# Newbie Pig Owner -- Ear Tag Question



## MikahMom

I am in the process of buying a couple of Yorkshire gilts and a Duroc shoat.  I've been trying to find more info on putting in ear tags, but not much luck.  Does anybody know at what age I should put them in -- should I put tags in both ears (name/litter/number pig) and if so which ear is for which information....    I plan on staggering our litters so that both sows aren't having their piglets at the same time (easier for identifying).   If I put the tags in now (they are three months old) will I need to re-tag them with larger tags when they are older?  

Thanks for the help


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## jhm47

I wouldn't worry about ear tags.  You will soon be able to tell the difference between them.   Chances are, the Duroc will be bigger or smaller than the Yorks, and it will also be a different color, and probably a different sex, so you shouldn't have trouble there, and the Yorks will have some characteristics that will enable you to tell the difference between them.  However, if you feel the need to eartag them, I would suggest doing it ASAP.  They should already be 100+ lbs, and holding them to tag them will be a chore for someone.

Duroc X York crosses are very good pigs.  I used Duroc boars on my terminal York gilts, and they grew well and produced great meat.  The Yorks are better mothers, and have more docile dispositions, but the Durocs are faster growers and more meaty.

Good luck!


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## MikahMom

Thanks for your reply.  I made a slight boo-boo with the girls ages -- they are only two months old right now LOL  Haven't got the Duroc yet, still searching for someone close by that raises them.  Do pigs learn their names?  We plan on calling the girls Blanche and Rose and the Duroc Big Daddy     I always thought that ear tags or notching was required for identification.  I suppose with our staggering the litters it wouldn't really be necessary (except with the piglets if somebody comes to pick one out and needs to come back to get it a few weeks later they will be sure to get the one they chose -- so what would be the earliest age we should/could put it on them?)  




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Owner of two wonderful Shire Horses, three Nigerian Dwarf Goats, 24 Australorp chickens, one Irish Wolfhound, two Australian Shepherds and soon some piggies!!!


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## chunkydunk

The only ones I would notch are from your own litters. That way you can track your lineage.If you spend time with your gilts now youll learn them and their personalities.Then when you separate for farrowing or breeding youll be able to breed for whatever you like. Be it personality,meat, size,structure or whatever.


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## jhm47

We always used the "ear notch" method of ID on our pigs.  We raised registered Yorkshires, and crossed them with Durocs.  It's been a long time, but if I remember correctly, the right ear was for individual ID, and the left ear was for litter ID.  

The individual marks were:  Lower right was for "1s", upper right was "3's", and middle right was "10'S".  

So---pigs #1 & 2 would have either one or two notches in their lower right ear.  Pig 3 would have a single notch in the top right.  Pig 4 would have one on top and one on the bottom.  Pig 6 would have two on top, pig 7 would have two on top and one bottom.  Pig 8 would have two top and two bottom.  Pig 9 would have three on top.  Pig 10 would have one in the middle.  And so on.  You would very rarely need to ID more than 14 - 15 from one litter.

The left ear was much the same, but the front part of the ear was used for higher numbers, and I can't remember how that was configured.  

It might sound like a lot of notches, but we did it when they were only a day or so old, and there was very little bleeding, and the notches were fully healed in a day or two.  You don't need to take much out to make a notch.  I used a side snipper pliers to make them.  The pliers seemed to crush any blood vessels that were near the notch.

OOPS!  I forgot pig # 5.  Can you figure it out?


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## MikahMom

Two on bottom and one on top (where the #3 would go?)    I think I am still leaning more towards putting in tags -- easier to spot who is who on the fly when there is 12-14 of them running around    Would I put the tags in at the same age you would do the notching or wait until they are a bit older? 

I am very excited as we are going on Saturday morning to pick up our girls      Still having a bit of a time finding someone in Central MS or LA that raises Durocs to get our potential Big Daddy....


_______________________________________________________
Proud owner of 2 Shire Horses, 3 Nigerian Dwarf Goats, 24 Australorps, 1 Irish Wolfhound, 2 Australian Shepherds and soon some piggies!!


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## jhm47

Tags (depending on the size of the tag) should be put in when the pig's ears are large and stiff enough to support the weight of the tag.  I would say approximately 30 - 60 days old.  

I always felt that notches were easier to read than tags.  Tags can be impossible to read when they have a lot of mud dried on them.  Of course, if you keep your pigs on concrete, and don't allow them to wallow in mud, it won't matter.  I bought a boar once that had a tag, and he got an infection under it.  We had a terrible time getting that tag out of his ear.  No such problems with notches.

Yorks have upright ears, and Durocs have broken, or downward facing ears.  This will influence how you place your tags, should you decide to go that route.


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## MikahMom

Hmmm... lots to think about... what you say is true about the tags getting dirty and hard to read.  Another way to go may be using the spray paint to put a number on them as we plan on selling all of the piglets and would need to know how to identify them from birth and having to wait until they are 30-60 days for ear tags really isn't feasible.


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## chunkydunk

well the paint will get rubbed off. Pigs will scratch on anything they can. Ear notching will be best and you can do it to your standards. Now all I do is notch the gilts on the left the boars on the right and nothing on the barrows.And I also keep the litters separated.Ive only had one guy ask for them to be notched to standard so he could identify the mother and boar. I asked him why cause he will never see them again and he couldnt tell me a reason so I didnt do it. He still bought them though.


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## jhm47

I agree.  The paint is not an option.  Notching is the most practical, unless you want to go to the expense of microchipping.


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