Ear tagging or notching (identification)
Ear tagging or notching allows you to identify your pigs by sight.
Notching is easy to do and costs nothing. You can identify up to 121
pigs in this way.
This method can be used to identify other animals, e.g. sheep and goats. |
Learning objectives
After studying this unit you should know:
1 Why do we identify animals.
2 How to notch the ear.
3 Reading the number of the pig.
Why we need to identify animals
If you have a few pigs or other animals, identifying them is no
problem. You will be able to identify them by sight and may well have
given them a name. You will need some way to identify a large number of
animals especially if you are going to keep records (see Annex 5). There
are many ways to identify animals including numbered collars, tattoos,
and plastic tags. Notching the ear is easy and is the cheapest way.
Notching the ear
A V-shaped notch can be cut out of the edge of the ear using a
pair of clean scissors. Make the notch a few centimetres deep so in
future you will be able to read it from a distance.
The notches on the left ear are for single numbers and on the right ear the notches are for tens.
Notching the ear
Recording the number of the pig
Look at the notches on the right and the left ears then add up the number on each ear to give the number of the animal.
Recording the number of the pig