Torn calf ears and tags...tagging...

[greggy]

Have some calves with torn ears from tag snags....or on some...who knows why....could have been on application...but I suspect later.

Anyway we have a mandated tag, but I also want to use some of my own management tags.

The mandated ones are round button and about quater inch thick...mamagement tags prob will be the jumbo type.

I am going to try and have a better look at where tear starts....and see if enough meat closer to head..
Have given them a few months to grow....amd can wait longer...

Question really is...

Would you try and get button back on torn ear somewhere.....or...

Use the wide deep management tag o torn ear at the top and therfore maybe making this less noticeable.....

Some may be retained, steers will go at some point...

Just trying to avoid re creating the wheel if others been through this....

 

[sstterry]

If we leave any string on our round bales (non-net wrap), it will rip or tear out a tag.

 

[greggy]

Yeah....scratching on stuff prob causes a lot of loss....I have net fence and hinge joint....some ripped when using hinge joint to scratch on.....that I know for sure.....

 

[CG1]

We have lots of with ripped ears. Happens 2 ways here. Bad application or them tearing it out usually by sticking their head through the fence panels and pulling it out. I've had a sheep rip it's ear right off doing that, we had to put up mesh to stop them from doing it and bleeding to death....

 

[Brute 23]

Might check where the tags are being put in the ear.

 

[greggy]

Any thoughts on how the ear will go if I put tag into one of the sides from where it was sliced ?

I will see if I can get a close up photo at some stage....I might just have to try

 

[greggy]

Calf 1






Calf 2

 

[greggy]

I dunno what they did to ear on 1....

2 was a fence snag

 

[Brute 23]

Dang, not much you can do about that.

 

[kenny thomas]

First issue is the tag was put in the wrong place. There is plenty of area in the lower part for another tag

 

[greggy]

You mean on calf 1....or 2....or both ?

They all seem to come tagged about middle of ear...mid way on both axis

Is the ear stronger at lower section, or, is jt just a matter of getting them as close to head as possible ?

I prob do not really need to management tag them, I can visually tell them all apart, unlike a mob of white sheep, it can be much harder then & def becomes impossible to know who is related to whom ...lol...apart from the few black or black patched ones...

Would be a benefit though if they got out, or someone needs to relay me a msg....or tge vet etc....

Will it cause an ear to droop, or is there enough muscle and meat to carry the tag with the tear....

Poor no 1 I think also has had some sliced off the end....and TBH with the baldy marking and the tear, it is as good as a tatt..or brand

Just looks bad if I want to sell him privately...no hiding his problem.

PS when I was looking for tags...I found one that employs 2 pins...but prob too far out and a worse snag waiting to happen perhaps.

 

[Nesikep]

Getting the tags close to the head (about 1/3 out) and in the right location will really help with retention.

One thing I did because we have the same mandated RFID buttons, is I put the button on top of my management tag and used one pin through both.. It doesn't work with all brands and taggers though.
The benefit to this is the pin is held close to the ear, which makes snagging it much harder. My incorrigible fence buster cows have all managed to rip them out, but I have a few 9 year old cows with the original tags.. the actual tag is wearing thin!

Here's one

 

[greggy]

reply in reverse....

That tag placement looks similar to where all mine are mostly, but some are closer to head, you cannot see the button on some ! The snag though is the rear of ear, not the RFID as you prob know. Do you feel this is correct placement of the tag in that photo of yours ?

The allflex management tags have a protruding surface which usually receives the pin, but I guess it could be cut off with a knife or blade so that the button has the pin, I have seen people do this type of thing with 2 tags as per yours..

The prob is, all mine have tags already, it is a lot of paperwork if I were to remove them and do this, and I have to then use an orange button.

I have successfully re used these so called tamper proof systems, I have the tags that have come out, maybe I will try this, on calf 2, would you try and get both in like yours on the ear that is already torn at the bottom closer to head ?

 

[Nesikep]

I cut off that protruding part of the tag to be able to do this.. Xacto knife does it quick. Yes, it's the pin that usually gets snagged, but pulling it closer to the ear by having the tag + button seems to help, it just reduces the space there.

Some buttons are too thick to also use a tag in the tagging pliers, some tags are thicker, and you do have to pay attention to lining everything up nicely first.

As long as you have like 3/4" of intact ear around the tag, I think you're good.. if they're going to rip it out, they'll rip it out no matter how much ear is there.

On my calf, I'd say the ideal location would be a little close to the head.. 1/2" or so?
Here's another cow.. she's 7 years old now and she's one that's pretty hard on fences.. Don't laugh at her shape.. she's got 2 1/2 months to go before calving yet too... I think tag placement on her is about perfect

 

[Nesikep]

I'm usually happy if I make it a year without holding the tagger backwards!

 

[greggy]

The cow looks like two thirds.....and is her rumen on the wrong side....ha ha ha

The calf looks like inch, inch and a half.....that is where most of mine would be....

Got it re tags and cutting, and amount of ear, I think that one has plenty, in reality, I can wait till she is mature anyways, unless I decide to sell earlier, I do have her tag and another though, just sitting here, I will have a think about all this after the tread finishes and what to do when I need to tag her....

Thanks everyone for responses

 

[alisonb]

I'm usually happy if I make it a year without holding the tagger backwards!

Our next Photo contest is 'Tags/Brands/Tattoos'...you better not send that one in

 

[regolith]

There's room to retag on the lower ear of both calves there. You'd have to use the other ear if not... unfortunately with the mandated tag they pretty much *must* have the tag in order to leave the property.

Correct positioning is between the two visible veins, and slightly closer to the head than pretty much every image in the thread so far, if you try to get too close though you hit some pretty tough gristly stuff. That will reduce the chances of them being caught... also the thicker part should always be on the inside as in the cow photo above, not on the back of the ear.

On one or two occasions I've re-tagged a calf only for them to rip the second one out, plenty of times the new tag stays with them but I've kind of got the policy now that I replace the tag if I need to and not otherwise. If someone else was to work with the herd I'd have to go through and replace probably a good 6 - 10 management tags that have been lost but I still recognise the cow just fine (and they all still have a tag of some sort, that could be read with a head catch and a light).

 

[ALACOWMAN]

Calf 1






Calf 2

Any dogs around? That's one things they go for..and typical of the way they bite, hold and pull them out.. its a tug o war..