Registered Cattle ID

[dt34715]

What is the best method?
Freeze Brand
Hot Brand
Tatoo

 

[TexasBred]

I've always used a hot branding iron. I think it takes more talent than I have to do freeze brands. ;-)

 

[Bigfoot]

Ahhhh. I always love this discussion. Hot iron is the way to go.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Tattoo.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

With the Simmental breed, all registered cattle must be tattooed, and most do it in the ear. So no discussion. Now, if you have a bunch of cows and want to easily ID each one independently from a distance, you can not beat freeze branding the tattoo id on the side or hip. How one can see a tattoo ID that is burned on the side or hip clearly, I do not know!

 

[bigbull338]

i use the hot iron to brand my reg cattle.

 

[Jessica06]

If you do a hot brand right on short haired cattle, it's just about as visible as a freeze brand.

 

[gizmom]

We tattoo at weaning, then freeze brand at yearling. The reason for the freeze branding is it is so much nicer when your out trying to sort cattle and can see their number instead of trying to read a faded out ear tag. That being said we don't always get around to the freeze branding chore, but we finished up all the yearlings last week so I can say we have managed to get it done a few times.

gizmom

 

[Jake]

We don't have a good enough chute to freeze brand so we hot iron everything. The hot iron is nice in the summer or when it's fresh as first timers. Most of the time in the dead of winter you can't read it though.

 

[TexasBred]

With the Simmental breed, all registered cattle must be tattooed, and most do it in the ear. So no discussion. Now, if you have a bunch of cows and want to easily ID each one independently from a distance, you can not beat freeze branding the tattoo id on the side or hip. How one can see a tattoo ID that is burned on the side or hip clearly, I do not know!

IBBA required an ear tattoo as well however, the only recognized proof of ownership is to have each cow branded (hot or freeze) with your registered brand so most registered owners do both;

 

[dt34715]

TN Tuxedo
Do you tattoo both ears?
Is this what the angus association requires?

 

[Jake]

TN Tuxedo
Do you tattoo both ears?
Is this what the angus association requires?

Believe only one is required, would have to look at the rules again. We always do both in case ones turns up illegible.

 

[Oldtimer]

We hot iron brand all the calves with the ranch brand- and we have been tattoing the ID #... But they are so difficult to read, we are starting to freeze brand the heifers we keep with the ID #...

 

[pdfangus]

I prefer freeze branding ....
done correctly it is the most permanent, most visible.
I have never seen anyone hot brand with individual animal ID....
When I was at Summitcrest we hot branded every calf with the logo brand but tattooed and tagged for individual ID. I hot branded enough calves to know that was not my method of choice.
freeze branding is probably the most difficult to master...and not every brand does well.
I have considered resuming branding but have not had a heifer in three years....

recently saw some cows I sold a customer six or seven years ago and recognized them from several hundred yards away becasue I could read the numbers....

A few years ago I saw a mature bull I had sold before he was a year old. He was so impressive that I wished I had branded him with my name rather than his number.