# Tatooing before leaving for new home



## kristinatucker (Jan 3, 2012)

Im just curious how many of you tattoo your kids before someone buys them from your farm. We have bought several and it seems that most dont do this unless you ask. Whats your way of doing it? We plan to have everything tattooed before leaving here.


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

I don't - haven't yet anyway; but mine aren't show quality.


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

If the kids are or are going to be registered, then is it usual for them to be tattoed before going to their new home.


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## IrishRoots (Jan 7, 2013)

I plan on tattooing everything before they leave my farm =)


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

My one doe I asked to be tattooed, but it wasn't a problem. Another buckling and another doe coming from the same breeder didn't get around to it, but she's coming out to do it. She knows me and vise versa so it isn't a big deal.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

If they are registered goats, they should be tattooed before leaving the farm. Technically, the goat should already be tattooed when that registration form is mailed in.


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## 8566 (Jul 18, 2012)

I check tattoos before I bring a goat home and if their feet aren't trim I ask the breeder if we can do it then. I'm tired of ppl being lazy. If I fly anyone in and they aren't in condition I make a point of calling the breeder and letting them know. I'm sure I'm not making friends but it's a big sore spot with me right now.

For me - I tattoo all goaties except for wethers that are going to pet homes. Some years that's over half my kiddos because I pretty much don't sell intact bucks that much. 

And - weeks before heading out to a show double check those tattoos. You might have to adjust your registrations and redo them. And measure your minis if showing Nigies. I can't tell you how many ppl show up at the ring with OH animals.

HTH,


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## kristinatucker (Jan 3, 2012)

Do you all like the gel or the roll on ink better? I have both and am taking our kit for the goats I'm picking up tomorrow. I prefer them done before I take them and will certainly do any before they leave our farm.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I like the gel better for my ND's. I did watch someone do the tail web for their LaMancha and the roll on seemed to do better for that.


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## kristinatucker (Jan 3, 2012)

The breeder in picking up from is worried about frost bite after doing the tattoo as its about 15 there. We may just do it right before we load them so they can be in the warm car till they dry.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

It is suppose to be done by the seller, if the goat is sold as registered.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

I don't know if you want that green ink all over the
interior of your car! Believe me, it gets everywhere! 
I think that must be a major ingredient, the 
substance that makes it multiply when
applied to a goat ear! :lol:


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## kristinatucker (Jan 3, 2012)

I know it. It is a big ole mess! She was able to get them tattooed before we get there tomorrow now so Im glad we dont have to mess with it. What do you do if you cant read the tattoo at the show? I was talking with someone today that was saying you can re tattoo if you cant see it. Is that acceptable to do if we have one that we check before show time and cant make it out? This is our first year registering our stock and doing our own tattooes. I bought the gel because I read it seems to show up better than the roll on.


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## 8566 (Jul 18, 2012)

if registered with ADGA/AGS you have to call the office and let them know, mail in your old papers with $, and request new ones.

takes a bit - especially if doing AGS. So that's why you want to check tattoos well before the show. Do not re-tattoo without corrected paperwork else you could nullify the registration.

if tattoos can not be read for a GCH/ResGCH by the judge then the win goes to who ever is next in line and your goat gets nothing.

I like the paste better. I don't think the rollon lasts for more than a year.

HTH,


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## kristinatucker (Jan 3, 2012)

So you cant just re use the same tattoo numbers/letters? You actually have to resubmit for new ones? Thats really interesting. I would not have known that! Im glad to have brought this up! I have seen some goats at shows with green ears and figured they just tatttoed them just before but it could be they had to be redone. Your right about AGS. They seem to run a month to six weeks behind which is really slowing us down with getting a few things finalized but what can you do. I think I will check out my girls and see if I can still see theirs or not.


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## teejae (Jan 21, 2013)

interesting thread,in Australia all registered Dairy goats with the Dairy Goat Society Australia have to be tattooed(if registered) IF sold to another member of DGSA.The Department of Primary Industries cracked down on goats sold without PIC's(property Identification as in ear tags)All rural properties in Australia. must have PIC's or face a massive fine from DPI.The reason is to be able to track desieses like Jhones as well as CAE(We are an Accredited stud) same goes for cattle,sheep goats pigs camels Alpacas.The DGSA fought hard with DPI to have ear tagging stopped in stud/show Dairy goats sold to other DGSA members and won the battle but still the DPI want ear tagging and is still pushing for this in our beautiful goats.Ive seen a Nubian's ears ripped from top to bottom of both ears where she was caught up in fencing wire and another who died from massive infection from tags.The tags are sheep ones with PIC on one side and DGSA member no. on the other.Mind you we still have to tattoo!! So I do mine around the 2 week age while they are still easy to handle and use black or green paste,we have to put stud number in one ear and a number in the other.
If goats are sold to a non member they have to be tagged as well.DGSA allows micro chips but this is not reconised as a form of ID by DPI and the worry it will get into the food chain!!
So a question do you also have to ear tagg? Teejae


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## 8566 (Jul 18, 2012)

kristinatucker said:


> So you cant just re use the same tattoo numbers/letters? You actually have to resubmit for new ones? Thats really interesting. I would not have known that! Im glad to have brought this up! I have seen some goats at shows with green ears and figured they just tatttoed them just before but it could be they had to be redone. Your right about AGS. They seem to run a month to six weeks behind which is really slowing us down with getting a few things finalized but what can you do. I think I will check out my girls and see if I can still see theirs or not.


Sometimes I don't tattoo my girls until a few weeks before showtime. Could be what you are seeing is their own herdname stock. I don't like showing with the green myself and will clean up the ear area as best as possible. I know judges hate getting green all over them.

If you re-tattoo over a blank ear then who is to know but if you re-tattoo over an existing tattoo it's possible to see that and without having that documented on your reg papers .... big no no.

HTH,


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

yep like Teejae said, tattooing our registered dairy babies allows them to be exempt from ear tagging. I disbud my babies between 1 - 10 days as needed but then around 1 - 2 wks I do all the other nasty stuff, the tattooing and castrating of the little boys not destined to be bucks. A couple babies that went earlier than I expected I tattooed and castrated before they took them home, got the new owner to hold them for me, they were interested to see how it is done anyway. We put glad wrap and duct tape around the ears to save the car getting green - I use the green ketchum paste. Roll on stuff didnt seem thick enough. 

I hadnt actually heard about having to tag them if going to a non member. Wonder if that particular rule hasnt got to WA yet. Anyway to avoid the tagging dilemma I tattoo the wether kids as well (even though technically they should be both registered and tattooed to be exempt) and tell the new owners if anyone ever says they need to be tagged tell them registered dairy goats are exempt because of the tattoo. 

I do wish I could microchip the nubians instead of tattooing because their tattoos dont seem to last a long time like the swiss breeds. But while the DGSA still requires tattooing as well I cant justify chipping, seems to defeat the purpose if I have to tattoo as well. 

Hey Teejae, do you know what happens with horses that are microchipped? How come horses are allowed to be microchipped but can still end up in the food chain? I guess they are freeze branded as well (or at least they are required to be in WA) so thats like the tattoo in our goats. 

I believe the US has a scrapie tracking program for which the goats are supposed to be ear tagged but as I understand it registered goats can be tattooed instead of being tagged, and many people simply dont put the tag in their ear anyway, they just hand it over with the goat if/when it is sold. 

I did quite a bit of experimenting with ear tags in goats when I was working with the commercial boer herd, the frustrating thing is that some tags work quite well in goats and have good retention and very low levels of infection, BUT the DPI of course assumes goats are just funny looking sheep and so the only allowable tags are sheep tags which seem to work poorly for goats. I found very small cattle tags to work the best.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

I do wish they would accept rumen boluses for cattle/sheep/goats. I'd happily bolus my goats especially if I then didnt have to tattoo or tag


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## ptgoats45 (Nov 28, 2011)

I do mine when I disbud, so they all get done. I only tattoo the registered ones. I use the roll-on, it seems to work just fine for me and it is a little easier to put on. As the breeder it is their responsibility to make sure that the goats are tattoo'd. When you submit the application, they have to sign saying they filled out the form and everything is true and correct to the best of their knowledge. If the goat has not been tattoo'd they are basically falsifying the papers because the goat is not tattoo'd and does not have a permanent form of identification.

For all you know they aren't even selling you the right goat if it does not have the tattoos.

When you re-do the tattoo's you have to send the papers back in so they can mark them as "Re-Tattoo'd" that way if for some reason part or all of the old tattoo is readable the judge will not DQ the goat thinking the tattoo's don't match the papers. Some judges are real sticklers when they read the tattoo's and others just give one look at the ear and say it is good.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

I always get flack from breeders for wanting the wethers that I buy tatooed. It's such a small thing that makes it so much easier getting health permits to hike in a different state. Everyone here gets an identification tatoo and certificate regardless of sex or use.


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## Busy Bee (Sep 17, 2010)

I use the roll on ink, and ink before the tattoo & after the tattoo. This seems to stay a long time. Here we tattoo everyone at the farm even the wethers that leave. The wethers get just one tattoo that is my herd tattoo for the scrapies program which I joined so I could show. My vet will check the tattoos when she does our Health Certificate which helps before the shows also.


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

A goat that is going to be registered is required to be tattooed. I don't sell any registered goat without a tattoo. Any goats that go as pets without papers don't get tattooed...pet does and wethers. If I have a buyer who wants a show wether, I charge $25 extra to tattoo and paper it.


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## teejae (Jan 21, 2013)

I believe boluses have been discussed but wasnt acceptable by the powers that be  something to do with it coming out and also getting into the food chain?
I bought a Togg buck kid who came with a tagg and My husband was horrified!!The lady we bought him from said his rego hadnt gone through yet and was needed to cross the Border from NSW to Queensland(they are checked at the border for Tics and paperwork checked,its even more strict in Western Aus.where Keren is).There is a new breed of Dairy goat in Aust. called an Australian Melaan and being all black including the skin is a major problem where green paste is used but not seen!I know one person that tatts on the goats tail!! where the skin is paler,works well but frowned upon by DGSA so she taggs as well as tattoos.
Yes ink is messy and gets over everything  Teejae


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

I havent tattooed melaans but its the nubians and really dark skinned boers i struggle with, the tattoo just doesnt seem to last few years and its faded. Wonder if its because the skin is thinner. The thick swiss ears seem to hold a tattoo forever


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## WhisperingWillowNDG (Jul 20, 2011)

ALL goats are tattooed before leaving our farm unless the buyer of a wether requests otherwise.  we've only had one instance on a kid coming to us not tattooed but he was the smallest of quads and wasn't big enough at the time of transport -- will have to do his very very soon lol


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## ptgoats45 (Nov 28, 2011)

I had a Linear Appraiser tell me to tattoo my Nubians lower down in the ear. Instead of right in the middle where their is a big space between veins, she said to do it lower towards the outer edge in one of the smaller spaces. Since Nubians ears grow so much, the tattoos stretch and spread and don't stay as long. Kind of makes sense to put it more where it won't grow as much.

I bought an adult doe one time, never checked her ears when I got her. About a year later I was going to start DHIR and they have to be tattoo'd, looked in her ears with a light and everything and couldn't find one little spot of a tattoo. Asked the breeder and she said the doe was tattoo'd when she was disbudded. I still think she must have gotten skipped somehow for there to be no trace of any kind of tattoo. I went ahead and re-did her, but it is a pain in the butt on the older goats.

For fun one year, I tattoo'd all of my wethered Boer kids with MEAT in one ear  Any pet/cull does a person could always put CULL in their ear so they can never be registered Native on Appearance.


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## RedGate (Dec 7, 2012)

I too am a stickler for every goat on my property being tattooed. Even if they never get registered or are sold as market/pet. I feel like its my responsibility as the breeder- even if they don't care then, they might someday when they decide to travel or show. I use my regular farm tattoo sequence and the preferred letter with whatever number kid they were that year. I would like for someone to be able to trace that animal back to me somehow. I feel like its so much easier on the babies over older animals too.


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## teejae (Jan 21, 2013)

all pet goats here must be tagged  they also have to be tagged if going for slaughter as do sheep and cattle I dont know about horses.
Im told you can get now a white paste? For melaans or dark skinned goats.
The DGSA has a "cull" or Society Tattoo that can be used for wrong or unreadable Tatts.Ive also put our stud ID in our pet goats,Teejae


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

kristinatucker said:


> So you cant just re use the same tattoo numbers/letters? You actually have to resubmit for new ones? Thats really interesting. I would not have known that! Im glad to have brought this up!


NO you retatoo the ORIGINAL tattoos -- you go by whats on their papers!

you only retattoo when no visible tattoo is present OR if its partially unreadable.

Once you retatoo the goat you need to send in the papers back to its registering organization and have them put on the papers "retatooed" SO that if there is a trace of the old tattoo visible the goat wont get DQed - you just point to the papers and it says "retatooed" - I had to do this with one of my does.


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## FunnyRiverFarm (Sep 13, 2008)

I tattoo the goats intended to be registered before they leave my property...unregistered goats have Scrapie ear tags applied before they leave. That is the law here in Michigan.


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## teejae (Jan 21, 2013)

we dont have scrapie or foot and mouth in Aus,Teejae


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## kristinatucker (Jan 3, 2012)

Stacey- Ok that makes total sense. Thank you for clarifying. Im going to check all mine now just to be sure we can still see them. I have only been in goats a few years and when we got our first ones it never even occured to me to make sure they were actually tattooed! I will have to look into the white ink that was mentioned. We have a couple dark ears too and that would be nice as an option.


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