The numbers on a goat’s ear tag could display quite a wide variety of info, then.
You’ll just need to have a familiarity with whichever registries and organizations your goat is registered with.
Your goat will need different identification depending on what kind of goat it is.
In other words, there simply is no one way to read a goat tag—it’s going to depend on what the goat is for.
Let’s look further into this.
How do you read ear tags?
The only simple answer to this question is you have to know what you’ll be looking for.
Ear tags can display a great deal of different information depending on what the goat was bred and raised for.
Most people won’t be able to read more than a few types that are relevant to their own practices.
You need to be able to read the tags that tell you which animal is which—the federal government isn’t interested in the names you gave them!
Usually, if a goat is born on your own land and you intend to rear that goat for a year or more, they will need a yellow ear tag with an electronic chip and one a different color.
In most cases, these ear tags will sport a flock mark and an individual number.
Naturally, this will vary a lot in different circumstances, but this is a good rule of thumb.
You will need a tag that shows the group they belong to and identifies the individual.
So, most of the time, you should just need to read a couple of numbers.
How exactly these identification numbers are formatted, though, will depend on the registry.
So, get familiar with your goats’ tags.
At what age are goats’ ears tagged?
Again, it will depend on the registry, but you’re typically expected to tag your goat within a year of birth.
It will depend on a few factors, though.
As I said, if you intend to rear the goat for a year or more, they will need a yellow ear tag to indicate this, so it’s best to tag them as soon as possible—3-6 months is usually best.
Ultimately, though, it all depends on what you’re doing with the goat.
Certain things are going to be heavily dependent on getting the goat registered as close to its actual birth as possible.
For most tags, though, within 12 months is a good benchmark.
How do you identify a goat?
In most cases, individual goats should have an ID number that you can identify within their flock number.
Don’t rely on being able to tell your goat by sight—as much as you might love and be connected with your goat, there’s always the possibility of a mix up.
So, again, in most cases, it should be as simple as just knowing your flock number and then finding the goat ID number that you’re looking for.
In any situation where others need to identify them, they will have a record of each goat in paper form, so it’s best to have all your paperwork in order, too.
Do goats need ear tags?
To be registered with any formal registry, yes, they will need ear tags.
Again, though, the reasons one might register their goat are manifold, and if you’re only keeping your goats as companions on your homestead, you may well be fine without tagging them.
Tagging is generally for farmed goats that are intended to be butchered or sold.
There’s not much need if they aren’t going to be used commercially in any capacity.
How to put a tag on
The easiest way is typically to have it done for you.
Most registries will do this nowadays, making it easy and painless.
Other than that, it’s as simple as just aligning the male, protruding part of the tag to the back of the ear, and the female part on the inner ear.
The tip ought to be oriented in the centre of the ear, between the cartilage.
Make sure to avoid any clear veins—goats ears are a lot bigger and more sensitive than ours!
So, it’s all going to depend on your particular goats.
What they are tagged for, and what the numbers on those tags mean, depends wholly on who they are registered with.
If they’re a meat goat, they will have different tags to a dairy goat, and so on.
Tags can indicate a lot of different information, so it’s about knowing what you in particular will need to look for, rather than being able to read all tags.