Best Bander for New Born Calves

[USAxBrad]

Since I weigh, tag, and spray at birth this spring I have decided to band them as well. Any recommendations on which Bander to use for new born calves. Also is there is anything else you all do when banding at birth? Just after reading several topics decided there is no difference between doing at birth and at the first working when they are 6 to 8 weeks old. Any advice appreciated, thank you!

 

[M-5]

this is all you need for newborns. I have a blue plastic one ive had for 15yrs . I keep saying everytime I go by Jeffers or fullers im gonna replace it but it still works

 

[Son of Butch]

The cheapest one you find will be just fine.
I've got 3 'cheerio' banders and one of them has 1 of the 4 posts broken off and even that one works just fine with only
3 working posts for banding baby calves.

 

[Bigfoot]

It's good to have the XL bander, and the caltrate bander around if you need them. The one dash posted is the cheapest, and works well on little stuff.

 

[M-5]

It's good to have the XL bander, and the caltrate bander around if you need them. The one dash posted is the cheapest, and works well on little stuff.

youd be surprised at how big nuts I've squeezed thru one. I pull the sack thru it then push one nut at a time thru the hole until both are down.

 

[Ky hills]

It's good to have the XL bander, and the caltrate bander around if you need them. The one dash posted is the cheapest, and works well on little stuff.

youd be surprised at how big nuts I've squeezed thru one. I pull the sack thru it then push one nut at a time thru the hole until both are down.

I have used a bander like the one that M-5 posted the picture of, for years. It works really well for baby calves, and as he said it works well for calves with some size on them too. As Bigfoot mentioned, I also have a tri bander and an XL bander for the ones that I don't get banded when they are small. Some times I have given young calves a Blackleg vaccination, when I tag and band, not sure if it is beneficial at that time or not.

 

[dun]

I now use a tri-bander for everything from new born up to a couple of months

 

[USAxBrad]

Okay awesome good deal, besides KY Hill mentioning a possible black leg shot, I have seen people mention a tetanus shot when banding but I thought that was only when the calves were older? Also while I got them down, would I be wasting it if I gave them a shot of multi-min?

 

[Ky hills]

Okay awesome good deal, besides KY Hill mentioning a possible black leg shot, I have seen people mention a tetanus shot when banding but I thought that was only when the calves were older? Also while I got them down, would I be wasting it if I gave them a shot of multi-min?

Not sure if I'm doing wrong, but I never have given a tetanus shot to young calves that I band with the little green rings, but always do on bigger calves when using the other banders. I have never used Multi Min but have considered it. From what I have heard it certainly could be beneficial.

 

[MRRherefords]

this is all you need for newborns. I have a blue plastic one ive had for 15yrs . I keep saying everytime I go by Jeffers or fullers im gonna replace it but it still works

That is the same kind that we have used for 20 years. Still works great and have banded many calves with it.

 

[True Grit Farms]

Okay awesome good deal, besides KY Hill mentioning a possible black leg shot, I have seen people mention a tetanus shot when banding but I thought that was only when the calves were older? Also while I got them down, would I be wasting it if I gave them a shot of multi-min?

Not sure if I'm doing wrong, but I never have given a tetanus shot to young calves that I band with the little green rings, but always do on bigger calves when using the other banders. I have never used Multi Min but have considered it. From what I have heard it certainly could be beneficial.

I won't cut or band if the calf hasn't had a tetanus shot. We use Calvary 9 or Covexin 8, both have the tetanus and black leg vaccine in them.

 

[TCRanch]

Okay awesome good deal, besides KY Hill mentioning a possible black leg shot, I have seen people mention a tetanus shot when banding but I thought that was only when the calves were older? Also while I got them down, would I be wasting it if I gave them a shot of multi-min?

Not sure if I'm doing wrong, but I never have given a tetanus shot to young calves that I band with the little green rings, but always do on bigger calves when using the other banders. I have never used Multi Min but have considered it. From what I have heard it certainly could be beneficial.

I won't cut or band if the calf hasn't had a tetanus shot. We use Calvary 9 or Covexin 8, both have the tetanus and black leg vaccine in them.

Covexin 8 & the bander in the pic. A calf catch is also handy.
https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.htm ... b0d0204ae5

 

[USAxBrad]

Okay awesome good deal, besides KY Hill mentioning a possible black leg shot, I have seen people mention a tetanus shot when banding but I thought that was only when the calves were older? Also while I got them down, would I be wasting it if I gave them a shot of multi-min?

Not sure if I'm doing wrong, but I never have given a tetanus shot to young calves that I band with the little green rings, but always do on bigger calves when using the other banders. I have never used Multi Min but have considered it. From what I have heard it certainly could be beneficial.

I won't cut or band if the calf hasn't had a tetanus shot. We use Calvary 9 or Covexin 8, both have the tetanus and black leg vaccine in them.

TG isn't there an age minimum for those to be effective? Someone told me one time that before 4 weeks you were just wasting your money on vaccines before then. Not saying he was correct at all, but just wondering if I give them Calvary 9 or Covexin 8 as new borns would I even have to run them through the chute again until their 2nd round before weaning? Also if that's the case, I am using long range wormer, can I give it to the new born as well?

 

[True Grit Farms]

Not sure if I'm doing wrong, but I never have given a tetanus shot to young calves that I band with the little green rings, but always do on bigger calves when using the other banders. I have never used Multi Min but have considered it. From what I have heard it certainly could be beneficial.

I won't cut or band if the calf hasn't had a tetanus shot. We use Calvary 9 or Covexin 8, both have the tetanus and black leg vaccine in them.

TG isn't there an age minimum for those to be effective? Someone told me one time that before 4 weeks you were just wasting your money on vaccines before then. Not saying he was correct at all, but just wondering if I give them Calvary 9 or Covexin 8 as new borns would I even have to run them through the chute again until their 2nd round before weaning? Also if that's the case, I am using long range wormer, can I give it to the new born as well?

Calvary 9 is less than a $.90 per dose what can it hurt? I'm not big on believing what I read as fact, I learn more by trial and error. To me if a calves system can respond to antibiotics why can't it respond to a vaccine?

 

[1wlimo]

I won't cut or band if the calf hasn't had a tetanus shot. We use Calvary 9 or Covexin 8, both have the tetanus and black leg vaccine in them.

TG isn't there an age minimum for those to be effective? Someone told me one time that before 4 weeks you were just wasting your money on vaccines before then. Not saying he was correct at all, but just wondering if I give them Calvary 9 or Covexin 8 as new borns would I even have to run them through the chute again until their 2nd round before weaning? Also if that's the case, I am using long range wormer, can I give it to the new born as well?

Calvary 9 is less than a $.90 per dose what can it hurt? I'm not big on believing what I read as fact, I learn more by trial and error. To me if a calves system can respond to antibiotics why can't it respond to a vaccine?

If they have received colostrum then they should be good when they are born. I would not want to stress the immune system in a new born. castrate in the first 24 hours and it is much easier than when they get older. No tetanus but multi-vit and vitamin D, and tagged as soon as they have sucked.

Takes me longer to set up than carry out the task

 

[greatgerts]

Not sure if I'm doing wrong, but I never have given a tetanus shot to young calves that I band with the little green rings, but always do on bigger calves when using the other banders. I have never used Multi Min but have considered it. From what I have heard it certainly could be beneficial.

I won't cut or band if the calf hasn't had a tetanus shot. We use Calvary 9 or Covexin 8, both have the tetanus and black leg vaccine in them.

TG isn't there an age minimum for those to be effective? Someone told me one time that before 4 weeks you were just wasting your money on vaccines before then. Not saying he was correct at all, but just wondering if I give them Calvary 9 or Covexin 8 as new borns would I even have to run them through the chute again until their 2nd round before weaning? Also if that's the case, I am using long range wormer, can I give it to the new born as well?

I don't think you can give Long Range wormer to newborn calves.

 

[Lucky_P]

Recent studies of calf immune responses indicate that a LOT of what has been told and retold as gospel, for many years, is wrong.
I routinely give clostridial bacterin/toxoid to calves at 10 days or so of age, then booster that within 2-4 weeks, and consider those calves to be protected... probably for life - though I've seen enough cases of 'blackleg' in adult cows that had good history of having been vaccinated as calves, that it's probably advisable to 'booster' those vaccinations in your adult cowherd every 3-5 years or so.

I'm certain that there are millions of baby calves that have been castrated with the little green cheerio and never developed tetanus... but I've seen my share of them that did. I would not band a baby calf without giving a dose of tetanus antitoxin(TAT) - unless I knew that the dam had been properly vaccinated and boostered with a clostridial bacterin/toxoid containing tetanus toxoid , with the booster dose administered at least 8 weeks prior to calving. Giving tetanus toxoid (TT) at the time of band application is almost as much a 'roll of the dice' as just banding... it's a race to see if the calf responds to the toxoid before the tetanus organisms can germinate, grow, and produce tetanus toxin.