Recommendations for ear tags & thoughts on weaning with plastic nose preventers

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I have used Allflex forever. don't like z tags, have never figured out a numbering system I am 100% happy with.
used to get them from Jeffers 100 years ago, but now from here - https://www.cattletags.com/

I use large on females and try to pull them for reuse if we ship her (because I can be cheap), small for steers and just leave them. change color on steers after 200 (custom charge after that), but play around with custom numbering on the blue cow tags. I like blue. :p:

haven't ever used weaning flaps or rings, but have thought about it. we mostly .either trailer wean or cow does it herself. I try to cull for cows letting big calves steal from new ones if I see it. I don't run multiple herds.
 
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Over 30 some years, I've used mainly Y Tex tags, have used Duflex, AllFlex, and Temple tags.
There's pros and cons with all of them.
I don't think the quality is what it used to be. Y Tex has been the best retention ones. I stopped using them for a while because I got aggravated at the cheap defective plastic tip back buttons that come with the insecticide tags. The regular identification tag buttons are made better with metal tips, I was not happy about that and went with other brands of tags
AllFlex are pretty good tags, all of the special graded feeder calf sales we've sold at use them. I ordered them one year for our cows too. My main reason for not using them is they several dollars more expensive than all the others and I don't think they are any better. Their retention hasn't been quite as good as the Y Tex for us, and I am not a fan of the AllFlex tagger.
I have ordered some Duflex tags a few times through American Angus Association. I like them pretty well, but shipping makes them cost more, and the color of the tags themselves fade pretty fast, more so than other tags. I actually like the very basic Duflex tagger.
Our Southern States Co op carrys Temple tags which I have used off an on for a few years they have been a little less expensive than the Y Tex. I've liked them ok, I don't think they have been quite as good since the company apparently went with Z Tags.
I like the older temple tagger for use on calves, but it can be a bit awkward, and the jaws of the pliers are not long enough to get into a good position on a cow. They now market the Z Tag 2 piece tagger for the Temple tags but I'm going to pay $50 for a supposed upgrade.

As for the weaning ring flaps, I'm in agreement with others. I don't see any benefit to using them prior to actual separation weaning. Just an extra step, and in our herd right now, milk is pretty much all the calves are getting. Looks like to me if the cows and calves are not in decent pasture, higher quality hay, or significant supplemental feed, they would loose weight with the weaning flaps prior to being separated from cows.
I have only used the flaps a couple times years ago on just one or two calves when I first started out. I found they don't stay in real well.
 
How is the retention on those tags? I am planning on switching to these as most of the other brands have failed after a few years or become too faded. My really old cows mostly have their original tags. They just made them better a decade ago it seems.
We've had a few lost over the years but not many. The few we've had come off was at the thinnest part of the tag up by the button. Otherwise retention is great and we don't have to worry about fading. I haven't bought any in years so I can't speak for new bags of them. Got a bunch of packages on clearance when a supply company was leaving the state some years back.
 

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