[Womble]

Hi folks,

Has anybody found a way to identify (preferably at a distance) which lamb belongs to which ewe, when dealing with black lambs? We tried various sprays last year but they all wore off after a couple of weeks and we then lost track.

Has anybody found a spray that lasts on black fleece, or some other method of ID that works better?

@Fleecewife - I know you said before that you use small metal ear tags. Do you know which ones they were?

[waterbuffalofarmer]

Have you tried illuminous sheep marker, if there is such a thing, and renew it every time it fades a little. I don't think there is one on the market which does that, but you never know @Womble you may be able to create something unique here

[Womble]

What, you mean like glow in the dark WBF?

I found a site selling these luminous lamb necklaces and earrings, so I suppose I could give them a try. They only last about eight hours though, and I was hoping for a little longer? 

[Fleecewife]

This is what I wrote back in 2010:

<<<<We use turkey wing tags at birth to identify the lambs - Soay and Hebridean.  They are tiny with 3 numbers on and look like a tiny padlock.  The wire loop is just pushed through the ear then clicked shut, so mimimal trauma.  They do occasionally lose one but it's not a major problem.  Then at 4 months ie weaning we swap for the bigger permanent tags and cross-ref the numbers.  The tags come from Roxan and can be re-used if you clean them. This year our Soays are a variety of colours and we can tell them all apart so we didn't bother with the turkey wing tags.>>>>

This is the link  http://www.tagfaster.com/padlock-startin-tags-61-p.asp I suppose they must be made by 'tagfaster' and are sold through roxan.  They come in 4 colours, numbers of your choice.  You're not supposed to tell them they're for sheep........ just suddenly become a turkey owner for the day.


BUT you can't see them from a distance, other than to see they are wearing them.  We leave them until the lambs are 4 months when we put in the Bubblegum tags.  A few will have lost their little tags by then, but you can still sort them out by the 'see who baa's at which lamb' method.

I love the idea of luminous paint - you could put it on their toes  .  Once they have horns of course you can use various colours of electrical tape, but no use for lambs.
Or, if you keep topknot sheep you could tie a coloured ribbon in that - not sure how long it would stay in place.  I suppose that could work on fleece anywhere.  I don't like things tied around their necks though.

[Womble]

Stunning, thanks Fleecewife!

My earlier searching turned up a comment from you about using turkey wing tags, but it didn't mention which type. I note that the Startin tags are now also sold specifically for lambs, so it looks as though you've started a trend! 

So the wire just pushes straight through the ear and then fastens then?  How do you undo them when it's time to permanently tag them?

I've ordered a sample pack of the Roxan tags to see what they're like (Hope I don't have to put on the red light  ).

[Fleecewife]

The square part of the tag has a curled edge.  When you've pushed the loop through the ear (they don' usually seem to feel this), you close it over and press the curled bit shut.  To open it again, open out the curl with your thumb nail. You'll see what I mean when your sample arrives. These tags don't leave a hole, and if they should pull out it heals over almost immediately.  Time to order mine too.
Oh I'm such a trend setter 

[landroverroy]

About 10 years ago, when I had more black lambs than I get now, I used to buy a fluorescent orange spray for them. It had to be refreshed every few weeks, but it certainly showed up on black. I haven't seen it recently, but then I haven't looked as it didn't last as well as ordinary marker sprays. so I don't need it now I have white lambs. 

[SallyintNorth]

Those tags now come in 'lamb' and 'chick' options... Would you still choose 'chick' for lambs of primitives?

[Hevxxx99]

Bleach? 

[Fleecewife]

Those tags now come in 'lamb' and 'chick' options... Would you still choose 'chick' for lambs of primitives?

Interesting - they don't give the different measurements, so a phone call is needed.  Will have to be Monday now.

[Buttermilk]

Those tags now come in 'lamb' and 'chick' options... Would you still choose 'chick' for lambs of primitives?

Interesting - they don't give the different measurements, so a phone call is needed.  Will have to be Monday now.

Make that Tuesday as monday is a bank holiday this week.

[Womble]

Well logically you'd think that the ones you've had before were the turkey markers (since that's what they were originally sold for), so I'd expect the lamb ones to be a wee bit bigger than your previous order?

[Fleecewife]

Those tags now come in 'lamb' and 'chick' options... Would you still choose 'chick' for lambs of primitives?

Interesting - they don't give the different measurements, so a phone call is needed.  Will have to be Monday now.

Make that Tuesday as monday is a bank holiday this week.

 

[Fleecewife]

Well logically you'd think that the ones you've had before were the turkey markers (since that's what they were originally sold for), so I'd expect the lamb ones to be a wee bit bigger than your previous order?

Ah - logic    mmm think I'll still check 

[Womble]

Well, the sample tags I ordered on Good Friday at 3.30pm arrived less than 24 hours later - can't fault that for service!

Unfortunately there's no padlock style tag included, which the website seemed to say would be. Their tagfaster system looks excellent for larger numbers of sheep though, whilst we may well go for one of the 'Rubba' designs for permanent ID this year as we need to include the Zwartbles registration number for any that will be kept or sold for breeding.