Whether you're branding cattle or ear tagging them, calf identification chores should be done with care.

Branding and Ear Tagging 101

By Larry Stalcup

Spring branding has been an event for decades at many a ranch. Some brands, like the 6666, are ingrained in our heritage. One brand, namely the running w of the King Ranch, has even been adopted as a pickup truck line.

Branding and ear tagging may sound pretty basic, but the big boys will be the first to tell you — if done wrong, misbranded hides can lose value — and tags in the wrong part of the ear can be lost or cause pain for a calf.

"A lot of people still don't brand cattle or don't brand them in a manner that minimizes hide damage," says Ted McCollum, Texas AgriLife beef cattle specialist in Amarillo. "As for ear tagging, if it isn't done right, tags can be torn out on a gate or fence post or lead to infected ears, or possibly eye irritation from the tags hitting the eye when the ears are twitched."

Rustlers don't like brands
Even if cattle are in open range and worth $1,000, rustlers might think twice about loading them up if there's a good, visible brand showing. Branding calves isn't required in Texas, like it is in some states. But branding can help the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) special rangers find them if they're stolen.

"Brands are permanent IDs and help [law enforcement] track down thieves, or help
ranchers determine which animals are theirs if they're mixed with others," says McCollum. "Ear tags can also help, but a rustler can easily remove an ear tag and no one will know."

Hot iron branding has been used some 4,000 years. The practice started in Texas in about the mid-18th century when Spaniards began raising cattle here. Today, either fire, propane or electric heated irons is common. Freeze branding is also used.

McCollum offers these tips for hot irons:

• Conventional irons should be made of good iron or steel.
• Figures should be 3 to 4 inches in size. Patterning, such as curves, circles or squares may require a larger size to prevent blotching.
• Whether it's a conventional or electric iron, don't cluster too many figures on 1 iron or heating element to reduce the cost. It can result in characters that are too small and not adequately spaced.
• Secure the cattle. Movement during branding can smear the brand. Once the brand heals and the skin peels, the figures will be less legible. Brands are often placed on the left hip for ease of visibility, and away from the heart of the hide for tanning purposes.
• With a properly heated iron and cattle with short hair cover, a brand can be applied in 3 to 5 seconds. As hair cover increases, time needed to apply the brand increases.
• Also, with longer hair and/or dirt and dander, the iron may need to be lifted from the site and the area lightly brushed (by hand or glove) to remove buildup of charred debris and allow better contact to complete the brand. Check irons and remove any buildup of debris, scale and burned hair. This is especially important on electric irons. When irons are heated in a stove, debris will usually be removed by the heating source.
• Press the iron firmly on the site and rock the handle slightly to apply the character evenly. Rocking the handle will prevent over-burn or under-burn in any one spot.
• With a proper brand, the hide should be a buckskin color. Check for debris on the brand site to ensure that the iron has contacted the skin thoroughly.
• When the iron is not left for sufficient time, or there was debris between the iron and the skin, the brand will be temporary or incomplete, and may disappear over time. If the iron is lifted and needs to be reapplied, place the iron exactly on the site where the brand was attempted.
• Applying the iron too long causes unnecessary pain and takes excessive time to heal. When hair is damp or wet, the iron loses heat more rapidly and the area may be scalded and the brand will be blotched.

Freeze branding
Freeze branding kills the pigment-producing cells in the hair follicle, so white hairs regrow where the brand was applied. They work best on black, dark red or red animals. McCollum says satisfactory results can be achieved on lighter colored animals by leaving the irons in place for a longer period of time. It results in a brand similar to a hot brand with more hide damage than normal freeze branding. Here are McCollum's points to remember about freeze branding:

• Area must be clipped of long hair. If cattle are dirty, you may need to start with sheep heads and reclip with cattle heads.
• Special copper or bronze irons should be cooled to –100 F to –300 F.
• Dry ice and alcohol are most commonly used for cooling. Alcohol must be denatured and at least 95% alcohol. Less pure forms of alcohol contain too much water and will not cool the irons properly. This process requires a half to 1 pound of dry ice per animal branded, but a minimum of 10 lbs. of ice is usually needed to cool irons. It usually takes 3 to 5 gallons of alcohol to brand 20 to 30 animals.
• Liquid nitrogen (LN) is also used as a coolant. But because it's colder, don't leave the irons on the animal too long. Regardless of the coolant used, a quart or more of alcohol (per 20 head) is needed to wet the animal's skin prior to branding.
• Recommended freeze brand contact times, based on the age of the animal, are shown in Table 1. Note that when freeze brands are used on young animals, the brand grows with the animal and results in a larger, more readable brand on adult animals.
• A good brand will show up as an indented figure on the animal immediately after branding. Within a few minutes, the area will swell, creating a raised version of the brand. Swelling should subside in a few hours. In 2 to 4 weeks, the area will begin to peel. This is normal, and unpigmented hair will grow back in its place.

Ear tagging
Chris Richards, Oklahoma State University beef cattle specialist, says ear tags are usually classified into 1 of 3 styles: 1-piece plastic, 2-piece plastic and metal. "These tags vary in shape, size, color and method of attachment to the ear," he says.

"In most cases you'll use a special tool, knife or pliers to pierce the ear and pass a portion of the tag through the ear. A basic reason for using plastic ear tags is to identify the animal from a distance. Therefore, you should consider size and color combinations. When you're using plastic tags, it's a good idea to number both sides or order tags with custom engraving."

Here are proper tagging techniques recommended by Richards and OSU animal science personnel:

• Properly secure the animal. Movement of the animal's head may cause injury to the handler or livestock, or result in improper tagging. So calves should be eased into a chute with a head gate, halter and/or nose lead.
• Identify the tagging site. Tags should be applied in the middle-third of the ear between the upper and lower ribs. When using electronic identification (EID) tags, it's important to apply the tag with the visual panel, or male portion of the tag on the outside back of the ear with the EID button, and the female portion of the tag on the inside of the ear.
• Use proper hygiene and cleanliness. Use rubbing alcohol or a disinfectant solution to clean the jaw of the applicator. Also, clean the tagging site of the animal's ear.
• Place each half of the tag onto the applicator. The stud must be inserted completely onto the applicator pin and the female portion placed under the opposite clip.
• Check alignment of the tagger. Do so by closing the jaw of the applicator to the point where the 2 halves meet. The stud should be centered with the hole.
• Position the applicator. Again, this is in the identified tagging site on the animal's ear. Firmly close the applicator in a fast manner and release.
• Examine the tag. Verify that it's positioned correctly, comfortably and secure. Record the necessary data on the animal.

Richards says ear tags large enough to be read from a distance help identify cattle quickly and easily. "Colored blank tags give the cattleman a great deal of flexibility in designing a custom identification system to meet a variety of needs," he says. "One of the problems with ear tags is that some will be lost. To reduce record problems, replace lost tags immediately."

Cattle enrolled in an approved quality system assessment (QSA) or process verified program (PVP), using program-compliant tags, may move through the production system without further verification activities.

Program-compliant ear tags are installed at the ranch of origin or approved tagging location. According to program standards, these tags are single-use, tamper-evident tags with a unique, non-repeatable ID number. The tags can be visual, electronic, or a combination.

Safeguard your investment
McCollum says that cattle thefts may not be as noticeable as in the past. "Before, it would take 2 or 3 head to equal $1,000 in value," he says. "Now, 1 head might be worth that much and more. A rancher may not notice if just 1 animal is missing."

But if rustlers know a herd is branded, it could prevent that single animal from being loaded up and hauled off in the middle of the night.