Tagging Lambs

arctictree

So what do you lads do? Do you tag your lambs in the first few days? Do you wait until they are about to leave?

From reading the regs and from a management point of view, would the best be to tag with one Mart tag initially and then only add an electronic one if being kept for breeding?

Edit - Mods - can you move this to the 'Sheep' forum?

TITANIUM.

arctictree wrote: »

So what do you lads do? Do you tag your lambs in the first few days? Do you wait until they are about to leave?

From reading the regs and from a management point of view, would the best be to tag with one Mart tag initially and then only add an electronic one if being kept for breeding?

Edit - Mods - can you move this to the 'Sheep' forum?

The day they go they get tagged.

Conmaicne Mara

I find ears on my lambs a bit small for early tagging, that said I do know a farmer with blackface like me who tags at day one, but he's involved with Sheep Ireland projects.

I will tag mine day one with management tags (ardes type), and record the ewes tag against them. Did not lose one management tag in lambs last year. But, when I tagged them with electronic tags, lost two in the same week !

sea12

Conmaicne Mara wrote: »

I find ears on my lambs a bit small for early tagging, that said I do know a farmer with blackface like me who tags at day one, but he's involved with Sheep Ireland projects.

I will tag mine day one with management tags (ardes type), and record the ewes tag against them. Did not lose one management tag in lambs last year. But, when I tagged them with electronic tags, lost two in the same week !

What's the cost of management tags con. Might do the same this year as spray is only good for the first few weeks. Often had lovely lambs or poor lambs would love to know the mothers for breeding purposes.

Conmaicne Mara

sea12 wrote: »

What's the cost of management tags con. Might do the same this year as spray is only good for the first few weeks. Often had lovely lambs or poor lambs would love to know the mothers for breeding purposes.

These are the ones I used last year:

http://www.magentadirect.ie/proddetail.php?prod=MSH0020

http://www.magentadirect.ie/proddetail.php?prod=MSH0018

I find the spray fairly limited given the wool type on blackface, it can get unreadable fairly quick as the fleece lengthens even when neatly applied.

Am in two minds whether I'll spray them at all this year, I suppose it is handy in ways but Jesus is it ever messy looking on sheep.

arctictree

Conmaicne Mara wrote: »

These are the ones I used last year:

http://www.magentadirect.ie/proddetail.php?prod=MSH0020

http://www.magentadirect.ie/proddetail.php?prod=MSH0018

I find the spray fairly limited given the wool type on blackface, it can get unreadable fairly quick as the fleece lengthens even when neatly applied.

Am in two minds whether I'll spray them at all this year, I suppose it is handy in ways but Jesus is it ever messy looking on sheep.

CM - Do you take these management tags out when selling?

Would the mart tags not serve the same purpose?

BTW - A neighbor told me that unsprayed lambs sell better at Mart? Any truth in that??!

Conmaicne Mara

arctictree wrote: »

CM - Do you take these management tags out when selling?

Would the mart tags not serve the same purpose?

BTW - A neighbor told me that unsprayed lambs sell better at Mart? Any truth in that??!

I snip out the management tags when tagging with department tags. Considering getting a hole punch for making a hole in the untagged ear. I have had a lot of trouble with dept tags.

They would serve the same purpose but come with paperwork issues.

Unsprayed lambs may well "look" better. A lot that goes on in marts is based on looks of one sort or another, there could be some truth to that.

Zoo4m8

arctictree wrote: »

CM - Do you take these management tags out when selling?

Would the mart tags not serve the same purpose?

BTW - A neighbor told me that unsprayed lambs sell better at Mart? Any truth in that??!

The man who takes my ewe hoggetts to mart in the autumn gives me a hand sort them and insists that they are only marked with a crayon on the tail or back of head as needed, he won't let me use spray marker, he says " they're going to sell themselves , they're not women ,they don't need makeup!:)

AnFeirmeoir

Zoo4m8 wrote: »

The man who takes my ewe hoggetts to mart in the autumn gives me a hand sort them and insists that they are only marked with a crayon on the tail or back of head as needed, he won't let me use spray marker, he says " they're going to sell themselves , they're not women ,they don't need makeup!:)

Depends on the beast. Some need all the makeup they can get

sea12

AnFeirmeoir wrote: »

Depends on the beast. Some need all the makeup they can get

I have to agree especially for ewe lambs. I always just paint on the back of the head. All same colour.,

I hate seeing sheep looking like a rainbow .

tomwaterford

sea12 wrote: »

I have to agree especially for ewe lambs. I always just paint on the back of the head. All same colour.,

I hate seeing sheep looking like a rainbow .

+1 I cant say much though!!:o

Username John

Conmaicne Mara wrote: »

These are the ones I used last year:

http://www.magentadirect.ie/proddetail.php?prod=MSH0020

http://www.magentadirect.ie/proddetail.php?prod=MSH0018

I find the spray fairly limited given the wool type on blackface, it can get unreadable fairly quick as the fleece lengthens even when neatly applied.

Am in two minds whether I'll spray them at all this year, I suppose it is handy in ways but Jesus is it ever messy looking on sheep.

Do those tags stay as one, and kinda bend in the middle? I used small ones like this before, and they were a balls, a lot of em fell out...

I used these ovina type tags last year, and while they look savage big on a small lamb, I found them handy.
- None of them fell off
- They are nice and big and easy to read in the field
I ordered em with numbers, and then write the ewe number on as well, so you know straight away from the lamb, who the mother is.

Conmaicne Mara

Username John wrote: »

Do those tags stay as one, and kinda bend in the middle? I used small ones like this before, and they were a balls, a lot of em fell out...

I used these ovina type tags last year, and while they look savage big on a small lamb, I found them handy.
- None of them fell off
- They are nice and big and easy to read in the field
I ordered em with numbers, and then write the ewe number on as well, so you know straight away from the lamb, who the mother is.

I broke them in the middle, so they were only joined in one place where they clipped together through the lambs ear, none fell out. I can't check right now, but I don't think they will fit in the tagger unless broken apart.

Farrell

I used blank slaughter type tags & wrote with perm marker, the ink washed of most, trying blank ovina's this year. Lamb jackets when born, tagged day 2. Final tagged leaving yard / mating.
If have a few 'rainbow' ewes, easy from management, bad for selling

Green farmer

I tag when they leave farm. One's going to mart get a cheap mart and slaughter tag or ewe hoggets a set of electronic tags. I think under new department regulations what ever tag numbers go on the lambs, that number stays for life, so you cannt put on a mart tag and then upgrade a different electronic number after that. I'm open to correction if I wrong !!!
I agree would be good if you could source a good small management type tag to help you weed out the substandard mothers

Conmaicne Mara

Farrell wrote: »

I used blank slaughter type tags & wrote with perm marker, the ink washed of most, trying blank ovina's this year. Lamb jackets when born, tagged day 2. Final tagged leaving yard / mating.
If have a few 'rainbow' ewes, easy from management, bad for selling

Thanks for that Farrell, sorry to hear about the ink washing away on you but it was something I had been wondering about. Might have tried the tags I could write on in the future otherwise.

razor8

Used Mullnahone flexitags here this year and I didn't lose one and no fusted ears either

They put whatever number you want on them

Green farmer

razor8 wrote: »

Used Mullnahone flexitags here this year and I didn't lose one and no fusted ears either

They put whatever number you want on them

I use mullinahone tags also and never had any problems with them. I got some penning stuff from cormac last year and they gave me a sample of their electronic tags which look very compact. I was going to try them next.

Conmaicne Mara

Have had lots of problems with mullinahone, won't be getting tags of them again. Have used Cormac tags which seem fine so far.

J.O. Farmer

Conmaicne Mara wrote: »

Have had lots of problems with mullinahone, won't be getting tags of them again. Have used Cormac tags which seem fine so far.

Cormac tags seem good. I particularly like the colored discs they do. It makes identifying a group of sheep within the flock very easy. For example the daughters of a particular ram. I've never seen anybody else do them but I don't know why.

Conmaicne Mara

J.O. Farmer wrote: »

Cormac tags seem good. I particularly like the colored discs they do. It makes identifying a group of sheep within the flock very easy. For example the daughters of a particular ram. I've never seen anybody else do them but I don't know why.

I only got them as they were the supplier of choice for the Mayo Connemara society, but I liked them a lot. Smaller than the Mullinahone and vented, which to be fair Cormac do go on a lot about but they may have a point. Seen the discs as well, useful IMO, even if you just wanted a quick way to see how old a ewe was, or like you say out of what ram.

famer279

The day they are going I tag them

Green farmer

The guy behind cormac, TJ is a sheep farmer, beltex sheep I think, so everything is designed especially for sheep. Not cattle stuff reduced in size !!!

famer279

I tag when they leave farm

Conmaicne Mara

Green farmer wrote: »

The guy behind cormac, TJ is a sheep farmer, beltex sheep I think, so everything is designed especially for sheep. Not cattle stuff reduced in size !!!

He was out to one of our STAP meetings, nice guy

J.O. Farmer

famer279 wrote: »

I tag when they leave farm

We got that in your previous post before the post about cormac in Tuam making good sheep equipment because he's a sheep farmer.

ganmo

tag on the way onto the trailer, tag replacements in dec with e-tags.
sell ewe lambs with e-tags in them too, makes it easier for the buyer, they don't have to retag/ order the matching etag