Ear tags, frowny face

[cowgirl8]

We worked our big herd yesterday, wormed, vaccinated and redid ear tags.
Last late winter, we did not replace any tags, just remarked them. By calving time most were unreadable and or gone. So yesterday we replaced most of them. I went with smaller tags hoping they'd be less likely to be pulled off. The tags that were on the cows had turned into rubber with a thick black crust over them. I'm supposing the dalis grass goo did it, but it was a very slight goo year, specially during calving season. Most times I can whip the tags and at least see the faint number. But no, no number could be seen which meant we had to look in every ear for a tattoo. It was just a pain in the toosh since all the cows had so much ear hair..... Used a different brand so we shall see if they last longer.....I have no idea why they turned rubbery, most were doubled over like a dried leaf....

 

[callmefence]

We have very little problems with ear tags. I use the large all flex tags through the center of the ear. They don't hang down to low and get pulled out. We use a welders paint marker to write. There's tags out there 6-7 years old I can still read my phone# on.

 

[Rafter S]

I've had better luck with the ink staying on All-flex than other brands, but that's why I use ear tags and number brands. The tags are easier to read (as long as they last), but the brand won't fall off. And it's a lot easier to read than an ear tattoo.

And I'll have to try the welders paint markers. I've been using the markers made for ear tags.

 

[cowgirl8]

We've never had problems like this...Used tags forever.. I'll try the welders paint markers though..
We'll be tattooing heifers this spring, i'm going to see if I can at least tattoo the number in the tag, not to see from a distance, but when we remark if we cant see the number...But, i'm probably just going to replace every year now if these feel rubbery this spring...

 

[jedstivers]

Got Z tags been in since 09. No trouble with them or the ink.

 

[callmefence]

Got Z tags been in since 09. No trouble with them or the ink.

Z tags must be pretty good. I know of lots of folks who swear by em. Never used them personally

 

[bird dog]

I have been using Z tags on my cows for about 5 years.. The number, my name and my phone # are put on at their factory. So far i'm impressed with them. I haven't lost any in the last four years and all but one are still easily readable. I lost a couple the first year due to not putting them in correctly. Not sure why yhat one is so much worse than the others. I use Y-tex on the calves. These have faded out after about three years on the heifers I have kept.

 

[cowgirl8]

I have been using Z tags on my cows for about 5 years.. The number, my name and my phone # are put on at their factory. So far i'm impressed with them. I haven't lost any in the last four years and all but one are still easily readable. I lost a couple the first year due to not putting them in correctly. Not sure why yhat one is so much worse than the others. I use Y-tex on the calves. These have faded out after about three years on the heifers I have kept.

We have to use the blank ones since we use the cows number to match her tattoo.. We have had commercial show heifers get a stamped tag that lasted her whole life. That would be so great to be able to use stamped ones, but trying to replace a 523, 227, 911 would be expensive since we'd have to buy the whole package to get just a few numbers to replace lost ones.
One year, on heifers getting a number for the first time, I had to sit too long waiting to get started. I had all the numbers on the tags and while waiting, I drew our brand on the back....BIG MISTAKE... Over time, it bled through and blended with the number making them all unreadable. Most of what we replaced the other day were those tags. Although, the brand on back was no longer the problem it was the plastic turning rubbery and developing a weird crust over it... They feel almost like the fly repellent ear tags when they get old. I had a new bag in our box and they felt nothing like that new...hard ridged plastic is what they feel like new. How they turned like they did is just weird..

 

[jedstivers]

Got Z tags been in since 09. No trouble with them or the ink.

Z tags must be pretty good. I know of lots of folks who swear by em. Never used them personally

It's all I use. Even the cheap feedlot tags hold up a long time.
I use those in the calves I buy but have some several years old in some heifers I kept.
And all are blank. None numbered.

 

[wacocowboy]

What brand were those tags?

 

[cowgirl8]

What brand were those tags?

Next time I got out to the shop i'll look....one is ytex and the other allflex, but I cant remember which one let us down...

 

[wacocowboy]

What brand were those tags?

Next time I got out to the shop i'll look....one is ytex and the other allflex, but I cant remember which one let us down...

I think my blanks are YTex hope it wasn't them.

 

[cowgirl8]

They are YTex tags. I took this picture of a cow yesterday while we were working a herd eating a big bite of hay. There is a good view of what we were dealing with. Curled tag with black crust that wont wash off or scrape off.. i'm wondering if spraying them for flies did this....I don't remember what we sprayed them with...These tags started out white...Oh, and I looked at welders markers and all that was available around us was white markers....another frowny face..

 

[Ky hills]

I had used Y Tex tags exclusively for probably 20 years, until I got some fly tags that the studs were made with a plastic tip instead of metal. The points of the tips were not made correctly and were breaking off, making it impossible to tag and would have been hurting the cattle unnecessarily. I marked it up to the company trying to make the product cheaper at the expense of quality. I also had bought one of their new taggers that had the flip out pin, thinking it would be better to not have the occasional torn ear. That tagger was also faulty made and didn't work right at all. I have since switched to using Duflex which I have to order, or Temple tags that I can get at a local farm store. Have had some Temple tags in for probably 3 years or so. Used a tag marker and the numbers are still very legible.

 

[cowgirl8]

Tag markers, another frowny face. Worked great on the new tags, but after a few old tags I tried to remark the tip got rough and would no longer write good. I flipped the tip and again, as long as it was on a new tag it was ok, but the first one I used it one that wasn't new, I had trouble with it. That darn thing was 8 bucks. If most our cows weren't black, i'd just give them names...lol...I have maybe 20 I can pick out of a herd, but the rest just look the same.

 

[bball]

We have very little problems with ear tags. I use the large all flex tags through the center of the ear. They don't hang down to low and get pulled out. We use a welders paint marker to write. There's tags out there 6-7 years old I can still read my phone# on.

I was looking to get a few welders paint markers online..you have a brand you prefer? And what color you using..seems like silver is the popular choice on amazon..thanks for the info

 

[callmefence]

We have very little problems with ear tags. I use the large all flex tags through the center of the ear. They don't hang down to low and get pulled out. We use a welders paint marker to write. There's tags out there 6-7 years old I can still read my phone# on.

I was looking to get a few welders paint markers online..you have a brand you prefer? And what color you using..seems like silver is the popular choice on amazon..thanks for the info

Hobart and Lincoln also make good markers. I'm not so sure there's any difference in a tag marker and a permanent welders paint marker. Except price. We pay about 5 bucks in the welding supply store. 10 bucks in the feed store for a ear tag marker.
I use these. We but them by the box.

https://www.forneyind.com/products/shop ... nt-markers

 

[cowgirl8]

Yall saw the shape of the tag didn't you? They are all curled up and crusted over.....We have some tags that have lasted years and at least you can hold it up to the light and see what number was on it. But not these crusted tags. We've never had this happen before. Use to, we'd just have to replace a lost tag. First time ever to have to replace 90%....We remarked in the spring, a month later I could not read a single tag....