# Herd Management---Tags



## OllieAcres (Feb 3, 2016)

I am very curious to know how other sheep owners use ear tags in their flocks. What I mean is, do you use 2 tags or no tags or does anyone order tags with scrapie id on one side and id number on the other?


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## purplequeenvt (Feb 4, 2016)

We use 1 tag (except for last year). It is an official scrapie tag. The scrapie number doubles as the farm number. 

Last year we did 2 tags, but they had the same number on both. The 2nd tag was blank and we wrote their name on one side and number on the other. Not sure if we will be doing that again or not.


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## Roving Jacobs (Feb 4, 2016)

Just one tag here. I use different sides for boys and girls to make them easier to sort quickly.

I have ones printed with my scrapie ID on one side and blank on the other so I can write in a farm ID number. I use the year, the first letter of their sire's name, and then which number lamb they were for the year. So for instance one of my romeldales is 15G02 because she was born this year, her sire is Goliath, and she was the second lamb born this year. I have a lot of rams though so it's helpful for me to have that info right on the sheep when I'm sorting breeding groups.

I also have teeny tiny tags because I don't like the look of big tags and can tell all of my different sheep apart from a distance anyway.


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## Baymule (Mar 16, 2016)

@Roving Jacobs what do you use to write on the tags and do you have to re write the tags?


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## SheepGirl (Apr 15, 2016)

Old post, but I use two tags.

Scrapie tag placement is dependant upon sex. Left side for ladies, right for rams.
I also have a farm tag that goes in the free ear. Every year, I have someone (or two) lose at least one tag, even sometimes ones that have been in for years. That way I know who's who, even when they lose their tags. I currently have 15 or 16 lambs, I can't tell which is which.


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## secuono (Apr 15, 2016)

I use the free Scrapie tags, they are individually numbered as well.

My lambs born here have one of two options for tag placement. Ewe lambs have the tag in the left ear. Ram lambs have the tag in the right ear. So I can ID their gender from a glance. "But don't males have testicles?" Well, not all of them and you can't see them when they are laying. Wethers don't, so the tag helps with that if you can't spot any dangling jewels! Lol

I don't use any extra tags. When I run out of the free tags, I'll order official scrapie tags in the mini size.

Male lamb-





Female lamb-


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## Roving Jacobs (Apr 16, 2016)

Baymule said:


> @Roving Jacobs what do you use to write on the tags and do you have to re write the tags?



Oops, missed this. I've used a special tag marker from premier and just a regular old sharpie and both of them have held up for the 4-ish years they've been on. It's more likely that the tag falls off than the writing rubs off in my experience.


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