# Scrapie ear tags



## Straw Hat Kikos (Aug 24, 2012)

Just wondering. When you put your scrapie ear tags in your goat or sheep do you tag in the left or right ear? I see people do it in both (not two on one animal) and wanted to know which you do and if you even care.


----------



## SheepGirl (Aug 24, 2012)

Doesn't matter to me. But all my sheep have their scrapie tags in their left ear.

Some sheep producers use tag location as a tool to tell the sex of the lamb without having to look at the 'plumbing.' For example, a ram lamb will have the flock tag in the left ear (so scrapie tag in right ear) while a ewe lamb will have the flock tag in the right ear (so scrapie tag in left ear).

Premier 1 Supplies has a great article in their catalog on using tags as a way for knowing information about a particular animal without having to look at records. (Tag color, location, numbering system, etc.)


----------



## Straw Hat Kikos (Aug 24, 2012)

I've read it. A couple times. lol

I like them in the left ear too.

Do you notch your sheep ears too?


----------



## SheepGirl (Aug 24, 2012)

Nope...but if you're referring to my ewe with the messed up left ear, it's because she ripped out her scrapie tag...twice...in I think 2 or 3 yrs  it's a wonder she's kept her flock tag in for 6 yrs hahaha


----------



## Straw Hat Kikos (Aug 24, 2012)

haha Bad sheep!!

I was wondering, how often do you go to sales? Do you like it?


----------



## SheepGirl (Aug 24, 2012)

I've only been to the auction once...and that was this past Tuesday when I sold my ram and wether. I've always helped my neighbor load his sheep & lambs, but I never actually went with him lol

I've never really had any sheep to sell...
- In 2008 my ewe had a ewe lamb (keeper)
- In 2009 my ewe had boy/girl twins (ewe was a keeper; boy was supposed to be wethered as a 'companion' for my neighbor's ram...but the emasculator didn't work :/)
- In 2010 my ewe had boy/boy twins (one didn't survive, surviving one was Paulie and he was wethered (with an elastrator) to be a companion for Billy), and the 2008 and 2009 ewe both had singletons, but didn't survive
- In 2011 no sheep were bred so no sheep lambed
- In 2012 my darn ram escaped and bred my ewe, she had quads, two didn't make it and the remaining 2 ewe lambs are keepers lol

I do want to go back to the sale and figure out who the regular sheep buyers are so that way I can ask them what kind of lambs they look for so that way I can breed them to what the buyers want


----------



## Straw Hat Kikos (Aug 24, 2012)

That's a good idea.

I've never sold at the one here either but I know some that do and I go with them. I love it. Great food, people, animals, everything!! It's funny because you have all the old guys that hang there every Fri as a social for them. lol Then you have the buyer/sellers. You also have all the farmers and ranchers that go to go, like me. I went there and already knew a bunch of the people there because I see them and talk to them all the time. All of them have Boers in my area. I think it's great. And I get to hang with all the cows.


----------



## SheepGirl (Aug 24, 2012)

lol I think you should buy yourself a cow


----------



## Straw Hat Kikos (Aug 24, 2012)

You give me a grand. lol

I will have cattle within 7 years, I hope. It's a goal.


----------



## SheepGirl (Aug 24, 2012)

I don't have $1000 

What herd size are you thinking about having (cattle and goats lol)?


----------



## Straw Hat Kikos (Aug 24, 2012)

I'm not sure yet. I will run them together. Goats and cattle do very well together and can eat the same food and have the same mineral.

I love my Kikos and would like to keep them and get better ones. Mine are good but I want great. I would be very happy with 50 or so goats and somewhere around 20-25 cows. I am a huge bull fan soooo...lol


----------



## SheepGirl (Aug 24, 2012)

methinks you should buy some stock from jodief  Her bucks seem to be doing really well in the MD meat goat test.


----------



## Straw Hat Kikos (Aug 24, 2012)

I know! They are all doing very well. I really hope they finish as strong as they are doing now.


----------



## SheepGirl (Aug 24, 2012)

I bet they will


----------



## Straw Hat Kikos (Aug 24, 2012)

Me too. I'm gonna ask how big her buck is and how much he weighs.

Have you seen ECR's bucks. Nice buck. Terry owns some of the top Kiko genes in the country.


----------



## Alice Acres (Aug 24, 2012)

We alternate ears by year...so every other year we rotate. One year left ear, next year right ear. It does help- keep track of the sheep a bit at a glance. Because we swap rams every 2 yrs, they get a different look to the flock in general every 2 years. So by the time we are back to the other ear, it's usually pretty easy to guess which year they really are. 
And then we just put the scrapie tags in the opposite ear. They do fall out super easy - we have many sheep we have had to retag many times. 
We also go to livestock auctions. Usually just my husband goes, as the sheep auction day falls on my scheduled 12 hour shifts (I'm an RN). But I do enjoy going.
Due to the drought and no pasture, we just had to sell 25 of our sheep last month


----------



## SheepGirl (Aug 24, 2012)

SHK - Looked at their Web site, and I like Rusty. And then I looked at the for sale page and OMG their stock is expensive!! lol

AA - Sorry you had to sell off some of your sheep due to drought.  Usually our summers are dry and the pasture is brown by now, but all the rain/snow we should've had during winter is being dropped on us now, so fortunately the eastern US isn't in as much of a panic. I hope you get some rain soon!!


----------



## Straw Hat Kikos (Aug 24, 2012)

Yep. Very nice goats. Not a fan of their website. Good be done much better. Terry owns Goat Rancher and is a big name in all goats. He's a big part of the NKR too.

ECR Rusty is my buck's grandsire. 
Rust is very good against parasites. Black Gold is awesome too.
My buck is 9 months and has never been wormed. His eyes are still screaming red.


----------



## SheepGirl (Aug 24, 2012)

That's cool! I also like Sports Kat. He's real stocky and meaty looking.

My ram was 3 yrs old, and never wormed and right before I sold him his eyes were still dark pink/red. Maybe Moses will be the same


----------



## Straw Hat Kikos (Aug 24, 2012)

I hope so. He seems to be very good.A bit on the small side but I would rather have a buck that has great parasite resistance and great hooves then just a big buck.

btw way,what is your favorite breed of sheep? You more of a meat sheep or fiber sheep person?


----------



## SheepGirl (Aug 24, 2012)

meat sheep  there's no money in sheep raised strictly for fiber and they are too high maintenance to keep their fleeces clean lol. My favorite 'breed' would have to be my Mont/Babydoll crosses...but I really want Katahdins and I'm also looking at Polypays now.


----------



## Straw Hat Kikos (Aug 24, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> meat sheep  there's no money in sheep raised strictly for fiber and they are too high maintenance to keep their fleeces clean lol. My favorite 'breed' would have to be my Mont/Babydoll crosses...but I really want Katahdins and I'm also looking at Polypays now.


haha I knew you would be a meat sheep girl. I like meat goats, cattle, sheep, ect. Meat is better than the others, imo. lol

Katahdins are cool. I don't know anything about the Polypays. I like the Romney alot but I don't know much about them. I like the big ones. At least 250+ pounds.


----------



## SheepGirl (Aug 24, 2012)

haha I like the big ones as long as they're longer than they are tall  My 6 yr old ewe, when I measured her (though it wasn't on level ground) was 26" tall and 34" long with a 17" hindsaddle (where the loin and rump are). I think that's pretty good


----------



## Straw Hat Kikos (Aug 24, 2012)

Don't know to much about the measurements of sheep, but I take it that is pretty good.


----------



## Roving Jacobs (Aug 25, 2012)

My girls are all tagged in their R ear (left when looking at them head on) and the boys get the L ear. Makes it easy to sort lambs for castrating and weaning. I also do different colors for different breeds of sheep. Right now its easy to tell my Jacobs from my Cormos and the Angora goats are the only goats but I'm planning on getting more white, fine-wool sheep so it will be easier when I need to sort a bunch of little white lambs when they have different colored ear tags. For the Angoras I've seen a lot of breeders use different colored tags to differentiate between sires or what colors their bloodlines carry in addition to using a different ear for each sex. Brown eartags mean even if it's a white kid it carrys brown or red.


----------

