[kanisha]

anyone had any further thoughts from last year?  the breed society ( france)  is holding out for non compliance unless we get a derrogation for small tags but i still don't see any tags that are suitable. does anyone have and good or bad experiences?

[woollyval]

Have used Allflex bubblegum tags.....very good and no ripped ears! The accompanying tag that is for id only has a smaller pin than any other i have ever used. One point to note is I don't put them in until they are at least 4 months old unless moving them to field away from home.

[kanisha]

any chance of a photo of one in situ?

can you just tag with the non eid tag to start with? we can wait until the lambs are six months old ( legally) but i want to tag my lambs long before that otherwise I can't work out whose who!

[shep53]

Question for woollyshepherd is tag with a very small pin an ADAMATIC ?

[woollyval]

Will try and get one to stand still long enough to get a pic tomorrow Yes it would be very possible to put the smaller one in and the bigger one later. Both tags come from Allflex and yes it is the Adamatic that is the small one I use with the bubblegum EID http://www.allflex.co.uk/adamatic-tag-sheep-slaughter-ex-scotland-c-51-p-54

[Fleecewife]

Hi Kanisha  .  We use turkey wing tags for the initial ID, then put in the official ones at weaning or when they leave.  The turkey wing tags are lightweight metal shaped like a padlock less than one cm square - you push the curved pin through the ear by hand and they don't seem to notice.  Ours carry just a three digit number.  They have the advantage of reflecting in the sun so you can spot very quickly if one is missing and put in another.  For the official tag we used Bubblegum last year .  They are very wide on tiny ears but so far we haven't had any problems.  We haven't tagged the one Soay we kept though........  All the Hebbie hoggs have theirs in and there have been no probs.

[kanisha]

thanks Fleecewife yes I probably will go with some temporary tag its just a question of how to go about things. i am pleased to hear that the bubblegum tags are going well. but I loathe the thought of my ouessants with plastic butterflies on their little ears. I have to come to a few decisions. hmmmm more thinking to do.

[woollyval]

Sorry but so busy today I couldnt get out with camera. The tags are fine and all mine are tagged  and looking good. The small adamatic tag is the best tag i have ever used!

[andywalt]

if you think there good I should get some, where do you get them from?

[andywalt]

Do you use the multi shot applicator? or the single one?  if you have the multishot gun does it work well?

[woollyval]

I get them from Allflex go on their site and take a look....they are the small ones. I get the bubblegum ones as the yellow EIDs and the Adamatics in blue as the id tag. The applicator is not the best I have ever used but its ok....i use the single use one as I load one of each in their respective applicators per animal

[shep53]

I will give you my experiance of useing ADAMATIC and now its EID mate ELECTROMATIC for i think 8 years and you can make your own decision. It is a great tag the pin is very sharp and will go through any ear even rams,i use the auto system i can put tags in one handed without holding the ear so the sheep never struggle i can put tags in very quickly BUT ONLY IN SHEEP FOR SALE and only 48 hrs before selling why? because the retention rates are not good.I have never had one rip out but the pin breaks all the time at some stage ,in the early years i tried it as a management tag ( there was no  breeding or slaughter tags at that time ) but as the tags began to break i moved to an alternative ,yes some of the older tags are still in but less than 50%. As an example in oct 2009 i bought 19 gims two tags in each today i did a count 10 have 2tags  6 have 1tag   3 have 0 tags. One day i tagged a group of lambs ,finished went to let them out of the pens and found a tag on the ground pin broken, they are only designed for short term use.   WOW MY FINGER HURTS

[waterhouse]

We bought six double tagged lambs last year and the Ritchey tags mostly fell out or broke off.  Two sheep had badly ripped ears and the final count was only two of the twelve tags stayed the course, oddly in the same sheep.

We replaced with QWIK red tags and haven't lost one so far.  But I agree with not tagging until absolutely necessary.