Tattooing at 7 months?

I've found it is actually easier to tattoo an older kid or yearling goat. With the babies, I need someone to hold the goat. With the bigger girls, I put them in my milk stand and do it by myself. At that age, they have all been vaccinated for tetanus as well.

 

:biggrin Just be careful! Those larger kids can do some major damage to the ole' body when they struggle.

It's actually easier to do larger kids...the ears or tail webs-for lamanchas- are bigger and easier. But alas, I always do them before I send in papers, so I'm stuck with itty bitty ears.
Kaye

 

Hang on tight! :lol

Sara

 

Put them in the milk stand. That is where I do all of my kids. I have a metal milk stand that can be adjust the head sanction low and narrow.

Jolene

 

We do ours in the milk stand also, youngsters and elders alike, but I still have someone hold the bodies as I worry about them freaking and trying to jump off.. If your stand is capable of falling over, I would get assistance. JMHO
With tiny ones, someone can just hold 'em in their arms - just make sure they are wearing clothes that they don't mind getting ink on.. :biggrin

 

Like everyone else says: Put them on the milk stand and just do it!

I did a yearling buck whose tattoo did not show at appraisal. He was no problem at all.

Not nearly as bad as I was dreading it.

 

yeah and I have one here somebody didn't tattoo for me I will have to do

 

You aren't supposed to tattoo when they are older? Mine usually get tattoed while getting shaved for their first appraisal as FF Milk stand here also. Vicki

 

Glad I am not the only one!

Patty

 

I did one large buck once (by myself). It was tough, but not impossible with a milk stand. The bucks are much bigger babies about it than the does ever were.

 

WELL...now, all I gotta do is carry Jersey cow and milkstand back to my vets and have the vet shield for Bruc. tattooed BACK into her ear! :mad

Her's has faded to nothing! Was checking her ears to see what goes in which ear and I couldn't find the vet shield from her Bruc. vaccination. :/ When "Irene" gets done...I'm going to ask if I can do it! My herd tattoos were still VERY GOOD and bold. :sigh
Kaye

 

I have a kid box in which I do disbudding in. I tattoo the same time that I disbud.
I burn the horn bud and then tattoo the ears. They are all done before 2 weeks old.

 

Ah, Sara, I didn't hang on tight enough to this yearling :



Our milkstand doesn't have a head piece so we did this mess at the "wailing" wall where we tether to do injections and the like. Not a proud day for any of us!

Like Tim, we do them shortly after birth now, polled or not.

 

EEK a martian !

 

lol. I LOVE how the doeling is peeking around the tree to keep an eye on the mean, goat torturing momma. such a cute pic.

-Melissa

 

I prefer to tattoo them when they are younger. Its easier for me. But of course I have a helper, a very good helper.

That picture is cute.

 

:? I'm not even going there.....! :biggrin

ROFLOL...Trisha, I can read that does mind! And it ain't purty! She's thinking something awful about your ancestors.
Kaye

 

Kaye,

The Vet tattoo is always in the Left ear...with the owners tattoo going in the right. But, the owner can tattoo in the left(we always did) just that you can not tattoo between the 2nd and 3 rib from the top...that is where the vet tattoo goes. With jerseys make sure they are using green ink not black also, to many at sales have had to be retattooed since the people was using black ink in a black ear...go figure.


Ken in MI

 

I could never get a kid held steady in a kid box to disbud and having to do it myself well, it had to be easy.

I laid a towel on the milkstand. At the end of the milkstand (not the stanchion end) i put a hand towel folded up so it would lift a kid's chin (about 1" - 1 1/2" thick) and rolled up a third full-size towel across the short end (so it was a long tube). I set the kid on the milkstand and tucked it's front and back legs under itself in a comfortable lying position on it's chest. On my knees I straddled the kid and crossed my legs behind me. In this position I could control how high or low I was depending on the size of the kid (there was only enough pressure to keep them in position.....I wasn't sitting on them) and with my legs crossed behind they couldn't back out underneath me. I positioned the kid's chin on the hand towel. The rolled-up towel went under my left knee, over the kid's head (just behind the ears) and under my right knee. Nubian ears got tucked under the rolled towel to keep 'em out of the way. By having the folded towel under the kid's chin it gave space for the kid to breath, but the chin towel and over the neck towel kept the kid's head in place. Now I had two free hands.

With my left hand I positioned the kid's head with the horn bud to be burned facing straight up and with the right hand I picked up the disbudding iron and burned the bud. In this position I had complete control and once I got it down I could set a kid up and disbud very quickly. I found that once positioned, I only needed a thumb and forefinger to keep the kid's head steady and there was no chance of the kid thowing it's head up.

I'd tried disbudding with my husband holding once (only once) as he would let go as soon as the kid would make a noise, and I threw away the disbudding box I'd bought because not only could I not keep a kid still in it, but it busted the second time I used it.