[HappyHippy]

I'm not hugely experienced with BPA pedigree's & stuff yet
(the Kune Kune society do everything reg wise & KK's only need 1 tag)
But I'm fairly certain that any pedigree pigs you have should have a tag and a tattoo or notches. The breeder who you bought them from should have done it. Maybe I've mis-understood the guidelines ? Somebody who knows for sure will be along in a minute 

[robert waddell]

tattoo is correct for tamworths the seller should do this  but there is this problem with disappearing marks tags are still acceptable

[skidley]

Bill is indeed the king of Tattooing! I have 2 of his gilts both over a year old now and their tattoos are both not only visible but quite big too.
I've just done my first lot of tattooing, with green ink on Tamworths and it worked well they were all readable within a few days when the extra ink had worn off.

[Tudful Tamworths]

Bill Howes does great tattoos - but he uses some really ancient tattoo pliers and I've searched high and low to try and find something similar.
There doesn't seem to be a great selection of pliers out there (someone please prove me wrong - I'd be delighted to find some more).
Like a lot of people, I have ones from Fearings (BPA members get a 20% discount, and they were the only ones I could find that could fit both the number and the HDL) but they're not great. The characters are very small and fiddly and I've had problems with disappearing tattoos, even after making sure to rub paste in before crunching with the pliers and rubbing in thoroughly afterwards.
Visibility is getting to be a real problem for me. As my Tamworths are outdoor pigs, their ears get freckled in the sun, which makes it more difficult to read the tattoos.
I know Bill uses Ketchums slap mark paste rather than normal tattoo paste. He reckons it's brilliant, but I haven't been able to find any online and our local agri places don't stock it.

[HappyHippy]

Hi Tudful 
I found the ketchum's website and link to request a cataloge, but since it's a Canadian website I'm not sure if they'll deliver to UK ? I'll ask and maybe if anyone else is interested we could all club together and order together, it could be sent to one of us, and we could send the bits to the relevant people ?
But I'll keep looking for UK suppliers too 
Karen x

[robert waddell]

well liz i will need to ask bill about his sideline??? our set is made by Arnold & sons takes 6 digits or letters circa 1950,s and we do the same as your self with cattle it was always readable

[dannidub2000]

Read in depth exactly what you are ment to for a particular breed of pig and go by whatever it says because if a pig isnt correctly marked as its ment to beas alot of hassle can start when you want to breed/ notify litters etc.. big headache!!

[ballingall]

We used to white tattoo paste, I think just from our local agricultural shop. It worked ok, but not fantastically well. We tried it because the Anglo-Nubian goats often have black skin, and the green didn't always last more than a couple of years. Green was fine on the pale skinned ones though.

Karen, we do have a set of tattoo pliers if you want to borrow them, we don't use them much as we have to use at least one tag for the goats, and the second ear is optional either a tattoo or a tag.


Beth

[Hilarysmum]

Lilian I have just spent 5 minutes just watching your post ....      love it.

[Mr Pig]

You need to be aware of the BPA requirements. There is no provision for tattooing (even with white paste) breeds such as Large Black, Saddleback, Berkshire or Hampshire. They have to be ear notched using the system applicable to the breed (not all the same). White breeds (incl GOS) and Tamworths must be tattooed and there are requirements about what information is needed and in what ear. There is currently provision to double tag PROVIDING you get written permission from the BPA first and stick with just that one system. Note however that if you tag your pigs may not be shown in any BPA approved show. Further, there is evidence that some of the larger breeders will not buy stock that has not been correctly tattooed or notched because of the ease of fraudulent identification of pigs with tags only as they are simply replaced.

[HappyHippy]

You need to be aware of the BPA requirements. There is no provision for tattooing (even with white paste) breeds such as Large Black, Saddleback, Berkshire or Hampshire. They have to be ear notched using the system applicable to the breed (not all the same). White breeds (incl GOS) and Tamworths must be tattooed and there are requirements about what information is needed and in what ear. There is currently provision to double tag PROVIDING you get written permission from the BPA first and stick with just that one system. Note however that if you tag your pigs may not be shown in any BPA approved show. Further, there is evidence that some of the larger breeders will not buy stock that has not been correctly tattooed or notched because of the ease of fraudulent identification of pigs with tags only as they are simply replaced.

Mr Pig - help I'm confused !
I understand now that Large Blacks have to be notched instead of tattooed BUT I thought they had to have a tag AS WELL AS tattoo or notch  Is this not the case ? The registered large black weaners I've just got have a notch and tag - does this rule out showing for them ?
Thanks,
Karen

[robert waddell]

no     the notching for breed recognition        tag for ministry or other daftie that cant reed the notching       you will be fine showing them trust me

[HappyHippy]

Thanks Lillian, not that I'm planning on showing, well not yet anyway 
But it's just good to know what I'll need to do with the piglets in the future.


Also for anyone interested in the Ketchum stuff - I've had an email back to say they do ship to the UK, they're sending a catalouge to me and once someone's back from holiday they'll be in touch to let me know about UK distributers of their products. I'll post the info once I get it, if that's of any help ?
Karen x

[robert waddell]

lillian is busy with turkeys she will post who she gets her tags from as to the fraud of tags even with tattoes there is fraud

[robert waddell]

Mr Pig
you are completely wrong with your statement. The BPA papers (when you join) lets the breeder decide if they want to NOTCH or TATOO. When doing either you must have a tag also. In England they are trying to irradicate the notching as this is now seen as being cruel. Pigs MUST have tags when being shown. Iwould like to know where you are getting your information from as you are being told crap. You can contact the BPA on 01223854100 who can confirm all that I said is correct. It seems funny to me that