Tagging Goats' Ears

[Dreaming Of Goats]

My friends TAG their goats, not TATTOO..... can they be registered by using the ear tag? I like the looks of them better than tattoos because they're easy to read. They say they register them, but are there any registries that don't allow it? Thanks, DoG

 

[Livinwright Farm]

My friends TAG their goats, not TATTOO..... can they be registered by using the ear tag? I like the looks of them better than tattoos because they're easy to read. They say they register them, but are there any registries that don't allow it? Thanks, DoG

I know there is at least 1 registery that says the goats MUST be tattooed with their number and the registered breeder name.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Tattoos are permanent, ear tags are not. That's why many registries require you to mention their tattoos (in both ears) as a form of positive identification.

 

[chandasue]

Personally I hate the tags and partly why I wanted registrable goats so I could use tattoos as ID. I've seen several times on other farms where the tags were ripped out, snagged on the fence or something, and left the goat with a huge tear in their ear.

 

[Livinwright Farm]

Personally I hate the tags and partly why I wanted registrable goats so I could use tattoos as ID. I've seen several times on other farms where the tags were ripped out, snagged on the fence or something, and left the goat with a huge tear in their ear.

x2!! One of the does that my family purchased last fall has evidence that she USED TO have an ear tag... you can see the mostly circle hole with the line that goes all the way out the back of her ear. I am sure that was incredibly painful for her.
Edited to add photo:

 

[20kidsonhill]

My friends TAG their goats, not TATTOO..... can they be registered by using the ear tag? I like the looks of them better than tattoos because they're easy to read. They say they register them, but are there any registries that don't allow it? Thanks, DoG

Tags will rip out, we do both, tag up as high as possible and then tattoo the left and right ear for the registry, OUr registry, ABGA, says you must tattoo.

Our tags are just our personal information so we can keep track of them right from the start, since we have 20 to 35 kids in one kidding.

Also, our tags do not qualify as USDA sales tags, animals must either be tattooed with a registry #, or scrappie tags must be put on all animals sold from a farm. Scrappie tags must be recorded and are suppose to be left on for tracking purposes.

 

[glenolam]

I believe tags are more used for scrapies identification as opposed to registering your herd. For 4H goats a scrapies tag is fine I believe - check with your local group to be sure. For example, my friend just tagged all her goats instead of tatooing them because none of them were registerable but all were shown at 4H.