Branding calves

[denoginnizer]

I have a 3.5 inch wide branding iron I use on my cows and bulls. Is there any reason I shoudnt use it on my calves?

 

[dun]

I have a 3.5 inch wide branding iron I use on my cows and bulls. Is there any reason I shoudnt use it on my calves?

Depends on the size of the calves and the intricacy of the brand. We had a simple brand and our iron was about 4 1/2 inches high, we used it on everything. On the calves it turned out very large when they were grown. That was the only drawback I saw, other then trying to get it to burn evenly on their shoulder.

dun

 

[denoginnizer]

The brand is: e

 

[dun]

The brand is: e

With adequate surface breaks at the closed corners I don;t see why it wouldn;t work. But we haven;t branded in 25 years so the problems that we may have had are most likely forgotten memorys

dun

 

[ALACOWMAN]

I only brand my replacements & I wait tell after there weaned off . i like for them to have plenty of flesh in the area i brand. so the brand will be even my brand is on the left hip and is 4 inchs.the problem i see with branding babys is having plenty of hands too hold em while you brand

 

[CattleAnnie]

We brand everything, as it's a permanent way of identifying stock. Brands here have to be registered with the Brand Inspectors (Ownership Identification Inc), and must meet certain specifications for size and width (can't remember them offhand).

Here's a link to the O.I.I. website (lots of info) :

http://ownership-id.com/

One thing I'd like to mention is the thickness of the iron where it contacts the hide. If your branding iron is too thin, it's very easy to burn right through the hide of the animal. Not nice.

Also, open letters and numbers like F,M,L, and 2,7,3 , etc tend to make a easier reading brand because the heat is dispersed better than with a 'closed' number or letter like D, B, P, and 4, 6, 8. Just an observation.

Take care.

 

[Oldtimer]

If it works on the cows and doesn't blotch on them, it should work on the calves...Like Dun says the bigger the iron the bigger the brand will be when the calf grows out-- which can be a positive for easy recognition and identification...

Many around here use a 4" iron and some use a 6" as they want it to be easily distinquishable from a distance in the big pastures.....

 

[TheLazyM]

as being in alabama i've never branded anything and i've been thinking about getting into it. i've been looking at cold branding. has anybody done this and does it have a size requirement also?

 

[jersey lilly]

We brand here in south east texas, but our brands are registered at the Court House, good for 10 years, think it costs $10 to register. If all ya have is an ear tag, how will anyone know for sure who it belongs to if it were to get out? We didnt always brand, but it seems like a good thing to do, don't take alotta time or cost alot of money, and well worth it if somethin thinks the grass is greener on the other side.

 

[warpaint]

As a registered Long Horn Breeder, we have to hot brand all stock that we plan to register with the TLBAA. We use a 4 inch brand on all our animals. Cold branding is not accepted on this particular breed as many are white and brand doesn't show.

 

[Double R Ranch]

We brand everything as an identification/ anti theft device :lol: Around here there are still cattle being stollen. An ear tag can be removed and then where are you for getting your cattle back? At the sale barns they don't care what ear tag they have only what brands they have. An ear tatoo is another way to identify an animal however it is easy to alter one with no one being the wiser. A brand however you can tell for quite a while that it has been branded/altered.

We do all our calves with tags within the first few hours to tell the pairs and brand at 2-3 months of age when the rest of the herd is in for vac. This way they are older and have had a good start.

We have 2 different brands. A smaller one for the calves and a larger one for any cows that we may purchase.

Around here we brand everything with legs practically. It is better for us to do, than to say how come when something happens.

Hope this helps. Best of luck.

Oh yeah and in crappy california it is $25 a year to register a brand. Tax write off though so that helps. Rather that then loose my herd.