Sheep ear tags - button or long?

[RMcL]

It's my first year 'farming' with just 7 new lambs and I wanted to know people's experience with the new Shearwell combi button versus long thin ear tags?
I have Castlemilk Moorits and will keeping them / selling for breeding stock in due course.
We're in Scotland, Dumfries and Galloway - so plenty of gorse, blackthorn and dykes to snag on.
Thanks

 

[pipkins]

I had north Ronaldsay so similar size and eating habuts and used the Allflex bubblegum tags with very little problem. The button tags are clunky and quite big in the ear, ok on pigs and I guess big sheep but they were on some bought in Ronnie's that I had and I had lots of lost tags and damaged ears as a result. With the long thin tags on a small sheep you've got the advantage of being able to snip the join so you've effectively got two flags rather than a loop. They aren't perfect but I'm very happy to recommend them as the odd lost one was usually due to poor application by me!

 

[pipkins]

Should say these weren't the specific button tags that you mention, I haven't seen or used them.

 

[ilyria]

I've used shearwell long tags on hebs of similar size and almost all have held onto them

 

[RMcL]

Many thanks to you both for your help. I'll go for the long tags.

 

[JD-Kid]

hate button tags
had alot of probs with them and did hear of a trial they put button tags in and ripped a few out on netting fences
also found 2 piece tags. are a bugger if yer drop them and get the numbers mixed up sooner use 1 piece tags