O.K. I'm in Ohio,,,I have the boer breed and decided to sell my 2 set of twins , boy/girl,,,each for 4H and fair time.. Now I find out from the buyer, who wants all 4 that they have to have scrapie tags and it has to be done by the breeder.. My question is,,, :? who do I contact to get info and also what all is invoved with it.. Why is the USDA involved it it??? as they are going to be shown by kids in 4H as market kids???? HELP.... I have already had them debudded/ both boys casturated/( vet did not believe in banding ) and all 4 just got their first shots when the boys got it... I feel I am being nickled & dimed as time goes on before they pick up the babys. wondering now if I quoted the price to low.. they were born on 3/11/12 & 3/14/12 and will stay with me & their moms until 8 weeks old... sorry,, didm't mean to write a book... :help:
The tags are from USDA. If you call them they will send you some with the tool to put them in. They are free.
I freaked out at first as well, ^^^ is right it is free and you get a free tager. There has not been a case for many years, I dont recall how long, but a long time ago. This is just their way of keeping track of where it was bred from just in case. I would get on that soon, I dont remember how long it took to send, but was not overly fast.
Your vet can put one in, or yes, you can get them free from USDA. But then yes, the goats can be traced back to you and if the goats every come up positive the USDA will knock on your door and kill all your animals, even though the animal may have caught it somewhere else. It's just a way for the government to track you.... Really as long as they have a tag in, it makes the USDA happy, you could get a neighbor or someone else with tags to put them in the goats ears for you. It's actually a really stupid way to "track" goats. :roll:
Thank you both Pennyspasture & Jessica for the quick reply,, :hi5: would either of you know the phone # to contact the USDA on this??? I hope-ing I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and not the headlights of the train,, ha,, :coffee2: Just saw your post RunAround,, my vet yesterday said he doesn't do that anymore.. :-( humm,, government and into our business,, go figure,, all I was wanting to do was supply a 4Her with some nice breed babys.as my does are full breed and my buck is registered & 100 full blood..got his paperwork from his breeder at sell at her farm.. ..
I just looked up the USDA website and called the number. I got my tags in about 2 weeks. BUT if they aren't crossing state lines or going to slaughter then you shouldn't need the tags.
Our Sheep are on the Scrapie program. Yes things are provided for free. Here is a link that gives you more info http://www.eradicatescrapie.org/How%20to%20Comply.html Biggest thing is to get a hold of your local APHIS Veterinary Services office to get a flock ID number.
Thank you DDFN and all that responded to my post,, It is so nice to have the info and kind thoughts from you to a newbie in need..
Nearly all Fairs, Shows, Livestock Sales, etc. will require all goats and sheep have a scrapies tag. The USDA needs to know where the animals come from in case they have scrapies at some point in their life. When you order your tags a paper with all the information about scrapies will come with it. At our local sale barn, if the goat or sheep does not have a scrapie tag, the USDA rep there will tag them with a slaughter only tag becuase they can't prove where they have came from.
The number to get scrapie tags is 1-866-873-2824 They will ask you a few questions about your herd and farm, and then get your address and waalaa! Tags appear on your doorstep
I am in KY and I called the Ag office in Frankfort and ordered ours. Not sure if it's different state to state, but they were free, order as many as you think you'll use within a 2-3 year period <so you don't order as often>, and it should also include a free tagging gun. It's super easy to do, kind of like piercing a person's ears, and I was told the pain is about the same too. We're getting ready to tag all our young goats....oh fun...heh.
Not all goats need to be tagged, but boers need it more since they are meat goats. ADGA registered goats do NOT need tags because their tattoo's are their scrapie ID
If a Goat is registered ....you do not need to scrapies tag them...it is when you decide... to take them to an Auction to sell them or sell as... unregistered... is when they will need the scrapies tag put in..... :wink:
Thanks again for all the info,,, got one more question :? Is there anymore breeder info I need to know before the sell of my 4 babys??? I have had all 4 debudded ,,, I have had the vet casturate the 2 boys and all 4 babys got their 2 shots each, when at that vet..... Notice,, I said " I " before all the vet visit and debudding events... I know they put up info for the kids & parents to do and ask for when buying their 4-H or for fair time animal prodjects,, my question is, where is the breeders info and responsibility forms for us, before sell to the kids??? :scratch: Would really appreciate some of the other boer breeders on here walking a newbie through this... seems like I get one thing done, then I'm told I'm responible for some more things to do..! Just what all is the breeders responibilities and those of the buyers :help: ,, getting frustrated... :GAAH:
Sounds like you've got them pretty much ready to go. What are you feeding them currently? To help prepare them for going to their new home, I would get them started on a medicated "show" goat feed. Some goats don't like it at first, but it will prevent cocci and is typically what the goats will be fed until fair time. If you can, I would set up an area that only the kids can get into and put this feed in there so the moms aren't eating all of it. It is usually expensive, but the kids will be better off going from one home to another and still eating the same food at both places. If you really want to put time into them, you could start working on teaching them to lead and/or tieing them up for short times every day to get them used to being handled. You could also start setting their feet like they are being shown so they are used to having their legs handled. When I had Boers, most of my kids were sold unbroke to lead, but had been tied up some. They were all started on a show goat feed and had already had thier hooves trimmed at least once. I don't think they have any forms that you would have to fill out what you did. If you are getting started though, it is best to start with a reputation for selling quality, easy to handle kids that even the youngest 4-H'er can bring home and be able to start working with right away. A lot of goats are sold straight off the dam and are very wild and take months to tame down. Kids get discouraged easily so to keep them interested more and prevent them from getting frustrated, they would surely appreciate buying tame kids who have already had some handling. Hope this helps!
