Tagging and identifying animals.

Why are animals tagged? Branding, tagging, chipping etc. has been a part of farming practice for a long time. Firstly to identify stock as belonging to a particular farmer or property, secondly to be able to identify each animal individually so a record can be kept of its growth and development, health history and what has been administered ie. Vaccinations, its breeding history, ownership and sire/dam history.

The past… Animals used to be identified by branding… this is time consuming, painful to the animal and slow. Ear tags have long been the most common method for identifying animals, they are semi- permanent (though can come out), not a burden to the animal or detrimental to its health or functioning and is easily seen by the farmer.

Farmer would be able then to keep a log of the animals history, usually by number. Recording things like when and what medication/vaccinations had been received, weights at certain times, health issues, things like T.B testing recording etc. This would give the farmer and anyone else a profile of the animal and also farm livestock history.

Sheep… You cannot do any worthwhile breeding to improve flock performance unless all animals are identified, and this ID must be unique so that no two animals have the same identity. No system of ID is ever perfect, as there are always problems with permanent tags being lost (e.g. pulled out on fences), and temporary marks on wool fading or being shorn off.

A unique identity.. The best way to form a unique identity is to use an individual number along with the sheep’s year of birth. So for example 123/05 is number 123 born in There may be other sheep numbered 123, but they won’t have been born in The best ID method is a brass ear tag put in the lamb’s ear at birth and then supplemented with a plastic tag later when the lamb’s ear grows bigger and stronger. Some breeders put a brass tag in either ear to reduce the chance of lost identity. There is much less chance of a brass tag coming out or fading than a plastic tag. However, recent advances in plastics have greatly reduced the fading of numbers and colours in plastic tags from the intense sun radiation in New Zealand. So each year get your tags (both plastic and brass) to run from Number 1 to however many lambs you expect to have, and add the year born on to each tag. With brass tags, get your name punched on the third side too. Visible plastic ear tags also have many advantages for general management such as using different colours for age groups

This brass tag is too near the head, and should be in the top of the ear where it's easier to read, and is well clear of shearer's combs. Fortunately Border Leicesters have clean heads

Which ear? Always put the brass tag in the sheep’s left (near) ear, on the top, as this is the one held by the shearer when coming up around the neck. Where to put it? Punch it into the top of the ear, about a third of the way along from the head toward the tip, leaving room for the ear to grow and the tag to remain in a readable position. If you put it too near the head it will grow into the skin folds, and you’ll have to fight the sheep every time to read it, and the animal will remember the experience. Always read brass tags from left to right to avoid confusing 66 with 99. Keep all tagging equipment disinfected during and after use. Check for any ear infections and festering a couple of days after tagging. Pick a good dry day; avoid wet and humid days.

Non-permanent marking… Raddle …Numbers can be made with raddle on both sides of the sheep. They should be at least 200mm high and be readable from metres away. They work best on short-wool sheep and may last for half a season before fading. Using raddled numbers and marks is a good idea for a temporary ID of multiple lambs. Marking udders to ID lambs to ewes. The trick is to put plenty of coloured raddle around the ewe’s teats and when the lamb suckles it leaves a raddle mark on its head. It works surprisingly well and is useful if you have an untagged mob of ewes and lambs and you want to draft them into two smaller mobs. It’s also useful if two mobs have got mixed and you want to separate them making sure the ewes get their correct lambs back. It’s sometimes called the MUM (marked udder method). It works with lambs as young as 3 weeks old. Putting lots of raddle on the wool is not good.

Chalk raddle… It’s useful for short-term marking such as by the meat company lamb drafter. It usually washes off in about a week. It’s messy stuff to handle but a farmer has invented a plastic holder for the chalk sticks to keep your hands clean and the raddle dry when not in use.

Ear clipping/notching… Ear notches for ownership. Farms can have their own mark which used to be registered with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and was useful if sheep got lost or stolen (assuming thieves would not alter it). MAF no longer registers farm ear marks. National age marking system. Here notches are used to indicate year of birth, mainly in big commercial flocks. You will find diagrams in the small notebooks and diaries available from stock agents and meat companies. Three positions are used on the right (far side) ear of the sheep – (i.e. the left ear when looking at the sheep’s face from the front). Be consistent and always use the right ear for the age mark

N.A.I.T. The National Animal Identification and Tracing scheme. Cattle and deer must be tagged with NAIT approved RFID (radio frequency identification) tags by law (since ). Aimed at boosting biosecurity responses and will eventually monitor about nine million cattle on an electronic database. Uses radio frequency identification ear tags to track cattle from birth, through farms, saleyards and to processors.

“Traceability” Beef and Lamb New Zealand chairman Mike Petersen said: "This is about future-proofing the industry, because if you can't demonstrate to your trading partners that you've got an effective traceability system in place then you won't be allowed to resume trade.” “Life-time traceability is attracting greater interest in our overseas markets (eg. Europe) for marketing and local pest and disease management reasons.” M.P.I.

Anyone in charge of cattle or deer must comply with NAIT regulations. The same rules apply whether you have one animal or First a farmer must register with NAIT and get a farm ID number, then he must tag his animals with approved NAIT tags and then register his animals on the system. After that the farmer must record and confirm all animal movements. NAIT requirements for cattle are the same for every farmer and include: Breeding finishing dairy grazing calf rearing, and private sales.

How to tag: NAIT RFID tags should be applied: to the right ear to the central/inner part of the ear between the two veins, and with the female part of the tag facing forward. Ear Tags Correct Placement This will ensure a high retention rate. The right ear is preferred as meat processing facilities, sale yards and many farmers use fixed panel readers with scanning capability on the right hand side of the animal. You should take note of the tag numbers you are using on animals. This will make it easier for you to register the animals in the NAIT system.

Questions and research: Go to the NAIT website (on clarkies courses) and the MPI website and read what they say… come up with 3 questions to ask your class mates on the scheme… test their knowledge and your own!