Ear tags

[tnmorcat]

Does anyone else have trouble with cows or calves losing ear tags? Any suggestions on ear tags that are harder for them to lose?
Have some heifers two which have/had ear tags but one of those lost their ear tag. The cow that this heifer is out of has also lost her ear tag but I can tell her from the other cows because she is roan. These are the only two that we have had lose ear tags though we do not put tags on all of them. The reason for tagging is because these will go to a shared pasture.

 

[Hook]

Z tags. Haven't lost one yet

 

[dun]

On the babys we use the Duflex tags, if the calf is retained we switch it to a Z-Tag at weaning

 

[highgrit]

I use the as the beginner, and we haven't lost one yet either.

 

[NC Liz 2]

tnmorcat
Your problem with lost ear tags may not be the fault of the tags you are using but the fact that we have had so much rain here in NC and Tenn.
My cattle have been fighting with rain scald for over 2 months now and I found the one lost tag at an old uprooted tree stump where she had been rubbing in the dirt and roots to scratch her head.

Also, I am trying putting the tags in backwards on 6 heifers I bought this year to see if it helps stop watery eyes during fly season, hence avoiding pinkeye.
So far all I can tell you is, it does make getting a cows number harder but I can live with that if it helps avoid pinkeye.
Liz

 

[jerry27150]

I have used z tags & many others, have yet to see any that can't be pulled out by string or another cow biting on them & pulling

 

[Lucky_P]

Z-tags, hands-down.
Have been using them exclusively on cows/heifers for 20 years. Have some 13-yr olds that are still sporting their originals.
Can't say none have ever lost 'em, but not nearly as many tag disappearances or tear-outs as I experienced through the years with Allflex/Y-tex types - and no issues with the pin from the tagger pushing through the side of the 'button', a maddening occurrence that happens all to frequently with Allflex/Y-tex.

 

[randiliana]

We use Y-Tex, and have very few issues. If we do have problems, it usually is from twine cutting the button off, but we try to make sure there is no twine left lying around. And we do have a lot of older cattle that still have the same tag as they started out with.

 

[Black and Good]

Z-tags, hands-down.
Have been using them exclusively on cows/heifers for 20 years. Have some 13-yr olds that are still sporting their originals.
Can't say none have ever lost 'em, but not nearly as many tag disappearances or tear-outs as I experienced through the years with Allflex/Y-tex types - and no issues with the pin from the tagger pushing through the side of the 'button', a maddening occurrence that happens all to frequently with Allflex/Y-tex.

I've had the best luck with Ricthey tags and the writing is there forever. Lucky, the only time I've had the push threw as you described is when I had the wrong button in a tagger. I can't recall for sure but I think its when you use a Allflex button on a Y-Tex tagger. I've used them all. They fall out from time to time. B&G

 

[banekar]

z tags. Still lose a few, but not nearly as many as with other tags. Will also prevent you from ripping the cows ears while tagging.

 

[MorganFarms97]

Another vote here for Z tags! And also in TN.

Question to those of you who say tags lost due to string? Do you mean string on round rolls of hay?

May be a silly question, but I am a newbie so I am allowed a few, why not remove the strings from your rolls before feeding them?

 

[dun]

Another vote here for Z tags! And also in TN.

Question to those of you who say tags lost due to string? Do you mean string on round rolls of hay?

May be a silly question, but I am a newbie so I am allowed a few, why not remove the strings from your rolls before feeding them?

Most people remove the string, but every once in a while there will still be a hunk that gets hung up inside the bale. Have you ever noticed that after a bale is cleaned up you will sometimes find a section of twine laying in the feeder?

 

[TexasBred]

Use to use a lot of these tags when dairying. May be a predecessor of the Z tag. Same design but a much easier applicator with the knife. Don't know that we ever lost one. Also priced right.



http://www.dlplastics.com/tags.php

 

[MorganFarms97]

Another vote here for Z tags! And also in TN.

Question to those of you who say tags lost due to string? Do you mean string on round rolls of hay?

May be a silly question, but I am a newbie so I am allowed a few, why not remove the strings from your rolls before feeding them?

Most people remove the string, but every once in a while there will still be a hunk that gets hung up inside the bale. Have you ever noticed that after a bale is cleaned up you will sometimes find a section of twine laying in the feeder?

I can't say that I have, but like I said, newbie, so I am sure that I eventually will. Lots of good advice I have gotten from people has been answering questions I didn't know enough to ask yet! Thanks for the reply!

 

[dun]

Use to use a lot of these tags when dairying. May be a predecessor of the Z tag. Same design but a much easier applicator with the knife. Don't know that we ever lost one. Also priced right.



http://www.dlplastics.com/tags.php

We lost a ton of those from the ear slitting to the end. I think it was the slit rather then a round hole that madfe it easier to split the ear. Was all in brush, no hay being fed.

 

[randiliana]

Yes, by string I'm talking about round baler twine.

 

[TexasBred]

Use to use a lot of these tags when dairying. May be a predecessor of the Z tag. Same design but a much easier applicator with the knife. Don't know that we ever lost one. Also priced right.



http://www.dlplastics.com/tags.php

We lost a ton of those from the ear slitting to the end. I think it was the slit rather then a round hole that madfe it easier to split the ear. Was all in brush, no hay being fed.

Like I said, we used them on dairy cattle so they were never exposed to anything other than a hay ring so never had any problem.