Is there any reason to keep those metal ear tags?

[CowgirlUpNY]

It seems crazy to me to put those metal ear tags in a calfs ears just so that as the ear grows, the ear ultimately grows around them and gets infected and nasty. We've always cut them off the day they come home. Is there any reason to keep them on if we are not selling the calves/cows?

And why use such a senseless ear tag that doesn't give the ear room to grow??

 

[randiliana]

It seems crazy to me to put those metal ear tags in a calfs ears just so that as the ear grows, the ear ultimately grows around them and gets infected and nasty. We've always cut them off the day they come home. Is there any reason to keep them on if we are not selling the calves/cows?

And why use such a senseless ear tag that doesn't give the ear room to grow??

I don't know if there are any reasons you should/shouldn't remove them. But I do know that if they are applied correctly there should be enough room for the ear to grow.

 

[backhoeboogie]

It seems crazy to me to put those metal ear tags in a calfs ears just so that as the ear grows, the ear ultimately grows around them and gets infected and nasty. We've always cut them off the day they come home. Is there any reason to keep them on if we are not selling the calves/cows?

And why use such a senseless ear tag that doesn't give the ear room to grow??

I don't know the specific tags you are referring to but brucelosis tags must be applied to the ears and it is proof that the cow has been innoculated. Only a vet can innoculate and there is a number on the tag verifying that act.

There was a time you could go to feed stores and get rabies vaccinations for your dogs and such. We used to do our own dogs yearly. Then there were folks who had dogs that bit someone and they claimed their dogs had been vaccinated. Essentially their was no proof of the vaccinations. Eventually local, state and federal laws got passed.

Brucelosis is kind of like the rabies thing I described above. If a vet gives the innoculation, that little metal tag is the animal's proof, no matter how many owners it has in its lifetime.

 

[dj]

ime for bangs or brucelosis along with the tag, the ear is tattooed, in case they lose the tag

 

[stocky]

The metal ear tag, along with the tattoo is proof of the brucellosis vaccination in a calf. Here, that metal tag is orange and has an id number that is coded for the state and also the year, I believe. If you take a cow to the cattle auction, if it does not have the metal brucellosis ear tag, there will be one just like it, only silver, with an id number put in the cow's ear. This tag is supposed to be permanent and it is illegal to remove it, as it will be recorded each time the cow passes through an auction barn or when it goes to a slaughter plant, it has whatever history of ownership as has been recorded.

 

[VAStocker]

I've seen alot of these metal tags come through the chute this year and alot of them have been infected. I try to remove them when they are that way but I've yet to find a easy way of doing this any tips on the best way of doing this. I've tried cutting them out with snips but some have been to tight to do this.

 

[CowgirlUpNY]

Infection has been another issue. We just use a pair of heavy duty snips. I pretty much wrangle the calf and hold it while Husband (with the power of those mits he's got) snips the tag.

 

[DiamondSCattleCo]

I use steel tags all the time and never have an infection problem. When tagging calves, leave 1/8" - 1/4" gap between the ear the curved portion of the tag. The ears won't grow out that much, and when the animal is an adult, you'll have a nice tight tag. No infection. I've completely quit using those worthless dangling tags now.

Rod

 

[Conagher]

For Brucelosis in Texas, the metal tags are an option; tatoo is a requirement. Whenever I take my heifers to the vet for their brucelosis shot I request no metal tag because as mentioned they can get infected, pull out and rip the ear, etc.

 

[rgv]

Question -

I sold a cow that had a tag from previous purchase. When I brought it to the sale barnand they ran it through the ring, I noticed it had two tags in it. Do they revacinate every time they go through a sale barn in Missouri?

RGV

 

[dun]

Question -

I sold a cow that had a tag from previous purchase. When I brought it to the sale barnand they ran it through the ring, I noticed it had two tags in it. Do they revacinate every time they go through a sale barn in Missouri?

RGV

If the cow wasn;t tattoed with a bangs number or a registry number and had blood work done they retag them. It's a number relating to the blood work done

dun

 

[MrGale]

When placing a brucillosis tag or ID tag (we use these as our animals are all registered) you need to be sure to leave a 1/3 of the tag below the edge of the ear so as the ear grows it does not do all of the horrorshows mentioned above. if the new animal id system ever gets going we will all need them. we have not had any infection problems or tags growing into the ear. Be sure to disinfect the ear well before you apply the tag.

 

[got_cows?]

We always request that the vet not put the metal ear tags in when he Bangs vaccinates our heifers. He tatoos them in their right ear and we have our tatoo in their left ear. With most of the heifers we've purchased we've found that the site around the tag gets all mattered and infected and we end up taking the tag out anyway.
Although we did have one guy from the Extension office put tags in the fair animals for years and we didn't have a problem with one of them. Guess some people put them in better than others.