Registering sheep as a smallholder

[Widgeon]

This is quite a simple question really but as always with anything government related, the more I look online the more confused I am.

We have a few sheep. We have a landless keeper CPH number for our house and yard, and an associated number for the bit of rented grazing next door where the sheep live. We also have a flock number.

We had 4 lambs born this spring (to pedigree mothers) and for reasons outside my control (their dad turns out not to be registered. I'm pretty sure that's down to tardiness rather than anything underhand but it's really annoying) I can't register them with the breed society. However this is where I get very confused.

- If I was to register them with the breed society (assuming the tup's paperwork is sorted asap) does that single registration cover everything, i.e. do I also need to register them elsewhere?
- If I don't register them with the society, how do I register them? Or do I not need to - do I just provide our flock number to the ear tag supplier, tag them, write it down, and job done?
- Can I just get them all tagged asap, sell the two we're not keeping at a lower price as pets (they're going to a neighbour), and then register the two remaining girls with the breed society later on, again assuming the tup's paperwork gets sorted?

Answers in small words please. I'm usually a fairly competent person but I've got myself really confused over this. Thank you!

 

[kaiserchief]

Yay! Something I can help with (we breed Berrichons and have previously bred Zwartbles).

1. You can't register pedigree sheep with their breed society unless both of their parents are fully registered so your lambs will be considered pure but not pedigree. Best to look for a new ram for this year if you want pedigree lambs with your flock prefix next year.

2. You don't need to register them anywhere. Just order tags for them. Assuming they are all keepers, you need double breeding tags for them all which will consist of an EID tag and a matching visual in a colour of your choice. If they are intended for the freezer, you only need EID slaughter tags which must be replaced by double tags if they aren't away by 12 months old. If you haven't bought tags before, you'll need to choose a tag supplier that can do small runs and that will provide you with ear tagging pliers (they are often the most expensive bit so choose wisely).

3. Yes. You can tag them all now with double breeding tags. You are unlikely to be able to retrospectively register the ram but if you do and want to register the lambs, their tags will need to comply with the breed society's tagging rules (some specify that you must include your prefix, the year letter or the year numbers). If they are not to be registered, the pedigree information is unnecessary.

We use Roxan Z tags for our sheep - https://www.shopdatamars.co.uk/product/zsheep-breeding-doubles/. The customer service folk are pretty helpful so well worth a call to discuss your specific needs. Good luck and feel free to PM me if I can be of any more help

 

[Widgeon]

Thank you - you are a star!! That's straightforward enough then. And I appreciate the recommendation for tags because I think the tag manufacturer that a lot of Shetland people use (nice small tags) has been having supply problems.

I’m going to phone the breeder of the tup next week, I’m hoping he copied and pasted the wrong tag number for the one he sent down but….we’ll see.

 

[kaiserchief]

No worries, I'll keep fingers crossed that the tup actually is registered so you can register his offspring (I don't know if the Shetland Sheep Society use Grassroots but if they do you might be able to check on there to see what rams the breeder has registered).

 

[Widgeon]

Thanks - yeah they do use Grassroots which is how I know that the ear tag I have definitely isn't registered pedigree. They're a well regarded flock though so I very much doubt they would have intentionally sent out a tup they'd failed to register. It has to be a mixup somewhere. Fingers crossed it's a very straightforward one!

 

[kaiserchief]

It could be something as simple as he lost his original tags and got retagged with whatever they had left over, forgetting that the new tags now wouldn't match his records on Grassroots. I hope you get to the bottom of it soon, and certainly before tupping runs around again.