New Numbering Scheme

[HOSS]

I am looking for some ideas on a new numbering system for my cattle. I currently use a basic 2 or 3 digit numbers on white ear tags and just log the info into a spread sheet. I am in the process of expanding my operation and would like a better way to identify the cattle that can tell a story at a glance. I have thought about using different colors on heifers / cows and steers so that at a glance I can tell the sex. I thought about using matching numbers for cow / calf pairs to easily tell which calf belongs to which cow. I would add a letter as a prefix so that the records would not be confused. I may be making this thing too complicated but I would like to be able to determine which cow is what as I make my rounds on the 4 wheeler. Any suggestions?

 

[jw]

You sound like you have the game plan down good. Go for it.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

how many animals are you talking about?

we run three brands on this place and I use 3 colors of tags on females but I am NEVER satisfied with my system. (systems?) I also earmark.

For steers or heifer calves I know I am going to sell at branding time I use the cheapest pre-numbered small tags I can order, for Cows and hiefers I may keep I use the large Alflex tags.

 

[msscamp]

Our herd is a mixture of mostly registered cattle plus a few non-registered cattle. Registered cattle have an ear tag that matches their registration tatoo in one color - if they lose their tag they are still traceable, non-registered receive a random number in a seperate color so they can be told apart at a glance (we know what their number was even if they lose their tag). Calves receive a tag that matches their mothers within a few days of birth then, at a later date following weaning, the tag is changed (using the original hole) to either match their tatoo given at the same time, or to a random number if they are not registerable (is that even a word?).

 

[R.T.]

Females tag right ear. Steer/Bull tag left ear. Ink in the
the birth date and mama's number.

 

[SaskHerf]

Definately go with the cow and calf having the same number, outside of that we number everything from 1 up and go in order the first time they went through the chute, now when we cull something we put the replacement heifer as that number. We also have started added the proper year letter to the cattle tags as well, sometimes its nice to know when you are out looking at the cows how old she is.

 

[randiliana]

Definately go with the cow and calf having the same number, outside of that we number everything from 1 up and go in order the first time they went through the chute, now when we cull something we put the replacement heifer as that number.

We use the same system. On top of this, we tag the heifer calves with one color and the steers with another, but they get the same number as their mama. They are also tagged in the opposite ear as the cow, then you can almost always see what the # of the pair is (if they are together). For herd records on the computer I just add the year letter to the number for ease of identification.

We also run a few cows that are leased, they are tagged with a individual # with the last number of the year that they were born preceding their herd # so 950 would be born in 1999 and ID # 50. The calves are again tagged with different colors for heifers and steers, and they are different colors than our own calves. They get the same # as their mama, and will be tagged differently if they are kept.

 

[msscamp]

I probably should have added that bloodlines are designated by ear marks.

 

[Chris H]

We use a 4 digit number permanently assigned as the ID at birth. First digit is the last digit of the year. Second digit is a sire code, only works well if you use just a couple main sires every couple years. Last two digits are the sequence of birth for the year, only works up to 99.

The ear tag number matches the tattoo . In smaller print I put the cow ID beneath the calf's ID, easy to match up pairs that way. Sometimes I might put birth mm/dd above the calf ID on the tag. I've considered using different color tags for heifers/bulls, but I'd probably be out of one color or the other and mess that up in no time.

At some point I may lose the 2nd digit as the sire code and have to use the last 3 numbers for birth sequence. Then I'll just mark a sire code someplace else on the tag.

By assigning a calf it's own number and tagging it as such, we never have to retag. Having the mother's number below the calf number solves the issue of matching pairs, and that number stays as long as the tag stays in the calfs ear.

We tag in left ear, tattoo in right ear.