It's finally here

[cowgirl8]

Add a caption....

Does this make my bu# look big?

 

[TexasBred]

At what age is the best time to brand a calf to avoid any damage to the tender skin and tissue.

Don't forget..... you don't want to damage the hair either. :shock:

Thanks TB for reminding me, you always come through. I did talk to the vet and he said that about 200 lbs is the smallest he would brand. Why because of the tissue damage that could occur. About 3 seconds would be the time to keep the iron on the skin.

Depends on time of year and how thick the hair is. Often will take 5 seconds to get a good complete brand.

 

[Jessica06]

We clip all of ours before we brand them. I think it really helps cut down on blotching.

 

[cowgirl8]

Yes, that would be the ideal way to brand...
Our smaller brand i held on for 9 seconds, it would usually get a good burn, but sometimes i'd have to spot burn at the top or bottom. This new one, i held on for the count of 4. But, i find if i bump the brand on first, let the calf jump and get it all out of their system, then slowly press it back on, they seldom fought it.

 

[chippie]

Very nice. L&H is a great company. I have bought freeze brand irons from them several times.

One thing to remember when you brand a young calf. The brand will grow as the calf grows. There are some bulls in our area who were branded on their side when they were a calf. As adults, it is almost 2 feet wide. It is a brand you can't miss.

 

[cowgirl8]

The small brand we had is perfect for calves. Its not as hot and the elements were small. If you're just wanting to mark the calf before sale, just a tap with it and the calf would be marked for at least a year or longer. I think on a baby, i'd hold it down just enough to burn to the skin but not to the stage where the skin is bare like you would to scar a larger animal...We were kind of thinking of doing this when we castrate, but its dead now so we'll probably not do it with this bigger one..