Dexter Cattle For Sale Discussion Board

Need to order a new batch of eartags. Currently using the Fearings ones.

Thinking one manufacturer offers free replacements but cant find anything on line.

Swapped from metal secondary to button tags last batch but thinking of going back to metal to reduce possibility of loss.

Any recomendations.

Always found these people to be reliable and the tags come the next day.

Countryside Services Ltd (cattle tags)
Tel: 0845 0700 238

Kethcums are the free replacements, although we use Allflex for Juniors + metal tags, although I'm going back to buttons for the next run unless they introduce an EID Junior tag in the meantime, then I'll stick with metal tags for the secondaries. Replacements are £2.30 including postage from Allflex and they are super-quick at sending them out.

I use fearings, no problems. check insertion is exactly by the book. Shearwells also do free replacements

Duncan

We use Fearings and they have been fine but I am thinking of changing away from the metal secondaries.
Problem we have is possibly caused by not putting in right, but on calves, the secondaries have to be put in to allow room for growth so they can slip round the ear (from 12o/c to 11, 10 or worse, 9) so we spend time making sure they stay in place which can mean they end up with a round hole rather than a slot keeping them in place.
Wondered if buttons would be better?

I moved to ketchum metal tags as we where not happy with fearlings ones. you can if you prefer buy plastic from on company and metal from another. I buy both from ketchum at the moment but ketchum have stopped doing the small plastic tags and instead of doing small and large, have compromised by making one size between the two, easier for reading if your eyes are not so good but to big to put in early. However I have never had any problem with their metal tags.

This does not actually answer your question but thought you may be interested .
I have not really had much of a problem requiring replacements so I use Zee tag BVD tester tags .
If you only breed a few calves under ten you should try the tester BVD tester tags , they cost about £ 6.00 each . It sounds a lot but this tag has a small test tube attached , this collects a tissue sample , you then dispatch this to the named laboratory , they test it for BVD and send you the results. All of this is in the tag price .
If your calve results are negative then your cows are negative also , therefore there is no need to have the vet do blood samples on your cows . I have used this very successfully over the past two years .

Anyone using the tissue sample tags for the Scottish BVD Scheme should be very careful to do all things born, even stillborn calves should be tagged to get the sample, because the tissue sample test is for the virus antigen, not antibodies. So if one is missed there is the possibility of it being a PI and if so there could be infection of other animals in the herd which will not show till the next year.

I use fearings tags and have only lost one ever over a long time. I use the plastic button ones for the small tag, and they do well. I see a lot of tags in the course of my vet work and think the metal ones are much more prone to tissue reactions.

When the double tagging system was being introduced breed societies were consulted, and Veronica Schofield and myself made a submission on behalf of DCS which resulted in the medium sided ones which are allowed as the "distance readable" tag. Originally they were referred to as "Dexter size" but I think this has fallen by the wayside, probably because a lot of large breed herds use them too as they are not so ridiculous in a new calf's ear.

Duncan

Out of interest - maybe - Your lucky you have a choice of tags - in France, in July we receive a sheet from our local 'DEFRA office' that asks us how many tags we need for the 'cattle year - August to July '- we have to pay for these up front and we receive them a few weeks later. We always order a few more in case we have twins but if we don't these tags have to be thrown away as they cannot be used in the following 'cattle year' If we loose a tag in the year we order it on line with our loca 'DEFRA office' and the tag arrives a few days later - FOC . We never deal directly with the tag manufacturers - its all government controlled !!!!!!!!!!
kate

Blimey, and we think we have it bad in this country. Did the Nazi's actually ever leave France, or just go into Government?

What happens if you loose a tag?

You order a new tag on line - FOC - and it arrives within a few days !
kate

Ah, well at least that sounds better. What about if you bought in more in-calf cows after you'd placed your tag order?

You would place another order but the tags may cost more and there would be a carriage charge !

Ah, not as bad as my initial reaction.