Tattoo Questions

[andabigmac]

My tattoo kit finally came. I need to tattoo Ali and I have a few questions.

1st- Prima was born first but she has a spur teat and will go to freezer camp. Do I still need to claim her as #1 or do I just count the ones I'll register?

2nd- This years letter is "C". Correct? How would I do her C01 or C1?

3rd- Is there a good website showing how to do it? YouTube only has tattooing a LaMancha tail unless I want a Satanic goat tattoo (I'll pass). I read the section on the ADGA website but I learn better if I see it in action.

4th- Do I use the green or black ink? I have both.

5th- Is this as traumatic as disbudding? I know it would've been better to do it at the same time as disbudding but my kit has been back ordered.

Any more hits or tips you would be willing to share with me? I would be so grateful!

[ozark_jewels]

Originally Posted by andabigmac

My tattoo kit finally came. I need to tattoo Ali and I have a few questions.

1st- Prima was born first but she has a spur teat and will go to freezer camp. Do I still need to claim her as #1 or do I just count the ones I'll register?

Up to you. I personally make a list of ALL kids born(meat wethers, does, bucks, even kids born dead if there was one), and number them all. But you do not have to.

2nd- This years letter is "C". Correct? How would I do her C01 or C1?

As long as it matches the tattoo on her paper, I think that is just personal choice I think. I choose to go with just C1. And yes, it is C.

3rd- Is there a good website showing how to do it? YouTube only has tattooing a LaMancha tail unless I want a Satanic goat tattoo (I'll pass). I read the section on the ADGA website but I learn better if I see it in action.

I don't know, but I'm sure someone could point you to one.

4th- Do I use the green or black ink? I have both.

I personally find the green ink easier to read on all colour skins.

5th- Is this as traumatic as disbudding? I know it would've been better to do it at the same time as disbudding but my kit has been back ordered.

I don't find it as traumatic as disbudding, but I hate it worse due to the fact that I get ink EVERYWHERE.

Any more hits or tips you would be willing to share with me? I would be so grateful!

I like to tattoo the clean ear/tail, then put the ink on and scrub it in lightly with a clean toothbrush.
Do your best to avoid the blood vessels.
Don't overthink it.

[andabigmac]

Thanks Emily.

Two more questions. Do the prongs have to go all of the way through the ears?

Also, Is it a hard clamp and then quick release or does it have to stay clamped for a few seconds?

[ozark_jewels]

Originally Posted by andabigmac

Thanks Emily.

Two more questions. Do the prongs have to go all of the way through the ears?

No. I have two different tattoo clamps. One set goes through the thin ears, one doesn't. Both leave lasting tattoos. I use one for the left ear and one for the right ear. That allows me to tattoo only changing out one or two digits each time(because my herd tatto is the same for all my kids).

Also, Is it a hard clamp and then quick release or does it have to stay clamped for a few seconds?

No, it does not need to stay clamped for any time at all. Just make sure the tattoo ink is squished well into the tattoo.

[praieri winds]

we quickly did the clamp then rubbed the ink into the holes to make sure it got into each hole real good and we used the green ink seemed to show up a little better

[Hollowdweller]

Ozark answered most but I wanted to say I think it is more traumatic than disbudding (for the goat)

Goats butt heads so the nerves there are less sensitive. If you see a goat try to get a goat out of a feeder she will usually bite the sensitive ears before she will head butt.

I like the points to go completely thru the ear. But you can still get a good tatoo without that.

What I like to do is this:

Burn one horn bud. Then let the skull cool down while you tatoo one ear. Then do the other horn bud. Do the other ear. Then just do a real quick 5 second burn on both buds again, circling the iron to the outside margins of your previous burn to get any excess material.

[Goat Servant]

If you wear rubber gloves you might get more on the goat than your hands.

[saanengirl]

Originally Posted by andabigmac

My tattoo kit finally came. I need to tattoo Ali and I have a few questions.

1st- Prima was born first but she has a spur teat and will go to freezer camp. Do I still need to claim her as #1 or do I just count the ones I'll register?

Up to you. I eartag the meat animals and tattoo the ones to be registered. Eartagging is much easier than tattooing, but I wouldn't want to tag a breeder.

2nd- This years letter is "C". Correct? How would I do her C01 or C1?

Either way is fine. The important thing is that the tattoo matches the papers exactly.

3rd- Is there a good website showing how to do it? YouTube only has tattooing a LaMancha tail unless I want a Satanic goat tattoo (I'll pass). I read the section on the ADGA website but I learn better if I see it in action.

Why don't you find a local breeder that will let you watch them tattoo their kids?

4th- Do I use the green or black ink? I have both.

Green ink shows up better.

5th- Is this as traumatic as disbudding? I know it would've been better to do it at the same time as disbudding but my kit has been back ordered.

I actually prefer to tattoo when the kids are at least a month old since their ears are bigger. The kids hate it more than they hate disbudding.

Any more hits or tips you would be willing to share with me? I would be so grateful!

Always test your pliers on a piece of paper before tattooing so you can make sure everything is correct! The digits in the pliers will be mirror images of what will actually appear in the ear, so when you test them on paper it will show you what it will look like in the ear.

[mygoat]

REALLY important that you test that clamp on paper before you do it! I do rabbits A LOT and I've done a few litters completely backwards. Not that it really matters as long as what's on the reg papers matches what's in the ear.

You don't even HAVE to tattoo using C and a numbering system, just fyi. You *can* just make up your own tattoo system.

I disbud and tatto on the same day - usually about 4 days old. Except for the LaMancha eared Boer doeling I had born, I waited till 8 weeks to tattoo her in the tail. The ears are more tender and traumatize them more that disbudding, IMO. Those are sore for a few days, whereas the horn buds are forgotten almost immediately.

[coso]

REALLY important that you test that clamp on paper before you do it!

Amen !!!

[Pony]

Personally, my goats say that disbudding is more traumatic. Of course, I agree with them, because it does no good at all to argue with goats...

If I tattoo backwards, then do I have to put the numbers backwards on the registration papers?