USDA tags scrappie tags

[SheepGirl]

APHIS - Animal Plant Health Inspection Service

Just call 1-866-USDA-TAG and it will connect you with your local office. The MD/VA office has a voicemail and you have to key in a number and it directs you to the dept you need. I believe I pressed 5 for animal ID needs.

 

[Womwotai]

Ahhh…ok, thanks. Hmmm…I can't tell you how much I hate making phone calls even to people I know, let alone "cold calling" a government agency. We don't plan on selling any sheep or goats in the foreseeable future anyway since we want to build our herd, keeping female and butchering male offspring. So I guess I will hold off and hope that if we ever do get to the point we are going to sell, by then they will have it set up to do it online.

 

[SheepGirl]

The Eradicate Scrapie program has been in place for years now... don't think there will ever be an online application type thing. Maybe try dropping by your area office in person instead of calling? It only takes 5 minutes to call though.

 

[taylorm17]

okay. thanks for the information again. I have a few more questions though. I have begun raising Nigerian Dwarfs and plan on breeding them to sell the kids. We plan on tattooing them though and they will all be registered. The ones we have are tattooed and registered and so will the bucks and other does. Should we still have the tags or is this good? Thanks!

 

[SheepGirl]

@taylorm17, it looks like you can use the tattoos you use to register your goats (http://codes.ohio.gov/oac/901:1-13-04), however, call your APHIS office and just double check with them.

 

[taylorm17]

okay thank you for all the great information!

 

[goatboy1973]

I just googled USDA scrapie eradication program and followed the links. The site may have changed a bit since we registered our herd though. If you still have difficulties call your local university agriculture extension office.

 

[bloonskiller911]

I just googled USDA scrapie eradication program and followed the links. The site may have changed a bit since we registered our herd though. If you still have difficulties call your local university agriculture extension office.

That's what we did and they connected us to the BOAH. Did everything quickly over the phone, a live person even answered with no prompts here in Indiana!! lol Sometimes it is good to be behind the times.

 

[Womwotai]

The Eradicate Scrapie program has been in place for years now... don't think there will ever be an online application type thing. Maybe try dropping by your area office in person instead of calling? It only takes 5 minutes to call though.

OK….heart still pumping but I just got off the phone (when I said last week I don't make phone calls….you don't know the extent of it LOL. I mean, I go hungry before I'll call to order a pizza.) But - after entering my flock into the Flock Filer program last night, I realized I do need to do this. My sheep don't have names and the 3 ewes I have are so similar it took me months to find subtle differences in order to tell them apart. They were difficult to enter into the program - because they don't have tags so I can only go by their description. Their offspring will be similarly identical, I imagine, so the only way I can really keep good records is by tagging.

So I bolstered myself with extra coffee, bit the bullet and called. And you're right - they made it easy and best of all, its DONE!!!

Now I'm kind of mad. I got my goats from one source, and my 6 sheep from 3 different sources. Of all of them, only the two youngest lambs, acquired in November, have tags. When I mentioned it to the lady I bought them from, she told me it is the law in our state that all lambs sold MUST have identification. In other words, the goat seller and first two sheep sellers did NOT comply with the law and I was too much of a novice to know it.

I have no intention of selling lambs for the foreseeable future. Ewe lambs will be kept as breeders and ram lambs will be wethered and go straight to butcher before they are 12 months old. But for flock identification purposes, I will tag, and that will help me to keep their pedigrees straight. And, if I ever do get to the point I want to sell a few, I'll now be doing it legally.

 

[taylorm17]

Congrats. I'm sure it was a relief having a short easy phone call!