[jacob and Georgina]

have been reading about eid but still have several questions unanswered and thought that this would be the best place to ask.

Am i right in thinking that all sheep that are over 1 year old must have an electronic tag?  if so what data does the tag contain?
If i buy some ewes that are already over 1 year old will they already be tagged?
How do you go about tagging and is it essential to have a tag reader?

Probably some silly questions there but am quite confused  and cannot find a helpful source of information. any help gratefully received 

[squeasy]

Hello

It is all very confusing but have you had a look at defras site http://www.defra.gov.uk/publications/2011/03/26/sheep-goats-guidance-pb13327/ 
or business link http://alturl.com/fh3se

Hope that helps

[lachlanandmarcus]

yep if you buy sheep they will be tagged by the seller. If they dont, dont take them til they do! They keep those tags even tho they have the flock number of where they came from, not your holding. But you do record the numbers in your own flock register.

Rules on what tag and what colour are complicated but you'll only need to worry about that if/when they start to lose any of their tags. You will only need to tag when that happens ( or if you breed any )

You dont need a tag reader.

Tagging applicators you can buy with your tags, I find the Allflex bubblegum ones good for little ears. The applicator only fits that makers tags so get them together.

[SteveHants]

Only sheep born after 31 Dec 2009 have to have EID tags, so you may not end up with them.

Prior to that, they just had a tag with the flock mark. I just bought a bunch of Lleyn full-mouthed ewes that are like this, for example.

[plumseverywhere]

I spent most of the weekend and yesterday going through the EID tagging palava - we had some lambs with slaughter tags (single tagged) only but I have bought them to keep longer so...because they are living over a year of age now they need double tagging. Because they weren't EID tagged on holding of birth (due to the fact that they had a date with the freezer) I've been advised to buy in replacement tags (red ones) and fully document the change in number in my flock book. Its a reet faff!!!

Gareth at SUpplies for Smallholders was Incredibly helpful and patient!!  Finally got the full advice from him and Animal Health and the tags are being made up now, like Lachlanandmarcus said  get them tagged before you bring them back, it will save you pulling your hair out like I had to although my circumstances were very different as I was upgrading their status so to speak!

[YorkshireLass]

The EID chip itself only contains a number - imagine it like a barcode. It's the scanner and computer programme that turn into into UK123456/01234 (or however many digits it has!). This number is assigned to the lamb at birth. If the lamb is intended to be kept, it should have two tags: one will be yellow and contain the microchip; the other will be any colour apart from red or black and have the same number printed on.

Older animals have all kinds of tag numbers, or *may* have been retagged with EID tags.

Where it gets complicated is if the lamb was intended for slaughter at 1 year of age (or under). The following is from memory, please correct if I get it wrong 
I can't remember if it runs to Dec 1st, or to the following spring? But in this case, all your slaughter lambs could be tagged with a generic number e.g. UK123456, and only one tag. Now, if you change your mind and the lamb is still in it's place of birth, you can swap the tags and give it a full number. BUT you cannot do that if the lamb has been moved, as obviously you would have no idea which particular lamb that was.
TL;DR: if you want a lamb to keep, make sure it has double tags and an individual number!

RED tags signify a replacement (e.g. if it came in from the field having ripped its tags out)
BLACK tags signify that the EID chip is actually in a bolus in the rumen.
YELLOW tags are reserved for the tags containing the microchip.

Clear as mud, no? 

[lachlanandmarcus]

All this is why I tag all my lambs with double tags (one yellow EID, one coloured non EID one, i use pink but you can use anything except red (duplicates for sheep not born on holding and old tag nos not known) or black (tag for sheep with EID in bolus in tummy not in tag).

NB this is in Scotland. In England I believe you cant use yellow tags as they are for EID tags, up here you can but its recommended not to.

In Scotland even the slaughter tags have to have EID so there wasnt much cost saving going down that route. In England slaughter lambs can have non-EID tags which makes things a lot cheaper, provided the lambs DO end up being slaughtered, otherwise they have to be upgraded.

All VERY confusing and overkill bearing in mind the three major animal disease outbreaks/scares in recent years have primarily been in - well, everything other than sheep! (BSE, F&M, swine/avian flu)! Cant believe the admin for my sheep compared with the cattle when I had them.

[OhLaLa]

Ear tag requirements depend on what country you are in. Where I am it's all change at the moment with ALL flocks being inspected by the governing body to ensure they (we) are complying.

  Where are you?

[robert waddell]

lachlandmarcus  sheep were affected by FM  tags are easier to trace to a holding than paperwork and keel marks 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Fair point Robert; still think it is overkill for sheep who never leave holding of birth - why not a non EID flock number in Scotland for that? And having the same rules across the UK would be useful!

[robert waddell]

the English and Scottish animal health people would have to kiss and make up and i cant see that ever happening
just as a for instance the English have no disease control method 6 day standstill the same as isolation facility's  Scotland has a longer standstill that will cope with an outbreak or should do if adhered to