direct or through a market, before they are 12 months old. For that reason all mine are going for meat this year as I can't do with all this increasing regulation.

[Fleecewife]

<<Actually you don't need an electronic tag for your lambs if they are going for slaughter>>

Depends on where you are - in Scotland you do. Thinking about it, I don't really understand this regulation for England - surely it is when animals are going through the marts and for slaughter that they need the speed (when it works properly) of electronics? 

Also Soays are unlikely to be going for slaughter before 12 months as they take a couple of years or more to grow big enough.  I'm not sure where Tommytacit is based, but the tag companies will keep him right anyway.