How to Ear Notch a Pig

Photo by Laura Anderson

Ear notching in the hog industry is well known within the smaller farms and show hog industries. The purpose of notching pigs is for a form of identification. Without an ear tag or ear notch, the pigs can get lost within the litter or within the pigs raised alongside them. The reason for utilizing the notching system instead of ear tags, tags are commonly known in livestock, is because pigs are a curious animal. When a large group of pigs is in one pen together, they begin to root around on each other and could possibly tear the identification ear tag out of the hog’s ear. For this reason, the notching system was implemented to improve the hog identification process. However, due to the amount of time involved in completing the process, the ear notching system is not utilized within the confinement operations.

One of the easiest times to complete the notching process is while taking their one-day-records and giving their shots. The sooner notching is done, the less painful it is on the piglet, less bleeding occurs, and the animal is easier to handle.

The ear notching system divides the right and left ear separately into the litter number (pig’s right) and the pig number (pig’s left). Next, each ear is divided into four quadrants which are added together to increase the total number value. Within each quadrant, there is the possibility to place two notches, giving each ear the ability to hold a different value. The notches placed on the lower interior quadrant hold a value of 1. The notches placed in the lower outer quadrant of the ear hold a value of 3. Moving to the top of the ear, the notches on the outer quadrant hold the value of 9 and the notches on the inner quadrant hold the value of 27. Finally, the litter ear (pig’s right) can have a notch at the tip, which holds the value of 81. With an understanding of the quadrants, the idea can be visualized starting in quadrant one to get the values 1 or 2. Next, you would move to the second quadrant and make one notch for 3. Then you make a notch in both quadrant one and two to get a total number 4. The process continues to use the addition of quadrants and notches as the numbers rise.

Photo by Chad Kinaman

1. To begin the process, start by having all your supplies accessible and ready. This allows for a quick procedure and accurate notching. Some of the supplies could include an ear notcher, a record book, and a cheat sheet if needed.
2. Next, you will find out what litter number you will be processing and what notches are needed for the litter number.
3. Proceed with beginning the notching process by taking the first pig, keeping a firm grasp, and notching the litter number in each of the pig’s right ear (looking from their back). For the litter number, each pig within the litter will have the same notches on their right ear. Make each notch deep enough that it will be a distinct notch, but shallow enough that it does not draw excessive amounts of blood. The litter number is to identify which litter the pig is from and be able to trace back to their dam (mother) and sire (father) in the record books.
4. Then you will continue with the pig's left ear (looking from their back), making the proper notches for each pig individually. This will be the identification number for each pig individually within the litter. Every pig in the litter will have an individual number to differentiate them from its littermates. This allows the farmer to identify which pig is which within a specific litter.
5. Finally, after each pig has had the correct litter numbers notched and the correct pig numbers notched, they can be returned to their pen. Be sure to clean the work area to help eliminate disease transfer. Finish by filing the records in the proper spot.