[jacob and Georgina]

i am a total newbie to sheep and before i go ahead and get some there is one last thing (i think) i need to know, if i am buying store lambs now to finish before going to slaughter next feb/march depending on when they reach the correct weight, will these lambs need tagging as soon as the come onto our holding with our herd no? i think i am right in saying that they do not need to have an electronic tag but that is pretty much were my knowledge ends with regards to tagging!!

many thanks in advance

[piggy]

Hi
All sheep are tagged with the flock number of birth and can not be moved without a tag,in England if you are sending a lamb to slaughter under the age of 12 months then it only needs 1 tag,if you planning on keeping the lamb over 12 months then you need to double tag and  1 of these tags must be electronic,i have just sold some lambs and 1 have double tagged them,1 eid and 1 normal,covers both routes then,you do not need to re tag them when they come to you unless they have lost 1 of the tags they came with.
Some of the other more experienced sheep people will be along soon so if i'm wrong please let me know as this is what i have been following.

Karen

[jacob and Georgina]

so if i understand correctly if they go to slaughter under the age of 12 months (which they will) then they only legally need the 1 tag and that is of the flock number from the farm in which they were born, am i correct??

[thenovice]

Hi, you are correct, if they are going to slaughter and are under a year old, they only need the 1 slaughter tag. If you speak to one of the tag suppliers they can confirm it all for you. THey will need your cph number and your flock mark. Im a reletive newbie myself and its a real minefield isnt it!

[supplies for smallholders]

Hi,

I would suggest reading some of the DEFRA Guides for new keepers - they are pretty straight forward. and here is the link: http://www.defra.gov.uk/food-farm/animals/movements/sheep/

But yes (in England) if they are going to slaughter under 12 months of age then a single slaughter (Non EID) tag will suffice. This must be from the holding of birth. That is the minimum, they can also be double tagged with pairs of Eid+ Matchup or Slaughter + Match up if you like.

[SteveHants]

If you are buying stores, they ought to already be tagged - this will have their individual number and flock details on. You just need to fill in the relevant movement forms. You ought to have your own flock number on your holding, but you will only need to worry about this for animals born there. It is true they only need the one tag, but lots of folk here put bot the tags on as a matter of course now. 

[supplies for smallholders]

If you are buying stores, they ought to already be tagged - this will have their individual number and flock details on. You just need to fill in the relevant movement forms. You ought to have your own flock number on your holding, but you will only need to worry about this for animals born there. It is true they only need the one tag, but lots of folk here put bot the tags on as a matter of course now.

A couple of points:

You MUST legally have a holding number to own sheep (or at least have applied for one) regardless of if the sheep are already tagged.

If you buy stores that are intended for slaughter by 12 months of age, then the liklihood is that they will be tagged with a single slaughter tag - which will have the flock number only without individual ID.

Thanks