Ear tag ?

[jedstivers]

What brand/type ear tag do ya'll like? Pre marked or number yourself and how long does that last? In the past I used Y-Tex but had trouble with the ear splitting all the way out, even started using lots of blue spray but that didn't seem to help.

 

[dun]

All-flex/Duflex/Y-tex tags. Blank that we mark ourselves and preprinted depending on the use. A couple of years ago we started using the Y-tex no fade marker and so far it's lasted good and dark for 5 years where the other markers faded after just a couple of years. I had one rip all the way through the ear and that one got caught on a piece of twine that I hadn;t seen and gotten completely off of the bale.

 

[mobgrazer]

I have only had a few tags get ripped out. I like the cheap numbered tags for calves. Once they become replacements then make a tag for them.

Our numbering system is based off a 6 digit number. We get 3 digit numbers for the calf's and add the first 3 numbers when we are in the computer system. By using less numbers on the tags you can get larger numbers witch dose help and cheaper to get a complete set (000-999). Our replacements are getting Ytex tags that are hot stamped with our name and phone number; we use there marker to put on there ID numbers.

Are you tagging them between the 2 veins in the ear? When I first started mine would rip out also. My vet had to give me a lesion on how to put in ear tags the right way. I field tag when born the first time they are worked I will check the placement and will retag one or two then before the rip out.

This link is for the NLIS tags but it dose show the proper placement of the tags.
http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/documents/Bio ... poster.pdf

 

[Roadapple]

I use the blank Z-tags, put my own number on both sides, so I can see it from back of calf without disturbing them by having to walk around to the front to see their number. And have only lost 2 which I had put in the same hole I had lost Duflex tags from. Then I read the directions and it said always make a new hole. Ink stays bright much longer than Duflex pre-printed, which I've had some fade in 1 yr. so bad you have to get within 3-4 ft to read. I find by reading the directions first, in almost any situations, works better than thinking I know what I'm doing.

 

[jedstivers]

Are you tagging them between the 2 veins in the ear? When I first started mine would rip out also. My vet had to give me a lesion on how to put in ear tags the right way. I field tag when born the first time they are worked I will check the placement and will retag one or two then before the rip out.

This link is for the NLIS tags but it dose show the proper placement of the tags.
http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/documents/Bio ... poster.pdf

I didn't know about that, its been almost 20 years since I've taged & if this market stays so bad that i have to keep these heifers and breed them I need to have everything in place & do it right. I use to use pre numbered big yellow Y Tex for the cows and little red Y Tex for the calves but I think I would like to go to blank ones.

 

[Angus Cowman]

I use the Y-Tex blank tags tried the preprinted and they fade to bad so went with the blanks I use xlg white on the cows and large white on hfr calves and yellow on the bulls tried the red and I couldn't see the #s on the calves unless I used the white ink and that was a pain

 

[randiliana]

We use Y-tex as well. We rarely, rarely ever lose a tag in either cows or calves. You have to put the tag deep enough into the ear (past the half way mark), and between the veins.

We use extra large on the cows, and large on the calves. Cows get white, heifer calves white, and steer calves orange. The tags are all blank and I put the number on them with the tag ink (in the bottle), I detest the markers, they don't last. I've got tags that are 10+ years old that you can still easily read. I reuse tags.

 

[1982vett]

Tip about using the pens. Make sure you use plenty of ink. Make your number and outline it again. The more ink you use and the fatter the numbers or letters the easier they are to read and stay darker longer. You do have to give them a little longer to dry to keep from smearing.

 

[dun]

I use the Y-Tex blank tags tried the preprinted and they fade to bad so went with the blanks I use xlg white on the cows and large white on hfr calves and yellow on the bulls tried the red and I couldn't see the #s on the calves unless I used the white ink and that was a pain

I use the Y-Tex no fade ink on the preprinted jobs that lose their darkness and it works really well. I used to have to re-do them every year when we cut the old ones out of the calves but I haven;t had to touch them up in a couple of years since I started using the better ink

 

[V_Key]

Ear Tag #'s - A start
Year #'s:
http://www.heterosis.com/_Heterosis/Doc ... cation.pdf

 

[V_Key]

If Your Going To Do It - Do it right!
Answers before the Questions

http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/exten/cc-corner/index.htm :compute:

 

[m&kCattle]

Ritchey ear tags, hands down the best.

 

[RanchManager]

We used the Y-Tex for years and then switched to Z-Tag. We have lost far less tags with the Z-tags, no doubt. We switched simply because the backs and therefore applicator for our RFID tags is the same for the Z-tags. By happenstance we found out that the Z-tags hold up better. I think it is because the plastic stays more flexible in colder weather. We write our own number on them using an alpha-numeric system. The letter is the year. First calf gets 001. First calf this year will be W001. Next year X001 will be the first calf. The RFID is a back-up system if the tag is lost and for marketing purposes.

 

[Nesikep]

we use allflex black with a white marker... they seem to last nicely, the black in on other colors of tags wasn't holding up more than a few years

We have a letter designating the year the calf was born, numbered by the order they're born in, the RFID tag as the button that holds it on.. On steers we use any old tags we have laying around

never had problems with the tags ripping through the ears, though a fair number of them have broken the tags

 

[Keren]

Can I just say, re that NLIS tag link, what an absolute joke about maximising retention! The be nice things have the most pee poor retention rate, only thing worse is the NLIS tags for goats. Those cattle tags are so easy for them to lose, they scratch their head on the fence and catch the back of it, and it just pops out. I've even had some that just come apart - the two pieces just separate.

Sorry for the rant, I just get so frustrated with those tags. Lifetime identification my arse!

 

[mobgrazer]

Keren my link? It was posted because it showed the correct placement of the tags in the ears. I have never used NLIS tags. My vet told me not to when I first started.

If you get per printed tags that are not "hot stamped" I found that they do start to fade in about a year.

 

[Keren]

NLIS tags are mandatory here

I should have clarified that the link does show proper placement and I have no problems with that placement with normal ear tags.

The NLIS tags are just poorly designed.

 

[pdfangus]

used these last year and had good luck with them.

http://www.caltaginc.com/

will make custom orders and the tags are laminated so fading is not an issue.

will use them again this fall. We give them the starting number and the quantity we need and pick the colors and size for the tag. you can get an odd number and do not have to order in lots of 25 or 100.

We have 35 calves and have a number system based on the year of birth so I do not have to order tags that I will not use.

This years calves were 8585 thru 8617 (32 calves)

Next years will be 9618 thru 9655 . I will order after I know how many pregnant cows I have. Order one or two extra in event of twins.

Better retention for us than Y tex. If I don't use Cal Tag, I use Agri Tag from Jeffers. don't use many of them as we freeze brand replacments.

 

[TexasBred]

Z Tags here. Don't like 2 piece tags at all. Prefer blank tags, print the numbers and letters, allow to dry then print over them one more time. No problem with fading and haven't lost any tags either.

 

[mobgrazer]

If the integrity of the book keeping is not there then there's no reason to do any.

If you're adding a number or a letter to there tag numbers for the year and your using it as there id's how do you keep integrity of the numbering system? I can see if you drop that number or letter for the paperwork, but if you don't then how do you do it?