banding calves

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jt

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have always cut my bull calves, but thought i would give banding a try. so i bought some.. got the bands in and on the package it says "not recommended for calves over 250#" its the little cheerio bands made by ideal.

do they make different sizes for bigger calves? if not, i guess these will be alright, as i hear people all the time talking about banding big calves, even up to 7-800 #.

what do some of you think?

thanks

jt
 
You can certainly band larger calves, but generally not with the same bander that is used on small calves. There are several banders that are specifically designed for larger cavles. The most common one is probably the Callicrate Bander. The little banders costs about $10, the Callicrate cost about $200. Another good reason for taking care of them when they're young.
 
There is no way you can stretch the cheerios to band a 700# calf. 250's can be tough if they're very fat

dun
 
There is no way you can stretch the cheerios to band a 700# calf. 250's can be tough if they're very fat


He is right. It can be hard to get them on the little calves as well. We don't band anything. We have found it is just as easy to cut them and we haven't lost one yet. We've been doing it this way for about...well.....forever.
 
txshowmom":rqs721rr said:
There is no way you can stretch the cheerios to band a 700# calf. 250's can be tough if they're very fat


He is right. It can be hard to get them on the little calves as well. We don't band anything. We have found it is just as easy to cut them and we haven't lost one yet. We've been doing it this way for about...well.....forever.

For years we cut everything, then after some serious fly problems we went to banding. I would guess that was about 10 years ago. Been banding ever since.
But we ended up having to knife two 100 pounders this year. I couldn't even get the scrotum into the band. Never seen such fat bagged little calves.

dun
 
I bought one of those cheerio banders, and still end up cutting most. I guess the only time the little bander works is for late calves (born close to work up) or runts.
 
We band 99% of our bull calves. Grew up using the knife but have banded for the past 40 years at least.

Craig-TX
 
Craig-TX":2ioe5km2 said:
We band 99% of our bull calves. Grew up using the knife but have banded for the past 40 years at least.

Craig-TX

craig,

do you band at an early age? and do you give tetanous shots? if i read the tetaneous info correctly, my understanding is that you do not have protection until 2 weeks after the 2nd injection which comes 30 days after the first. ?? this makes for 6 weeks before you would have protection. the tetaneous shot i have is called a tetaneous toxoid. the instructions say to give 2 shots 30 days apart with an annual booster.

just trying to figure this out.. i have always knifed, but thought about giving banding a try, at least on my bigger calves that i didnt want to keep as a bull.

thanks

jt
 
we have banded for years & only use the cheerio-type bander. we typically band at birth, but have used it on calves up to 400 lbs or so. it's not easy & takes some effort to get it on those bigger calves.....one nut at a time.
 
For us its a cost issue. Whe you band you have to buy a bander and the bands and them you have to give them a tetnus shot. When we cut them the only expence we have is our time.
 
txshowmom":yhb1n323 said:
For us its a cost issue. Whe you band you have to buy a bander and the bands and them you have to give them a tetnus shot. When we cut them the only expence we have is our time.

we do not give tetanus shots when banding at birth. we do give one to the bigger calves which is less than 5 calves/year so it's not a cost problem for us.

after the initial cost of the bander, the bands cost about a penny or two each.
 
We also band all our bull calves. From newborn to branding time. The only difficulty we've ever had is the occasional Limo calf will have really teeny tiny nuts, and you've got to spend a minute manipulating them down into the scrotum. Other than that, no worries. No muss, no fuss, no infections.
Never have given a tetnus shot to the little guys either. Typical birthweight average around 105 lbs and the odd calf that got missed and was banded at branding time would be around the 300+lb weight.

Take care.
 
txshowmom":286v7doh said:
Its all about personal preference. We prefer to cut end of story.

exactly. it's a preference. you're the one who mentioned cost, not me. i was just clarifying for unknowing viewers that cost is not a big issue with banding. false information seems to be a big problem in a lot of areas these days, not just cattle-raising.
 
Go back and read my post again. I said "for us" it's a cost issuse. They key word there is FOR US. What that means is thats why WE don't band. I didn't say it was too expensive or that it was a great deal of money. I said we don't do it because we don't want to spend the money on the bands and bander and in some cases the tetnus when they way we are doing it works fine for us. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
 
jt":hq2vosdi said:
Craig-TX":hq2vosdi said:
We band 99% of our bull calves. Grew up using the knife but have banded for the past 40 years at least.

Craig-TX

craig,

do you band at an early age? and do you give tetanous shots? if i read the tetaneous info correctly, my understanding is that you do not have protection until 2 weeks after the 2nd injection which comes 30 days after the first. ?? this makes for 6 weeks before you would have protection. the tetaneous shot i have is called a tetaneous toxoid. the instructions say to give 2 shots 30 days apart with an annual booster.

just trying to figure this out.. i have always knifed, but thought about giving banding a try, at least on my bigger calves that i didnt want to keep as a bull.

thanks

jt

Yes, we band them as young as is convenient because it seems to be easier on them and it is definitely easier on me. We've never given tetanus shots to anything that we can use the cherio on. We do give them to the bigger calves we band. I'm pretty new with banding the bigger calves. We always used a knife or burdizos on them. We've started using the EZ tool, similar to a Calcitrate. I like that method better. When they're that big it's not easier on me but I think it's easier on them.

Craig-TX
 
I know it comes down to preference, but does anyone have an opinion on the studies that have been made on the delaying of casteration for the effects of growth hormone benefit?
 
Your question is well put because it is a matter of opinion. From a grass perspective it's break even. It takes X grass for a calf to gain Y pounds. From a genetic perspective the calf, if sound, will gain either way. From a health perspective, the younger the calf the faster it will bounce back. Older calves might have gained more in the same period but will also take longer to recover and therefore loose gaining days then. My opinion is that it is definately easier on the calf to castrate young when he is more resilient and primarily on his mother's milk instead of primarily on grass.

Craig-TX
 
That makes sense to me :lol:
Somebody wrote in here , Somewhere, That if you go up to the newborn calf,with a empty round bale ring, put it over the calf. Get in there and take care of business, the cow can't get to you while your working.
I think I'll try it next time. :lol:
 
MULDOON":35918bn2 said:
That makes sense to me :lol:
Somebody wrote in here , Somewhere, That if you go up to the newborn calf,with a empty round bale ring, put it over the calf. Get in there and take care of business, the cow can't get to you while your working.
I think I'll try it next time. :lol:

Sounds like a good idea except you better pick the right breed.
When I raised Tigers you could bet that hay ring was going to get tight and dirty.
 

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