Tagging/Registering Pet Lambs ???

Banshee Boos

I have a few pet ewe lambs that I am going to keep as my own small flock for breeding. I bought them directly from farmers and they were not tagged. I have applied for my flock number but how do I go about getting them tag numbers. I read the Dept of Ag NSIS leaflet and it sounds like I will have to get them Red tags as they do not have a tag from their holding at birth. I am not going to buy in anymore sheep for the moment. How does getting tags for them work? I see you can by them online from Mullinahone Co-Op or Sheeptags.ie, but I am unsure of the process. I would great appreciate some info on this.

rancher

Banshee Boos wrote: »

I have a few pet ewe lambs that I am going to keep as my own small flock for breeding. I bought them directly from farmers and they were not tagged. I have applied for my flock number but how do I go about getting them tag numbers. I read the Dept of Ag NSIS leaflet and it sounds like I will have to get them Red tags as they do not have a tag from their holding at birth. I am not going to buy in anymore sheep for the moment. How does getting tags for them work? I see you can by them online from Mullinahone Co-Op or Sheeptags.ie, but I am unsure of the process. I would great appreciate some info on this.

Go back to the farmer and get them tagged, that farmer should not have sold them without a tag and you could get him into trouble

Banshee Boos

It seems that all the pet lambs that are sold are untagged. Is there no way around it? I just took his number off Donedeal so I really don't know if I would be able to get back in contact with him or even if he would tag them at this stage.

rancher

Banshee Boos wrote: »

It seems that all the pet lambs that are sold are untagged. Is there no way around it? I just took his number off Donedeal so I really don't know if I would be able to get back in contact with him or even if he would tag them at this stage.

It seems most of them are sold untagged, its when the department/ag gets involved that the red tape kicks in, probably most people get them slaughtered for their own use and they are never recorded, but in this case it's being brought to the notice of the department and unrecorded movements are illegal.

Banshee Boos

I would find it hard to believe that everyone who buys a pet lamb would be necessarily going to get it slaughtered for their own use. Probably some ppl already have sheep and foster it on their own ewe that might have lost a lamb, and tag it as if it was their own. But as I do not have other sheep, that will not be an option for me. It's not like selling pet lambs is a hidden practice. It was even mentioned in an article in the Farmers Journal this weekend.

So you believe that there is no way of registering these guys then?

Does anyone else have any experiences of this?

Arrow in the Knee

So atm your waiting for a flock number to get your tags.
When the lambs get older what do you intend to do with them?
How many lambs do you have?

rancher

Banshee Boos wrote: »

I would find it hard to believe that everyone who buys a pet lamb would be necessarily going to get it slaughtered for their own use. Probably some ppl already have sheep and foster it on their own ewe that might have lost a lamb, and tag it as if it was their own. But as I do not have other sheep, that will not be an option for me. It's not like selling pet lambs is a hidden practice. It was even mentioned in an article in the Farmers Journal this weekend.

So you believe that there is no way of registering these guys then?

Does anyone else have any experiences of this?

Here's a quote from department agriculture rules

''Under the National Sheep Identification System it is a legal requirement that persons who hold or keep sheep on a registered holding, maintain records of the individual animal identification number attached to the animals. It is also a legal requirement to keep a written record of the movement of animals onto or off the registered holding''

There's the rules that farmers have to comply with in this country. I know there's lots of pet lambs sold not complying with these regulations, I'm just making you aware of the rules, I don't know what way the dept. would treat it. The legal way is get your holding registered, get the farmer to tag the lambs and issue a movement docket for them....simples
I'm already on a warning for mentioning illegal practises so that's the only suggestion I can give you

Banshee Boos

Arrow in the Knee wrote: »

So atm your waiting for a flock number to get your tags.
When the lambs get older what do you intend to do with them?
How many lambs do you have?

Yes, I am applying for my flock number, I am also getting a herd number for cattle as well and I am just finishing of the crush and pens so the DVO suggested waiting until I had that finished so he only had to come the once.
My intention for the lambs is to use them for breeding. I have 6 ewes in total and their lambs will be for slaughter or sale.

Banshee Boos

rancher wrote: »

Here's a quote from department agriculture rules

''Under the National Sheep Identification System it is a legal requirement that persons who hold or keep sheep on a registered holding, maintain records of the individual animal identification number attached to the animals. It is also a legal requirement to keep a written record of the movement of animals onto or off the registered holding''

There's the rules that farmers have to comply with in this country. I know there's lots of pet lambs sold not complying with these regulations, I'm just making you aware of the rules, I don't know what way the dept. would treat it. The legal way is get your holding registered, get the farmer to tag the lambs and issue a movement docket for them....simples
I'm already on a warning for mentioning illegal practises so that's the only suggestion I can give you

Thank you for the above, but I am not suggesting illegal practices. Last time I worked with sheep (which was probably over 15yrs ago at this stage) I can't remember any of them having tags. In reading the NSIS, I came across a section about red tags (mentioned in my original comment) - maybe these will work for me. I am not looking to get anyone in trouble here but you don't see pet calves for sale, so if there are pet lambs for sale there must be something done with these. I do not understand how the tagging system works, e.g. if I didn't have fully tagged ewes, how do I go about getting tags for those even? Where do I get the numbers from - do they have to be requested from the Dept of Ag and then you go to the Tag company?

rancher

Banshee Boos wrote: »

Thank you for the above, but I am not suggesting illegal practices. Last time I worked with sheep (which was probably over 15yrs ago at this stage) I can't remember any of them having tags. In reading the NSIS, I came across a section about red tags (mentioned in my original comment) - maybe these will work for me. I am not looking to get anyone in trouble here but you don't see pet calves for sale, so if there are pet lambs for sale there must be something done with these. I do not understand how the tagging system works, e.g. if I didn't have fully tagged ewes, how do I go about getting tags for those even? Where do I get the numbers from - do they have to be requested from the Dept of Ag and then you go to the Tag company?

We haven't been allowed sell sheep without tags for a good few years now, definitely more years than the lifetime of a sheep so it is unlikely that there is untagged ewes, the red tag is only for use in cases where you have a big flock and a few ewes loses all their tags.....because we have to keep records, we'd know which tags were missing but we can't identify which is which.
When you register your holding for sheep you'll get a flock no., a flock register to record your sheep and a book of movement dockets.
You can then buy your tags from one of the recommended tag supplier and each tag will have your flock no. on it followed by 01 for your first tag, 02 for your second tag etc etc.
Pet lambs are just week old lambs sold without their mothers, same as calves in the mart are just week old calves sold without their mothers, but both have to be tagged and recorded. In the case of the calves the marts are linked into a central database but the sheep are not so they have to have a paper trail, we're not even allowed sell to an un registered holding.
You'll have to be in good humor the day you sit down to read the rules on tagging and keeping sheep!!!!

Banshee Boos

Well I'm not sure what I'm gona do with these 6 sheep so if I can't register them. Because there are so man ypet lambs for sale everywhere, none of them tagged, I guessed there was some way of registering them. Gona have to figure something out though.

Arrow in the Knee

So the 6 sheep 'ewes' don't have tags either?

Banshee Boos

They are 6 ewe lambs born this spring.

tommy5678

what do you need to get a herd our flock number