Tattoing dairy goat kids is a necessary task when raising dairy goats if you want them to be registered with the ADGA (American Dairy Goat Association). When we take our Alpine dairy goat kids and our Nubian dairy goat kids to the vet to have their horns disbudded, we tattoo their ears at that time. The vet visit is done about 4-6 days after birth, and no later than 10 days after birth. Since they are given pain killer for their disbudding, we like to have them tattooed at this time so they will feel less pain. We give them their tetanus antitioxin on the day they are born, so they are protected from getting tetanus from the tattooing. The goat equipment you will need to purchase to tattoo dairy goat kids is a goat tattoo kit which you can use every year. The ADGA can tell you the current year's ID number to use, so you will need to put your ADGA identification number in one of your dairy goat's ears, and the current year's ID in the other ear.

Before you tattoo the kid's ears, clean the ears with rubbing alcohol. Rub in the green dye, then clamp between the veins. After you clamp it, rub more dye in, and then wipe the dye with a toothbrush. The dye will come off of their ears in a few days.