Marking: Tell Every Animal Apart in the Middle of the Flock

Marking: Keeping Track in a Bunched Flock

Sheep look alike, and that turns into a problem the moment you treat, draw out or want to match lambs to ewes. Good marking saves you time at every animal. For that we stock marker sticks, sprays and sheep marking paint in several colours, plus leg bands, the raddle harness for tupping records and a pair of notching pliers.

Marking for a while or for good

For everyday work temporary marking is usually enough. The RAIDL marker stick with its twist feed sits well in the hand and comes in blue, red, green, black and violet, so you can keep several groups cleanly apart, for instance treated animals, stragglers and stock for sale. For larger patches and more visibility you take the TopMarker marking spray, and for the fleece the sheep marking paint. How long a colour lasts depends heavily on the weather: in wet, sun and a dense fleece it fades faster, while indoors it stays readable longer. So allow for touching up outdoors and do not mark shortly before shearing if the wool is to be sold. Marking only becomes truly permanent with ear tags or a notch.

Leg bands and keeping track at tupping

Yellow leg bands come in packs of ten and are the simplest way to mark individual animals without paint. You fit them on the leg, they are visible from a distance and they come off again when the group changes. Tupping is a subject of its own. With the nylon raddle harness the tup carries a colour block on his chest that leaves a mark on the ewe when he serves her. That way you can see the next morning which ewes have been served and plan the lambing dates. The raddle blocks are available singly as refills so the harness keeps working through the whole tupping period.

Frequently asked questions

How long does marking paint last?
That depends on the weather. Indoors it stays readable longer; in rain and sun on the pasture you have to touch up after a few weeks.

What do I need a raddle harness for?
For tupping records. The colour block leaves a mark when the tup serves, so you can see at once which ewes are served.

Stick, spray or band?
The stick for single marks on the animal, the spray for marks visible from a distance, the leg band when the marking has to come off again.