[Ladygrey]

Hi everyone 

I bought two zwartbles ewe lambs a few months ago thanks to the help of people on here 

I LOVE  them and they are so very tame, they love brioche and bread and anything naughty 

However they are both tagged oppositely to eachother, I didnt think this was a problem but on the Zwartbles website it says that the Eid tag should be in the left ear (when viewed from the back)

Does this really matter? I would like to try my hand at showing the girls in the summer and would this be a problem?

I just need to find out how to properly trim them and groom them now 

[Richard Underwood]

There is no legal requirement to tag with the EID tag in a particular ear so it must just be a breed society rule.

When we used single tags it was common to tag males in one ear and females in the other for ease of identification - I don't know if some people have adapted this rule to the EID tags?

Richard

[smee2012]

I can't be of any help re the ear tags but just thought I'd give you a quick 'YAY' because you went for the Zwartbles    They are lovely sheep 

[SteveHants]

Just imagine the faff at lambing bigger flocks if the tags have to go in a specific ear!


As far as I am concerned you can put the tags in whatever ear you like as long as the numbers match and there is one in each ear.

[SallyintNorth]

It is preferred that the EID tag is in the left ear but I don't think it's enforceable.

[SteveHants]

Hahah, I'll remember that when I have a day old lamb wriggling about in my hands and I am trying to restrain its twin with my other and...wait...I need a third hand...

[hexhammeasure]

we alternate to assist with age Identification we also change colour of the non eid each year

[Blacksheep]

Don't think there will be a problem with the tags if you take them showing, just as long as you have both the tags in the ears!
Re showing next year, ideally you will need to get them shorn at the end of winter for them to have a good fleece growth to trim up for next summer's shows. We tend to mainly show our Zwartbles lambs, have found it difficult to get a couple of show sheep shorn in the winter for showing,  however the older ewe we did show this summer, the judge said he couldn't really judge her against properly show trimmed ewes as she had been shorn far too late. Hoping we can find a shearer for 2 or 3 sheep this February time though.

[SallyintNorth]

So if you shear them in winter do you then have to put coats on them to keep them warm?

[Blacksheep]

Hi Sally, yes some people do use rugs for winter shorn sheep,  you can get sheep rugs or foal rugs can be used, or else the sheep would need to kept indoors for a while, or at least at night and on wet days.  One of the shearers that we had this summer said he may be prepared to come and shear 2 or 3 sheep for us this February and that he would look into using a comb so that a small amount of fleece remains on the the sheep, so they wouldn't quite as bald as with normal shearing. 
Unfortunately some Zwartbles show sheep are kept in a lot to prevent the sun bleaching their fleeces as a blacker fleece looks very smart.   Ours are not, and generally go to shows out of the field.

[SallyintNorth]

Not meaning to be provocative, just thinking out loud...  I have mixed feelings about doing cosmetics to sheep which then give rise to welfare issues...  Although I suppose show folk are always going to take very good care of their show sheep so I suppose the sheep should be ok....   

Sorry, I'm threadjacking.  The topic is supposed to be ear tags!  I better start a thread about unseasonal clipping...
Here it is

[Blacksheep]

Not totally OT Sally as the OP question did relate to showing and mention grooming and trimming them too, and certainly a valid point to consider the welfare implications of late winter shearing too.

[Ladygrey]

Thanks for your replies!

I love my Zwartbles and I am so glad I got them



Annie (left) and Alice (right)


Alice with her hair styled 

The only thing I am worried about with them is they both have wool loss in the same place, not down to the skin but almost like shedding like my shetland ewe does (but she does her whole fleece...)
I injected them both againts sheep scab and none of my other sheep have the same thing  I suppose I should start a new thread for this... but for now will just use this one

[Ladygrey]

This is what it looks like, pics taken this afternoon.





I injected them with panomec and according to the bottle it covers mange mites and for sheep scab just do it two injections 1 week after the other (which I did)

Maybe it didnt take properly? I dont know

They arent itchy or rubbing on anything either

[SallyintNorth]

Rain scald?  Crows?