Numbering Convention for Tagging and Record Keeping

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I have a question about freeze branding. What method do I use dry ice or nitrogen. How long do u leave iron on. Shave area? Spray with alcohol. I f branded my new bulls and none turned out
GoWyo's reply is really good and concise.

Dry ice is easier to work with and more forgiving than nitrogen. You want to make sure you add the irons, alcohol, dry ice into a container (I suggest an old styrofoam cooler) and let them cool down for a bit (20 min at least imo). The irons should sing and the alcohol boil for a bit and then I like to wait 10 min later to make sure they are good and cold. I also suggest using plenty of dry ice and alcohol (keep the iron face fully submerged). I also suggest finding an ice supplier -- some grocery stores have dry ice but my results have been mixed. As GoWyo said it's important to shave closely and then apply a layer of alcohol to the brand area -- it acts like a conductor. You need to apply the iron firmly and put a fair amount of pressure on the area. They will jump at the 10ish second mark.

Freeze branding works well on black hided animals. I've seen some red/herefords but it really works best on black hides. It also takes several weeks for the brands to show. The first week or two it should not look like much. Then it may scab over. And then new hair will grow (white hair). I usually plan on having visible brands 8 weeks later.
 
How the heck did you know her official name? Yes, you got that right.
I hesitated to post that, but know that the cow is pretty well known. And one that you are proud of. Hope that you don't mind.

How did I know so much? I have said many times that the simmental association is very open with data. Herdbook is open and data is pretty open. The big breed association tends to not share very much. ASA has a searchable database - no special access is needed.

You posted "The cow pictured is Miss Lass" and "she was born 25 years ago". I have seen the picture before and thought I remembered that it was "power lass". I just searched the ASA animal lookup for an animal with "power lass" in its name. Got lots of results, clicked on the first (youngest) one and the dam was a 25 year old cow registered to Simme Valley.

Then click on progeny report and/or cow summary for the old girl and lots of info on all calves, including birth weights, weaning weights, sires and more. When I am looking for AI bulls to use, I look for progeny of the bull, who has used the bull, what the birth weights have been, weaning weights, did they use the bull two years in a row, etc. That helps me form an opinion about the bull beyond a picture and epd's.

I guess some people might want to keep birth weights, weaning weight, calving dates, sires being used, etc private. It is sort of private information. But I think there is something to be said for transparency and openness in a breed association instead of keeping things secret.
 
The rest of the story: David's granddaughter ran the operation. Ryan H was the cattle manager. David finally died maybe 6-7 years ago??? at the age of 103. Now think about this. His direct heirs have got to be in their 70's. Been waiting for the inheritance. The day after he died, Ryan got a call telling him to SHIP ALL the cows. Like - I mean ship to local sale barn. After some persuasion, they held a final dispersal sale. I'm talking cattle that were renown all over US - they wanted to ship them! The Granddaughter received nothing as far as I know.
 
I hesitated to post that, but know that the cow is pretty well known. And one that you are proud of. Hope that you don't mind.

How did I know so much? I have said many times that the simmental association is very open with data. Herdbook is open and data is pretty open. The big breed association tends to not share very much. ASA has a searchable database - no special access is needed.

You posted "The cow pictured is Miss Lass" and "she was born 25 years ago". I have seen the picture before and thought I remembered that it was "power lass". I just searched the ASA animal lookup for an animal with "power lass" in its name. Got lots of results, clicked on the first (youngest) one and the dam was a 25 year old cow registered to Simme Valley.

Then click on progeny report and/or cow summary for the old girl and lots of info on all calves, including birth weights, weaning weights, sires and more. When I am looking for AI bulls to use, I look for progeny of the bull, who has used the bull, what the birth weights have been, weaning weights, did they use the bull two years in a row, etc. That helps me form an opinion about the bull beyond a picture and epd's.

I guess some people might want to keep birth weights, weaning weight, calving dates, sires being used, etc private. It is sort of private information. But I think there is something to be said for transparency and openness in a breed association instead of keeping things secret.
This farm is an open book. I love for people to show up at calving time to "verify" WHEN our calves are born. There is getting to be soooo much cheating in the industry - especially BD for show cattle. I am proud you remembered so much about her & took the time to look her up. She was a great old lady.
A sales consultant visited the farm and saw her and asked why we weren't flushing her. He ended up telling Ryan at HPF about her and told him HE NEEDED to flush her. From her, they ended up leasing 2 other cows from us and flushed.
 
Nice cow. B&B MISS POWER LASS K1. I know that you have posted some in the past about this cow, but I hope it is ok if I brag a little for you. She produced 64 calves. 28 males and 36 females. From many different sires. Some of those calves owned by billionaires, even. (Probably no billionaires on this forum, but rumor has it that my friend Jeanne's cow caught the eye of some billionaires. And she has friends in high places).

I hope I got the right info on that cow.
I thought everyone on this forum were billionaires. Am i hanging out with poor folks?
I have owned a few cattle with Hudson Pines in the lineage but wasn't lucky enough to own any of their cattle. I do remember the dispersal. A sad time.
 
I thought everyone on this forum were billionaires. Am i hanging out with poor folks?
I have owned a few cattle with Hudson Pines in the lineage but wasn't lucky enough to own any of their cattle. I do remember the dispersal. A sad time.
First part is humor. Probably some here that act like billionaires, some that want to be billionaires, few that might know some billionaires, some that have billionaire potential, some that do not. Wonder if billionaires spend time on internet forums? Definitely hanging out with poor folks when you come down this way.

But many days I feel like I am a billionaire - not in the money category, but in experiences, friends, family and blessings. I suspect that many here fall into that category.
 
GoWyo's reply is really good and concise.

Dry ice is easier to work with and more forgiving than nitrogen. You want to make sure you add the irons, alcohol, dry ice into a container (I suggest an old styrofoam cooler) and let them cool down for a bit (20 min at least imo). The irons should sing and the alcohol boil for a bit and then I like to wait 10 min later to make sure they are good and cold. I also suggest using plenty of dry ice and alcohol (keep the iron face fully submerged). I also suggest finding an ice supplier -- some grocery stores have dry ice but my results have been mixed. As GoWyo said it's important to shave closely and then apply a layer of alcohol to the brand area -- it acts like a conductor. You need to apply the iron firmly and put a fair amount of pressure on the area. They will jump at the 10ish second mark.

Freeze branding works well on black hided animals. I've seen some red/herefords but it really works best on black hides. It also takes several weeks for the brands to show. The first week or two it should not look like much. Then it may scab over. And then new hair will grow (white hair). I usually plan on having visible brands 8 weeks later.
We used to have dairy and I remember helping my parents freeze brand. We used nitrogen as we have tanks for AI I did everything the same as we did before. Used dad's notes and all just didn't get good results. Maybe too warm out. Not sure. Gonna try again this winter on replacements and see what happens.
 
We used to have dairy and I remember helping my parents freeze brand. We used nitrogen as we have tanks for AI I did everything the same as we did before. Used dad's notes and all just didn't get good results. Maybe too warm out. Not sure. Gonna try again this winter on replacements and see what happens.
But thank you. May have to try ice. Idk
 
We used to have dairy and I remember helping my parents freeze brand. We used nitrogen as we have tanks for AI I did everything the same as we did before. Used dad's notes and all just didn't get good results. Maybe too warm out. Not sure. Gonna try again this winter on replacements and see what happens.
Click on your profile at top right, scroll down to Account details, and put in a location. Freeze branding only works well if people know what kind of advice to give you, depending on where you are...
 
This farm is an open book. I love for people to show up at calving time to "verify" WHEN our calves are born. There is getting to be soooo much cheating in the industry - especially BD for show cattle. I am proud you remembered so much about her & took the time to look her up. She was a great old lady.
A sales consultant visited the farm and saw her and asked why we weren't flushing her. He ended up telling Ryan at HPF about her and told him HE NEEDED to flush her. From her, they ended up leasing 2 other cows from us and flushed.

Off topic and maybe a dumb question I guess, but are your heifers bred when you sell them?
 
Off topic and maybe a dumb question I guess, but are your heifers bred when you sell them?
I mostly sell weaned heifers, obviously open. That is my biggest sale item.
I am part of a sale held in PA. We have a group of invited consignors. I generally sell a couple cow/calf pairs, maybe a bred heifer, and possibly an open fall born heifer in this sale.
 
Dry ice and denatured alcohol. Clip the area as close as possible. Spray denatured alcohol, then apply iron firmly and hold for 60 seconds and keep spraying alcohol on the brand area. They usually rattle the chute at the 6-10 second mark. Skin under the brand mark area should be frozen stiff when done.
I use surgical clipper blades. Dry ice and methanol. Yearling replacement heifers. 33 seconds on the blks, 45 seconds on the reds, 60+ seconds on the chars.

How short are you clipping? Any that are scaring instead of turning white?

I tried liquid nitrogen 2 years. It's just too cold. Pretty easy to scar them.
 
Back on the subject of eartags - You need to WASH them prior to writing on them. Wash with Dawn dish soap. You may not feel it, but there is a film of oil on them. The ink cannot penetrate properly with the oil coating. They never used to be like that (many years ago!), but over the years I found my tags were fading bad. I found out about washing them. I just shipped a 16 year old cow and a 9 year old - they both had their tags from birth in their ears and very legible. Allflex INK.
 
I am hoping for some heifers for replacements so I'm going to actually tag calves this year. Lol. I have used basic pre numbered z-tags in the past but I just picked up some Ritchie engravable tags. Now just to figure out a system, some good ideas here.
 
I use surgical clipper blades. Dry ice and methanol. Yearling replacement heifers. 33 seconds on the blks, 45 seconds on the reds, 60+ seconds on the chars.

How short are you clipping? Any that are scaring instead of turning white?

I tried liquid nitrogen 2 years. It's just too cold. Pretty easy to scar them.
I have some blocking blades. Surgical blades would get closer and I probably should invest in a set. Mine all turn white - no scarring.
 
Back on the subject of eartags - You need to WASH them prior to writing on them. Wash with Dawn dish soap. You may not feel it, but there is a film of oil on them. The ink cannot penetrate properly with the oil coating. They never used to be like that (many years ago!), but over the years I found my tags were fading bad. I found out about washing them. I just shipped a 16 year old cow and a 9 year old - they both had their tags from birth in their ears and very legible. Allflex INK.
Good to know! I have to make new ones for them every few years because the ink fades so much.
 
Back on the subject of eartags - You need to WASH them prior to writing on them. Wash with Dawn dish soap. You may not feel it, but there is a film of oil on them. The ink cannot penetrate properly with the oil coating. They never used to be like that (many years ago!), but over the years I found my tags were fading bad. I found out about washing them. I just shipped a 16 year old cow and a 9 year old - they both had their tags from birth in their ears and very legible. Allflex INK.
What type of tags?
We use Ztags at work. About a year ago we had disappearing ink. Finally called the company and they admitted that they had changed the formula of their ink and that it was not working. They changed back to their original formula and so far we haven't had any issues since.
Ztag markers have been the best I've found.
 
What type of tags?
We use Ztags at work. About a year ago we had disappearing ink. Finally called the company and they admitted that they had changed the formula of their ink and that it was not working. They changed back to their original formula and so far we haven't had any issues since.
Ztag markers have been the best I've found.

Last summer I bought a new allflex pen for my allflex tags. About 5 calves in I noticed the disappearing marker. Went and bought another new one and they are still visible. That first paint pen writes fine but won't stay on anything I've tried it on.
 

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