Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
As soon as a kid is born, place a neckband on it with the name of its mother and its date of
birth. Note the birth in your reproduction records along with the name of the sire. One to four
weeks after birth, kids can be tattooed with a permanent ID number. Tattoos are preferable to
ear tags or neck chain IDs, which goats are likely to chew or pull off. If you plan to register a
kid with the ADGA, it must be tattooed. Tattoos help identify a goat long after you have sold
it and may aid in the recovery of a lost or stolen animal.
Tattoo sets are available from farm supply stores and goat suppliers. Get one with a ¼- or
5
/
16
-inch die and green ink. Most goats are tattooed on the ear, except for LaManchas, which
are tattooed in the tail web.
SUPPLIES FOR TATTOOING:
• Tattoo tongs with numbers and letters
• Ink, paste or roll-on, preferably green
• Rubbing alcohol
• Toothbrush
Stand behind your goat facing the goat's rear end. The ear on your right side is the goat's right
ear; the ear on your left side is the left ear. The right ear is tattooed with a unique tattoo se-
quence, a series of letters and numbers identifying your farm. This sequence is assigned by
the ADGA when you become a member. The tattoo in the left ear identifies the specific goat.
The year of the goat's birth is indicated by a letter of the alphabet designated by the ADGA:
2007 -X; 2008 - Y; 2009 - Z; 2010 - A; 2011 - B. A herd identification number showing the
order in which the kid was born follow this. For example, the 22nd kid born in 2010 would be
tattooed with “A22.”
Fit the correct letters and numbers into the tattoo tongs and test them by punching a piece of
paper. Clean an area on the inside of the ear with rubbing alcohol — avoid veins or freckles.
Rub the ink over this area. Placing the smooth rubber side of the tongs against the outside of
the ear, puncture the ear firmly. Tattoos should be placed so they read right way up. Using the
toothbrush, rub more ink over the punctured numbers with the toothbrush for about 20
seconds. Tattooing is done quickly and is usually painless.
Microchips inserted under the skin are becoming a popular way to identify goats because they
are less vulnerable to tampering. Some goat breed associations require microchipping. The
