Freeze brand question

[NCSU Maverick]

For those of you with experience, what color does the skin grow back on a black hided cow after being freeze branded?

 

[TheBullLady]

I don't think freeze branding effects the skin.. I think it just kills off the hair folicles to produce white hair.

Of course, I've been wrong before.. :tiphat:

 

[novatech]

I found this on the net

The skin of the animal contains millions of hairs which make up the animals coat. Figure 1 is an enlarges, simplified drawing of one hair shaft with its color (pigment) producing follicle (CF) and its growth follicle (GF), both shown below the skin.

Under normal circumstances hair grows as a clear shaft (like a clear straw) from the GF. On colored animals, pigment (black, brown, red, yellow etc.) is added from the CF below the skin to the clear hairshaft, which gives the hair its color.

When the intensely cold iron used in freeze branding is placed on the skin for the correct time and at the correct pressure, the cold temperatures destroys the CF's at the brand site so they no longer can produce pigment; however, the hair still continues to grow for the GF's. The result is that hair at the brand site contains no pigment and appears white. This is the desired result-a uniform, white brand. If the iron is pressed to the skin for a shorter period of time and/or with less pressure that required, some hairs grow in colored and some hairs grow in white, so the brand has a streaked appearance. If the iron is held on a longer period of time, the cold destroys the GF's as well, so that no hair grows at all. On light colored animals the bald is desirable because the dark skin with no hair shows up better that a white brand.

 

[George Monk]

we just finished our first freeze branding last Sunday. used dry ice and held the iron for 70 sec on 700-800 lb animals. had a couple younger calves that we only held for 60 sec.

You can see the brand still but I wish there was a quicker way to know if it worked as intended. Patience is a virute that I lack.

 

[farmwife]

We've thought about starting to use freeze branding and have done a lot of research as a result. Most of the irons that I have found are brass, but one company advertises a stainless steel iron. Anyone know the difference in efficiency of both irons, which one do you prefer, etc.

 

[NCSU Maverick]

I was just wondering becuase we branded a bunch in late Oct for the firts time. The skin's already shed and growing back. Some of it is still pink or white and some of them have a lot of black skin on the brand. I'm just wanting to know how we did and can't wait. There is a little white hair coming back but not much yet. I just didn't know if he skin came back black or if we didn't do a good job.

 

[NCSU Maverick]

Just got done breeding one of the cows we branded. Her brand doesn't seem to be growing any hair and I have a feeling we might have held the irons on too long.

We used nitrogen and held the brands thirty seconds. Was that too long for black cows? What do you all do?

 

[novatech]

Just got done breeding one of the cows we branded. Her brand doesn't seem to be growing any hair and I have a feeling we might have held the irons on too long.

We used nitrogen and held the brands thirty seconds. Was that too long for black cows? What do you all do?

Read the article I posted above.

 

[NCSU Maverick]

yes, I read the article, and I have a feeling we held the brands on too long.

I want to know what experience others have had. How long do you hold the irons on? How long is too long? How long does it take the hair come back?

I've read all kinds of things, I want to know what people actually do.

 

[novatech]

Only the permanent marker. Problem is I have to trim the hair a least once a month.

 

[TexLonghornRanch]

I go 14 seconds max with nitrogen. Dry ice alittle longer. Brass freeze irons work best.

 

[Brute 23]

I worked for a guy that used Nitrogen and brass irons. His brands never came out good on the black cattle. It was kind of a pain to keep the irons cold out in the field. Took alot of work and it still didn't turn out good. :?

 

[NCSU Maverick]

Just thought I would revive this old thread. We are going to do some more branding in the next little bit and I was wondering if anyone had any good advice. The stuff we branded last year was pretty much a total flop. 90% of the brands look like fire brands with no hair. We used liquid nitrogen and held the brands 30 seconds which was obivously too long.

Any advice from you all with experience would be appreciated.

 

[chippie]

My husband freeze brands horses and cattle. Horses have a thinner skin and the brand is held on for a shorter time - average 12 seconds for a white brand and longer to kill the hair follicle of light colored horses.

The animal's age is taken into consideration when determining the length of time to hold the iron on. The younger the animal, the shorter the time. For cattle he usually holds the brand on for about 20 to25 seconds depending on how thick the skin is. For calves, about 15 seconds.

This is a photo album with the different stages of freeze brands.

http://imageevent.com/snithia/freezebrands

 

[pdfangus]

I am a dry ice and alcohol man myself.

Liquid nitrogen is too cold and too tricky and too pricy.

For quite a few years I was struggling with branding and a year or two ago discovered that I was overbranding most every thing. Over brands will give a brand like a hot brand but it will hair over and not be easily seen.

Last year I cut time down to 50 seconds and got the best brands ever, but last year I used a larger set of irons that I borrowed.

Just branded a couple of weeks ago using my regular Irons at 50 seconds and dry ice / alcohol. they are just starting to peel now. time will tell.

LN2 is way colder than dry Ice and so branding times need to be way shorter.

 

[pdfangus]

some photos of my heifers branded a couple of weeks ago.

small brass irons
dry ice and alcohol method
iron applied 50 seconds each numeral

http://community.webshots.com/album/565030425FADIFl

 

[Loch Valley Fold]

What is the youngest age a calf can be freeze branded?

 

[RanchManager]

All of our cattle are freeze branded. We freeze brand hundreds of calves each year for several reasons, but we consistently get good results. I'll forgo the pros and cons of our decisions and just tell you what we've learned.

Brass brands work better than steel, but steel can work just fine.

We use liquid nitrogen. We have used a dry ice and alcohol bath with good results, but using liquid nitrogen is easier and cools warmed irons faster. Liquid Nitrogen is much colder. It is more forgiving if you leave too much hair or not enough alcohol under your brand.

These steps are essential:
1: Shave the brand spot. The closer the better. A surgical shearing head on a commercial shearing device works best. Don't bother with cheap, lightweight shearing equipment. Expose the skin as much as possible. Too much hair and it just won't work and/or you will be unhappy with your results. I've been unhappy with my results a time or two.

2: Drench the area with 90% alcohol. 70% is the standard you will find on the drug store shelf. It does make a big difference. The 70% tends to slush too readily. We have learned not to use the 70% at all. Find 90% and use it only. You drench(splash) with alcohol to remove any microscopic air pockets between your iron and the animals skin. Every single little air space provides insulation. It makes all the difference between a poor job and a good result. Using alcohol results in better transfer of heat out of the hide. You are not applying cold, you are sucking out heat.

3: The time to apply the iron depends on the shaving job (we are usually moving fast, so sometimes the shearer doesn't get an ideal job). If the shave job is good and to the skin, with liquid nitrogen as the coolant, we will hold the iron on for 40 seconds on a cow. If there is any hair left on the animal between the iron and the hide, we leave it on for a minute. For a calf we typically shoot for 35 seconds and add time for the same reasons. On full-grown bulls we start at 75 seconds.

What to expect:
The animal will jump a bit when the iron is applied, but remains relatively calm once the area goes numb from the cold. After release you will see a slight depression from your brand. It will turn into a raised area within about 15 minutes and look like a good welt in the shape of your brand. The area might ooze serum for a little while.

If you freeze brand in the fall, you will probably not see the white hair until the summer coat starts growing in, in the spring. If you brand in the early spring, it might be 2 months before you see the white hair growing in. If you brand in the summer, you won't see results until the winter coat starts to come in. If you are in the south I have no idea what to expect.

Hope this helps.

 

[4CTophand]

For those of you with experience, what color does the skin grow back on a black hided cow after being freeze branded?

BLACK
Freeze Branding doesnt effeect the skin normally --- just the hair follicle

T

 

[chippie]

What is the youngest age a calf can be freeze branded?

You can freeze brand a young animal, however since the skin is thin and tender, the brand is held on a much shorter time. I'm not sure what the minimum age is.

One thing to consider when branding very young animals is that the brand will grow with the animal. There are some bulls near us that were branded as calves. Their brands are huge - about 12" x 12". I guess that they were branded with a standard 4 inch brand. Talk about ugly.