12 replies to this topic

[maisy123]

Hi all,
Having not kept sheep for some few years, I am aware that the law of the land has changed regards tagging and transporting stock, can anybody enlighten me on this further as i would be very grateful,


maisy123

[meekle]

Ok

If you were to buy some lambs off me today, then i woudl tag them with a single slaughter tag so that they could be moved, or a single EID Tag. If the intention was to have the lambs from me and grow to slaughter weight, then thats all you need to do (obviously observing your 6 day movement restriction)

However, if you decided that you liked the lambs and wanted to keep the ewe lambs back for breeding, then you would need to replace the tags on the lambs with a double set (one per ear) of EID. These tags would need to be coloured RED to make it obvious that they were wearing replacement tags.

If you replace the tags, you can put your own flock number and identifier on the new red tags, you dont have to use the existing number, but you must record the ear tag change in your flock book so that records can still be traced.

Remember that a 6 day movement restricts you to not moving any animals OFF the land for a period of 6 days after you have moved a new animal on in the case of sheep and goats. You can still move ONTO your land. The animal that you move onto your land with teh longest movement restriction takes prescedence, so if you had moved a pig onto the land, you have a 21 day monvement. You could theoretically move three lots of sheep onto the land (one lot per week) and have a couple of days to spar before the pigs ran out. Therefore the expiry of the pig movement would release all your animals for movement, however, if you moved sheep onto the land three days before the end of the pigs movement, then you woudl have to wait a further 3 days after the pigs movement expires as the sheep movement gives the longer date? Confused - i was at first!

any other questions - ask

[shepie]

I think slaughter tags can only be used up to 9 0r 12 months of age and any animal older than 12 months going to slaughter has to have an eid / slaughtered in the same year it`s born .

It`s late now i will check tomorrow

Shepie

[maisy123]

Thanks for the info i am trying to take all this in, and these tags can be purchased from where, and what is the minimum amount of tags i can have with with my ID on, if the person i bought the ewe lambs off put his own two tags on is it just a matter or transfering ownership to me via DEF

This is really helpful stuff thanks again.
maisy

[meekle]

shepie you are right, if you keep the lambs over 12 months then they must have double EID tags.

You can get as little as 10 tags from Alflex. we use them as they do a multitagger than tags pigs, cattle and sheep for around £15, and then the tags are cheap enough. we use the round button tags as we feel they get snagged less. We bought 40 twin EID sets with our herd number and also an identification number on for around £46 inc vat posted to us.

the handy thing with the multitagger is its one piece of kit that will tag all your animals, rather than having a tagger for pigs, a tagger for sheep etc etc

When you buy the lambs or sheep, you will obviuosly need your holding number. If you dont have a sheep flock number thats not an issue as you just call animal welfare and they issue you one. The movement licence you get will have all the tag numbers etc on them from the previous owner, and then all you do is send in the copy of the licence to animal movements who will transfer ownership to you. you must send it in within three days of the movement.

[Groundhog]

shepie you are right, if you keep the lambs over 12 months then they must have double EID tags.

You can get as little as 10 tags from Alflex. we use them as they do a multitagger than tags pigs, cattle and sheep for around £15, and then the tags are cheap enough. we use the round button tags as we feel they get snagged less. We bought 40 twin EID sets with our herd number and also an identification number on for around £46 inc vat posted to us.

the handy thing with the multitagger is its one piece of kit that will tag all your animals, rather than having a tagger for pigs, a tagger for sheep etc etc

When you buy the lambs or sheep, you will obviuosly need your holding number. If you dont have a sheep flock number thats not an issue as you just call animal welfare and they issue you one. The movement licence you get will have all the tag numbers etc on them from the previous owner, and then all you do is send in the copy of the licence to animal movements who will transfer ownership to you. you must send it in within three days of the movement.

Movement licences no longer require the individual animal no just the flock no,which to my mind is a bit daft

[Groundhog]

Ok

If you were to buy some lambs off me today, then i woudl tag them with a single slaughter tag so that they could be moved, or a single EID Tag. If the intention was to have the lambs from me and grow to slaughter weight, then thats all you need to do (obviously observing your 6 day movement restriction)

However, if you decided that you liked the lambs and wanted to keep the ewe lambs back for breeding, then you would need to replace the tags on the lambs with a double set (one per ear) of EID. These tags would need to be coloured RED to make it obvious that they were wearing replacement tags.

If you replace the tags, you can put your own flock number and identifier on the new red tags, you dont have to use the existing number, but you must record the ear tag change in your flock book so that records can still be traced.

Remember that a 6 day movement restricts you to not moving any animals OFF the land for a period of 6 days after you have moved a new animal on in the case of sheep and goats. You can still move ONTO your land. The animal that you move onto your land with teh longest movement restriction takes prescedence, so if you had moved a pig onto the land, you have a 21 day monvement. You could theoretically move three lots of sheep onto the land (one lot per week) and have a couple of days to spar before the pigs ran out. Therefore the expiry of the pig movement would release all your animals for movement, however, if you moved sheep onto the land three days before the end of the pigs movement, then you woudl have to wait a further 3 days after the pigs movement expires as the sheep movement gives the longer date? Confused - i was at first!
Only one tag needs to be an EID the other just needs to correspond with the individual tag no

any other questions - ask

[Groundhog]

Dont know how I did that I managed to edit someone elses post sorry !
Only 1 tag has to be eid the other just correspond with the individual no that way you only have to fork out £1 per eid

[meekle]

groundhog - the red replacement tags we got from Alflex were the button type, one EID and one normal, printed with our flock number and an individual stock number (for our records) and 40 tags cost us £46 inc vat posted for next day delivery. I was happy with that!

[Cornish Gems]

It is important to remember to be careful when fitting tags so as to avoid the possibility of fly strike, infection and/or dropping ears. The law does not actually state which ear you should use for EID tagging but we were told by some representatives that the left ear of the sheep or goats should be used wherever possible. Fit the tags in the shade and make sure the animal's head is held securely so that it does not jerk during tagging. Apply the tags under hygienic conditions and ensure that the ear, tag and applicator are clean.

It is recommended that tags and applicators are stored in a clean dark environment away from direct sunlight or frost particularly prior to application. If the tag is too hot or cold it will cause the animal unnecessary distress. The tags we have come across have male and female components and we have to insert the female part into the applicator side with a hole in it. Then slide the male part in and align both parts by closing the applicator slightly. The male part of the tag is fitted from the back of the ear about one third of the distance from the 'head' to the tip of the ear and half way from the top to the bottom. Hold the ear with thumb and forefinger and, if the spot you have picked is clear of main blood vessels and ridges of cartilage, then pierce the ear.

A click will indicate fitting then quickly release your hold of the applicator and let the tag loose. Once the tag is inserted, rotate it to ensure that both parts are loose fitting and able to rotate freely to avoid snagging. This will also ensure that any dead tissure is freed.

One question we do have though is that our pig tags look visual but we thought that EID tags were electronic. How do the electronic ones work?

[meekle]

i believe that they have an inert microchip in them, which when you wave your electronic wand or reader (as they do at the market when booking in) it activates the chip (probably by some magnetic means) in the same way your imobiliser chip in your car key does, and the number and details of the EID are displayed in the reader or wand screen to be read.

[Cornish Gems]

As EID tags are now compulsory in certain circumstances, how can one ensure that a private seller's sheep are legit if one does not have one of these wands/readers?

However, if one buys the animals at the market, does one receive a certificate certifying that the EID tag is legit?

[meekle]

i am not sure about others, but when we buy our sheep at Welshpool Market, you get your movement licence and also a list of EID tag numbers that come with the sheep. Usually the tag with the EID has a visual mark on it as well so you can tie the two together. Failing that, they usually spray the lot number on the side of the sheep so you can narrow it down that way.

As for when i am tagging, the tags i get from Allflex have the flock number and individual sheep number written on both the visual and EID, which should be the same information as is on the EID so a quick visual check on each sheep is easy enough in small numbers. If you are dealing with lots of sheep then it may well pay you to invest a couple of hundred in a reader. Some are so "strong" you can clip them to the side of a sheep race and it will log the sheep as they go through the race whilst you load / off load them