Automatic sheep tagger. Which?

[PhilipB]

Anyone had any experience of a brand that works well? And does do economically- particularly regarding the cost of the tags that go through it.

I've had the roxan tagfaster for a couple of years, by and large it's mechanically great, but I've just realised that I pay 1/3 more : 20p more, for every slaughter tag that passes through it.

For every strip of 20, I could pay myself £4 to load them manually. Annoying.

 

[Nithsdale]

Unfortunately you pay for convenience. That's how life works... remember, you can tag a lot more with the tagfaster in the same time you can with a manual tagger.

But I hadn't realised they were quite as expensive as that (I have the Tagfaster too, don't check the price when I buy them)

 

[unlacedgecko]

Shearwell with the rotary drum. You can load the mags yourself.

 

[CopperBeech]

We just tag at tailing, they being handled anyway and saves messing about later on when they are older / bigger.

 

[PhilipB]

Shearwell with the rotary drum. You can load the mags yourself.

Thanks, I'll take a look.

 

[Al R]

Thanks, I'll take a look.

The shearwell is 5p/tag more to have them preloaded into the drums. System works well with very few problems, the only problem I have had is with the new tags themselves bending when inserting but when I preloaded some of my 6 month olds tags In they went in no problem.

 

[Bill dog]

Do you think they have altered the plastic?
Shearwell tags used to be super, but they do seem to be more brittle nowadays.
I just use the Roxan tagfaster . Works a treat !

 

[Al R]

Do you think they have altered the plastic?
Shearwell tags used to be super, but they do seem to be more brittle nowadays.
I just use the Roxan tagfaster . Works a treat !

I’ve always found that with fresh tags the needle bends before penetrating the ear, give it a few weeks and their grand, it’s annoying when it happens with the autotagger because of how it holds them. I have heard they’ve altered the tagger slightly since they released them but not sure on it? Tagging at 5+ months the ear is harder than when a week old which is when I think a freshly manufactured tag might not have any problems

 

[PhilipB]

So at 500+ the tag faster is 78p per tag.
Shearwell is 64p, plus 5p if you want them ready loaded.

So, at a 14p per tag saving the £60 shearwell tagger is paying for itself after 430 tags

(it's a wet morning here.)