When to tag ??

Dominic · Post by **Dominic** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 6:02 pm

Our first calf of the year and the first offspring from our bull has arrived today ! Yippee !

Please could you advise as to what age I should place the ear tag in ??

Still I can't tell whether it's a long or a short but it's up and suckling , so that's a success it in own right !!

oliver1921 · Post by **oliver1921** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 9:24 am

Congratulations on your calf - we tag them within 24 hours otherwise as they calve outside we would have major problems catching them - as it is it sometimes takes two of us to catch, hold and tag them and another just to watch our backs in case the mother gets too interested or an attendant auntie. they are lively little buggers who see catching them in the open to be a great game! We had a lovely little calf born the day before yesterday to a heifer which took an hour to catch (four of us) and it was about 24 hours old - get them before they get up!

Post by **Mark Bowles** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 10:13 am

Hi Dominic,
we tag at between 4 to 8 weeks when the dehorning is done, it can be confusing when you have a batch of 8 or 10 to do and your not sure whos calf is whos mother, i do the ones i definately know and leave the odd one until im sure.
Just a side issue! be very carefull at this time of year dehorning, flies are a problem and the cattle can get maggots very easy. Use SPOT ON on the calf once the job is done to give some protection.
Mark

Peter thornton · Post by **Peter thornton** » Sun Jul 16, 2006 9:46 am

Mark

The DEFRA regs state that the calf must be tagged within 20 days.

The regs also state that Dairy animals must be tagged within 36 hours of birth. I assume that Dexters would not fall into this classification unless they were being milked?

Peter

Woodmagic · Post by **Woodmagic** » Sun Jul 16, 2006 5:12 pm

I usually calve mine in a paddock or pen, so I don’t have a rodeo in order to catch them,. There are regulations regarding when they should be tagged. I originally followed this to the letter, and had badly torn ears. I now put the small metal tag in shortly after birth, the plastic tag I defer, until I sell the calf or it is weaned, whichever comes first. I have little trouble with the small metal ones, but my calves are in and out of bushes and hedgerows, and there is little virtue in a plastic tag lost somewhere out on the farm. I know I am not alone in this practice, so long as they are running with the dam, and have the metal identification; it seems the most humanitarian solution.

dai · Post by **dai** » Sun Jul 16, 2006 10:55 pm

as an addition to mark's comment, we're becoming over dependant on spot on. if we don't use it properly it'll eventually stop working, and its awkward to use anyway. a product called "strike force" is very good for preventing maggots in these situations, and it comes in an aerosol so is much easier to apply to cattle.

hazel clarke · Post by **hazel clarke** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 4:29 pm

Not putting a second tag in until later may well work for some, but don't forget that there are rules to be followed and cattle can be inspected at extreemly short notice by quite a number of "official" inspectors!. Mine all get two tags within 48 hours of birth, or some of them are practically impossible to catch!. I have had little trouble with calves loosing tags, it has more usually been older beasts.

Hazel

Martin · Post by **Martin** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 5:03 pm

As I calve my animals indoors I have no problem catching them but do tend to tag within 5 days, steers also get ringed which must be done within 5 days. I have at present one calf that has ripped her ear quite badly and I will strugle to replace the tag. Also my bull has lost a tag, strange but both are secondary tags so are much smaller. the bull has no damage to the ear so the tag must have 'broke'. They will both be replaced next time they are penned which should be quite soon.

Post by **Mark Bowles** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 5:58 pm

Im sick of rules!!!!!!!
do this ..... you cant do that... what about common sence and animal welfare?
Mark.. continueing on in his own sweet way.

Sylvia · Post by **Sylvia** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 8:32 am

You are quite right Mark, common sense and in particular ANIMAL WELFARE are being sacrificed by office bound idiots trying to impose yet another Europe-generated stupidity on us. If the damage caused by eartagging young farm animals was inflicted on cats or dogs there would be a national outcry. If I took a Stanley knife to the animals and slashed their ears I'd go to prison, yet the effect of eartags on a significant percentage of livestock is not at all dissimilar. And then there are the not burying on farm rules..................interesting that when the majority of farmers top themselves because they can't stand it any longer they can all be buried on their farms. Aint life great, rant over.

Woodmagic · Post by **Woodmagic** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 9:12 am

I would endorse you on two points, Mark, it is all too easy to overlook the problem of fly strike when disbudding at this time of year, and if you have trouble catching your calves it is likely to make for severe trouble.
I too have had my fill of government regulations. I am prepared to stand my corner on tagging early, I always advise newcomers that officially they are supposed to have both tags inserted within 20 days, but I am certain any farmer inserting such a large tag in the tiny ear of a new born calf would be summoned for cruelty, but that it conformed to government regulations. A calf running with its dam and marked with the much smaller metal tag is positively identified, and I am told calves going to shows and identified in this way have never been questioned. I have rarely lost the bigger tag in older animals, although I say roll on the day when we have identification via the electronic pellet, and no torn ears or tags that can quite easily be tampered with.

dai · Post by **dai** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 12:46 pm

much of what has been said is spot on, but it is necessary to put two tags in within 20 days. we had a spot visit of every farm in our village last winter, and whilst we had two tags in everything over 2 days old, others didnt and got into serious financial penalties.
EID would be great, if only it actually worked. Our mart was one of the trials for the sheep EID and the problem was that the technology itself was unreliable, never mind issues with chip migration, excretion etc etc. The readers were forever breaking, and half the chips didnt emit the signal when required either.

ann · Post by **ann** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 2:16 pm

Maybe we should all write to our M.Ps and point out to them that the secondary tag was originally brought in, as a back up incase the first one got lost.The trouble with this country is that any E.U rule or reg has to be gold plated, sometimes I have to admire the french for their attitude to min regs. I am frankly sick of loosing tags as so many of mine just seem to break, we alway use a metal tag and a plastic tag and in all the years I have been in dexters I have only lost of metal tag, and this year alone I have had to replace six plastic ones, fortunetly I only have one torn ear, but I just buy the replacement tags and last time I had a TB test the vet actually retaged all my missing tags.

We put the metal tags in in the first few days and then the plastic tags when the ears are a bit bigger.

marion · Post by **marion** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 6:18 pm

Does no one tattoo in the UK? I use green paste ink, and find the procedure reasonably easy (tho' messy). If properly placed they dont seem hard to read and are more permanent than a tag. I hate those large tags (Cdn gov't requirement), and dont use them until the animal is sold.

ann · Post by **ann** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 1:50 pm

Unfortunetly tatto's can not be read from a distance, and the ministry inspectors must be able to read the tags without getting their toes trodden on, :p :p