[MudHutter]

A piece of advice please about slap marks for a first time pig keeper

We slap marked our saddlebacks about 3 weeks ago (on the white shoulder band).  All seemed well and I felt fairly confident I had done it effectively.

However now 3 weeks on there is no obvious visible sign of the marks - should i be worried, or is this normal?

thanks
Sam

[Sylvia]

Slap them again on the backside and give them a fair whack. I always slap mine the night before slaughter once they're in the trailer then I know the mark will still be there.

[Sudanpan]

Even if you can't see the slapmark it is almost certainly still visible on the skin for the abattoir - however if you are at all worried there is no problem about slap marking them again.

When we send ours to slaughter I do the slap marking about 3 days before

[holz306]

can someone explain the slapmark to me - i'm thinking about getting a couple of weaners, but i'm a newbie to pigs

[robert waddell]

slapmarking should be done the day the pigs go to slaughter or the day before it is meant to identify a pig after it has went through the killing process  if it has been done right it is visible even after skinning
metal tags survive the killing as well as does plastic but some slaughter houses prefer slapmarks or metal tags
it has to be done quite hard to penetrate the skin it can be done on each rear ham or on all the four shoulders

[suziequeue]

Yes - a good thwack whilst they are eating - last time we did it during apple pressing time so they didn't even notice - they were so busy gorging themselves on the cake

We ended up doing bottoms and shoulders as I got the mirror image of the letters messed up the first time round

I couldn't find any decent videos on you tube about how to do this. We tried making a video but got into an argument half way through!! 

[P6te]

Regarding Slapmarking, the only place I've seen it on YouTube is 'Johnny's Pigs' video, see www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ0TgYa7QvQ&list=FLpSyqa8E9SBAwaTRPhB8KmQ&index=1&feature=plpp_video ... the slapmarking starts about 8 mins into it but the whole video is excellent and worth watching.

Pete

[Sylvia]

  That's all I can say. 

[rockstar]

just looked at the video very good viewing for the pig begginers

[supplies for smallholders]

We dont have a video, but we do have a guide.....

Follow the link at the bottom of any TAS page and our guide is in the info box on the left.

Thanks

[supplies for smallholders]

slapmarking should be done the day the pigs go to slaughter or the day before it is meant to identify a pig after it has went through the killing process  if it has been done right it is visible even after skinning
metal tags survive the killing as well as does plastic but some slaughter houses prefer slapmarks or metal tags
it has to be done quite hard to penetrate the skin it can be done on each rear ham or on all the four shoulders

That is simply not true Robert - Slapmarking can be done at any time from 10 Weeks old, that is why there are 10mm characters available so you can slap a weaner and the tattoo grows with the animal to slaughter weight. It is a matter of personal preferance when to slapmark, you cannot dictate that it is done the same day or the day before - There is no right and no wrong time to slapmark. I have to hand reports of the trails carried out on the ink we provide and the results are the same if the animals are slapped way in advance of slaughter or on the same day.

Some would argue that it is best not done on the day, as this can add to the stress levels of the animal leading to an increase of adrenilin and so a tougher carcass.

On the subject of plastic tags, I personally would refuse to sell a plastic slaughter tag for pigs, for pedigree markings then yes, but for Slaughter the regulations are quite clear (in England) that it needs to be a metal tag that will withstand the slaughter process, or a slapmark on each shoulder.

My personal view is that a slapmark is far superior to a tag for the following reasons:

1) There is 100% certainty that you are getting your own animal back as the tattoo can not be removed by the slaughter process - and despite what you may think tags do sometimes get pulled out.
2) Shoulder slapping is less stressful to the pig than being restrained while a tag is inserted
3) That 100% of large commercial producers use slapmarks rather than tags.

Rant over thanks :-)

[sarahdean_66]

2) Shoulder slapping is less stressful to the pig than being restrained while a tag is inserted

we did not need to restrain our pigs for tagging just held the ear whilst they ate lined up tag and put it in the barely looked up from breakfast. metal tags i might add.

[robert waddell]

well sfs you have said yourself it can be done at anytime
we use plastic tags and they survive the scalding process  maybe just maybe the slaughterhouse that the pigs get the tag ripped out  are the ones you don't get your pig back
i tag notch or tattoo  at weaning that is my preference  i have pedigree pigs and that is part of the requirement of being a pedigree breeder and don't find it any more stress full to the piglets than any other operation  or even moving them   and tagging you can monitor each pigs performance  through to slaughter try reading a slap mark on a black pig  or even a hairy one
commercial herds are almost 100% white pigs and are they not slapmarked at the grading process prior to leaving the farm

[thenovice]

I slap marked mine 6 weeks before slaughter, and even tho they wernt visible when i sent them off, they were clearly there on the carcase i got back. I shouldnt worry too much, but you dont need to whack them too hard with the marker, just a firm smack with the wrist. Yes they do notice if its too enthusiastic! 

[Maesgwyn]

the only thing I can add is to add ink at every slap, we didn't the first time and the mark did not show up on the second slap not even after slaughter.