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Microchipping Sheep

3K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  crittermomma 
#1 ·
I am having issues with ear tags staying put - now, I have a few girls who are close to the same color - and now I can't tell who is who!! Has anyone used or thought about using micro-chips for their sheep? Seems like it would be a much better logging process than using ear tags. Any advice or suggestions? Thanks!
 
#5 ·
We use Shearwell SET tags. Mostly because we are obligated to use them for CSIP, but we use them for our own flock uses as well. They are small, so they stay on. But they also can't be read visually unless you are right next to the sheep. They are a bit of a pain to apply until you get some practice, but they never fall out and only rarely rip out if you curl them right around the edge of the ear.

These ones contain an RFID tag that they use to trace them through the slaughterhouse but you can buy them as a plain visual tag as well. If you get a wand I would recommend RFID as small visual tags get dirty fast, and the sheep always like to duck their ears away so you can't read them!
 
#6 ·
We use Shearwell SET tags. Mostly because we are obligated to use them for CSIP, but we use them for our own flock uses as well. They are small, so they stay on. But they also can't be read visually unless you are right next to the sheep. They are a bit of a pain to apply until you get some practice, but they never fall out and only rarely rip out if you curl them right around the edge of the ear.

These ones contain an RFID tag that they use to trace them through the slaughterhouse but you can buy them as a plain visual tag as well. If you get a wand I would recommend RFID as small visual tags get dirty fast, and the sheep always like to duck their ears away so you can't read them!
Same. We're going to have to use the ATQ tags soon, the bigger cattle-like tags but I do like the Shearwell tags, they seem to stay in really well. We're getting a tag reader, they're $350 from Farmers Farmacy, much better than running around trying to clean off tags. We do have a huge tagging problem with the original flock we got. They are insanely hard to tag, the ears are paper-thin and won't hold an Alflex tag.

I think there are also issues with microchips on animals that could end up in the food chain.
 
#8 ·
Obviously, any foreign bodies in the meat are not desirable and can result in discarded cuts etc. Even needle marks or resulting minor abscessing can cause a carcass to be downgraded, that's why if you need to give a lamb an IM injection it always goes in the neck, as the neck is just grinder meat.

However a microchip (which is encased in a glass capsule) is really not something they want going through the grinder. They can migrate through the body if they are made in plain glass and not bioactive glass, so how can any buyer trust where your microchip is, or detect its presence if they don't have a reader or if the chip has failed?

If you don't like the tags available, you can always tattoo or ear notch. Ear notching is quick, visible from far away, and requires little tooling, though in our climate ears tend to get a little battered after enough years in the cold.
 
#10 ·
Obviously, any foreign bodies in the meat are not desirable and can result in discarded cuts etc. Even needle marks or resulting minor abscessing can cause a carcass to be downgraded, that's why if you need to give a lamb an IM injection it always goes in the neck, as the neck is just grinder meat.

However a microchip (which is encased in a glass capsule) is really not something they want going through the grinder. They can migrate through the body if they are made in plain glass and not bioactive glass, so how can any buyer trust where your microchip is, or detect its presence if they don't have a reader or if the chip has failed?

If you don't like the tags available, you can always tattoo or ear notch. Ear notching is quick, visible from far away, and requires little tooling, though in our climate ears tend to get a little battered after enough years in the cold.
Thanks Rectifier - that makes lots of sense. I put my tags in correctly - and it is not just my tags getting ripped out - it is also from sheep I purchase. I may try the ear tattoo or notching method on a few and see how that works. It is just a pain when you are keeping track of your sheep and you have a few that look exactly alike - no way to tell them apart.
 
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