[Little Landy Lover]

Hi all.
This is my first year with the sheep and it's about time I got round to tagging my lambs, I was planning on doing it at weaning as it's withing the 9 month limit. 5 lambs are destined for slaughter and the other 10 for future breeding. Question is, what tags do I need and where do you get yours? I also need a tagger but I guess a pair of pliers can be substituted if I can't afford them!
I shall be posting other topics on questions I've had festering...

[Foobar]

There have been several posts recently all about tagging for beginners...have a search you are sure to find them .  The rules will depend on what country you are in (the links to the defra sites are in the previous posts).  Shearwell SET Tags are very popular.

[MarvinH]

Id leave untagged rather than try with pliers.

[twizzel]

We've bought a couple of different taggers over the last few years and all cost under £10 that was for normal tags and eid tags- don't use pliers! The company you buy the tags from will sell the tagger too. Lambs going for slaughter under 1 yr old need 1 single slaughter tag if I remember.

[Hellybee]

The simple taggers are pretty cheap, please don't use pliers ..

[Bramblecot]

You need the right tagger for the tags you choose otherwise it will be a horrible  mess and painful for the lambs.  I'm fairly certain that Shearwell sent me a free tagger.

[Rosemary]

No pliers. If you can't afford the right tools, you can't afford to have sheep. Sorry.

[Badger Nadgers]

I'm fairly certain that Shearwell sent me a free tagger.

Kethchums do too. I find their tags moved within the ear of primitives though, and have thought about trying Shearwells when I've used up existing stocks.

[SallyintNorth]

You need the right tagger for the tags you choose otherwise it will be a horrible  mess and painful for the lambs.  I'm fairly certain that Shearwell sent me a free tagger.

I think if you buy 100 or more you can ask for a free tagger - check their website for current offers.

But as Rosemary says, tagging is a legal requirement, as is using the correct tools and techniques for the job.  So no pliers.

[Daisys Mum]

Taggers are not expensive and unless they change the tags should just about last forever.

[charls]

We use Shearwells SET tags, they are very good. Also brought a Shearwells tagger, I think it was about £15. However, we could have borrowed the tagger from a friendly farmer - they all seem to use similar tags around here. Why don't you ask a neighbouring farmer what brand of tags they use and ask if you can borrow their tagger? They may be able to demonstrate how to go about tagging too (it's useful to see it done before having a go yourself)

[Pundyburn Lynn]

We are very new to sheep and have only a soay ewe and ewe lamb to date.  However, it was heartbreaking to see the lamb with an ear ripped in two because of a lost tag.  Since then, she's lost the other tag too, which dissected the only good ear.  Because they are garden sheep I absolutely refuse to re-tag, and will readily face the consequences. Poor Ruby has four ear lobes as a result of these legal requirements.

[Hillview Farm]

shearwell applicator is £9

[charls]

Yes you're right, the tagger is £9. I think I must have been thinking about the total price including VAT and the tags 

[petectid]

As above buy a tagger, also tagging at this time of year when the flys are about could be asking for trouble.  You've got months yet, early winter for all those staying on your holding while you have to tag anything that leaves before then.  The younger the lambs the more likely they could tear them out on fences, lambs have a tendency to push their heads through fences to feed on the adjacent pasture.  I'll tag this years lambs in October/November and still be within the requirements.  You may also see none or fewer torn ears by letting them grow on, also buy flexible tags and cut the loop so they are open.  I use the Allfex Bublegum tags, which were recommended on here by someone their tagger costs £12 and is a sturdy piece of kit will last for years.  The first time you tag can be quite stressful so I recommend having someone there to assist, they don't always oblige and stay still.  Good luck.