Ear Tags

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I got mine too- we put some in this morning when preg checking. Thanks Stu!
 
I've been using them for several years and have not lost one yet. I like the the fact that it's all one piece and the application is effortless. Often having to work cattle by myself, fumbling around for eartag parts and assembling them was one thing I could eliminate by using Z-tags. The last free package of tags with a new applicator was greatly appreciated.
 
Thanks Mr Marsh, got my tags and gun too! We have been buying the feed lot Z tags because they are cheaper. But with these you sent, I can take the cheap ones and use them on my bee hives. Yellow is perfect cause this is the yellow year for the queens. (that is how we tell the age of a queen. Mark her with a dot of color on her thorax. This year is yellow
 
James T":28guqcmt said:
I've been using them for several years and have not lost one yet. I like the the fact that it's all one piece and the application is effortless.

I must be twisted because I can apply buttons easier. I have a problem with the metal pin in the Z applicator coming out the side of the tag, and so I get a small hole is a pissed cows ear but no tag in it...

What am I missing?
 
Stocker Steve":2tjcd3dw said:
James T":2tjcd3dw said:
I've been using them for several years and have not lost one yet. I like the the fact that it's all one piece and the application is effortless.

I must be twisted because I can apply buttons easier. I have a problem with the metal pin in the Z applicator coming out the side of the tag, and so I get a small hole is a be nice cows ear but no tag in it...

What am I missing?

I just caught this Stocker, sorry. It sounds like the pin is not being pushed all the the way into the tag. If your right-handed, hold the tag in your left hand, bending the pointed part in such a way that it is in line with the barrel just below it, then insert the pin all the up. You'll know when the pin is inserted properly because the pointed part will STAY in line with the part below it rather than bending back to where it was. Then just flip the pin/tag down, rotate the tag to the side, and apply it to the ear. Once the tag is inserted, stop squeezing the handle (it will spring back to the original position), and then pull downward. Your done!
 
Wish I'd seen this.

We just started using Z tags on our calves this year (as recommended by other cattle folks).

They work great. We put in baby tags (for fear they'd come out). We will be putting in adult tags in those that we keep. I think I will want to get the Z tags. I have one yearling heifer with a completely torn out ear. It isn't pretty.

So far, love the Z tags!
 
Have been using the ztags for several years now and have yet to lose one. We try and tag them within a few days of being born.
 
xbred":gc4lljwl said:
can all-flex and y-tex tags use the same applicator?
They look like they can but I found out this spring that they can't. Allflex and Duflex work in the same spplicator.
 
We have used nothing but the large size Y-tex tags for many years on 100+ head a year with good retention (not counting frozen ears) and readabilty, ease of instalation is a big factor when you have quite a few critters to tag each morning and have to catch them first. Our calves get a herd number at birth then a second tag with other information when they get their first vacc's in 2-6 weeks after birth.
 
I just started using the Z tags, and frankly, I won't use anything else if they continue to work like they are now. I am seriously impressed with how good they stay in. It took us a few times to figure out how to insert them without a struggle, and the ear hole looks huge, but they are extremely easy once you get the hang of it. (The only thing I don't like is that they seem to hang up when you try to take the tool away though we have never torn an ear). But letting go of it and just pulling seems to work. Another thing I notice is that the calves don't cry upon insertion like they cry with the Y tags. I don't know why because the z tags look to make a bigger hole, but they never scream like they do on occasion with the Y tag. That makes our lives easier too since we don't want mama to act stupid. (We've had a couple let out a small noise, but nothing like the scream we get on some with the Y tags).

We decided this year that we would tag the calf with the mother's number/name, and the birth date of the calf. This has been incredibly easier and better for us. We not only know when the mother had the calf, but we also know who the calf belongs to. We tag the males in their right ear and the females in their left ear, so we know as soon as we see them which sex they are.

We like having the BD on the tag. If a calf is extremely young compared to another yet growing really good, we want to recognize the mother. This gives us a constantly reminder which of the calves we really like, and it reminds us that the mother is producing good calves as well as reminds us to look at the mother of the calf that is growing well to make sure she is keeping condition. (We mix our heifers and cows together since we don't have separate pastures). This helps us watch our feed closer.

But what it also does is keep the name of the cow in our minds so that we are reminded which cows we like and want to keep. It also causes us to not remember the names of the cows that didn't do a very good job.

Of course, we look at all our cows to see condition, but focusing on those that are producing the best calves helps us decide who goes.
 

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