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Rib or hip brand ?

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Evans

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With a rib brand if you have some late born calves you have to be so careful or even wait to brand them. I'm wondering if a hip brand would be better? Thicker skin and one less iron to deal with.
 
Rib brands used to be discouraged because of the amount of leather impacted. Now that hides are all but worthless, I doubt that is a factor. I have never rib branded calves so I can't really answer your question but hip brands do go on nice even down to a week old.
 
I have a rib brand and hip brand. I do not like a hip brand for calves. In my case my hip brand is -x- which is long enough that it's difficult to get it on right. It takes a great deal of attention on the part of the wrestlers and the person with the iron to get it on straight. It works much better on yearlings and cows. Many hip brands turn into the old "blotch scab blotch" unless its a very good brand like Sopaweed's.
I'll take a big rib brand any day that grows with the cow and ends up 18" tall by the time they are full grown. Makes it easier on my aging eyes.
 
Silver said:
I have a rib brand and hip brand. I do not like a hip brand for calves. In my case my hip brand is -x- which is long enough that it's difficult to get it on right. It takes a great deal of attention on the part of the wrestlers and the person with the iron to get it on straight. It works much better on yearlings and cows. Many hip brands turn into the old "blotch scab blotch" unless its a very good brand like Sopaweed's.
I'll take a big rib brand any day that grows with the cow and ends up 18" tall by the time they are full grown. Makes it easier on my aging eyes.
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I think the new hip brands in Alberta can only be two irons. One on top of other. Which should fit better than three horizontally.
I know with rib brands on left side of calves its better if your third iron is a running bar instead a letter because the flank skin is getting thin back there.
What about letters or numbers? I find letters like an M seem to want to blotch in the tight corners on top of the M. If your using a table instead of wrestlers then big irons like say a W are really hard to apply. Your better off using a running bar to make your W because if the calf moves a bit you will blotch the corners.
Is there certain letters or numbers that you (anybody) reading this doesn't care for? Example I would think the center of a A would want to blotch out on a calf brand? An R would be better because the center enclosed part of the R is bigger that the center enclosed part of the A?
 
How you build a branding iron helps too. Mine is an H and when I made the iron I left half inch gaps where the horizontal bar meets the two vertical bars. The residual heat makes a nice H and it doesn't blotch. We brand on the hip and I like it there. But neighbors rib brand And it works well if it's a one or two character brand.
 
Here in Oregon we don't get as much choice or opportunity when it comes to new brands. When I moved here I found out that some one already had the brand I had in Washington. I searched through the brand book to make sure what I submitted was not already registered. After being turned down on a dozen choices I found out they were only registering new brands with 3 characters. Makes for a pretty big brand with lots of places to blotch. A friend who moved here from Idaho had the same problem.
 
I hip brand, backwards R against D, Down here they call that RD connected. I cut out 1/4 inch x 1/4 inch of iron at the top of the R and bottom, also do the same on the D. Gives places for the blood to pass to the center and not fall out and blotch.
 
Our brand is CC, second C is hanging from the top C, so called a C hanging C. Mr. FH likes it because it is really one iron, easily put on and really easy to see on the cows when you are horseback. It never blotches.
We have Lazy K X, laying down K with X underneath, it's a rib brand but we are going to sell it. We also have Mr. FH grandfathers brand, X Tuning fork, looks like and X with a modified Y underneath, rib brand also. But we will never sell that, it will be passed on down.
Best rib brand we know is a Dutch X. Kind of like a C back to back and when the cow matures it goes from top to belly of the cow. But the owner switched to a hip brand long ago because there was some resistance to it, due to damage of the hide.
 
Faster horses said:
Our brand is CC, second C is hanging from the top C, so called a C hanging C. Mr. FH likes it because it is really one iron, easily put on and really easy to see on the cows when you are horseback. It never blotches.
We have Lazy K X, laying down K with X underneath, it's a rib brand but we are going to sell it. We also have Mr. FH grandfathers brand, X Tuning fork, looks like and X with a modified Y underneath, rib brand also. But we will never sell that, it will be passed on down.
Best rib brand we know is a Dutch X. Kind of like a C back to back and when the cow matures it goes from top to belly of the cow. But the owner switched to a hip brand long ago because there was some resistance to it, due to damage of the hide.
Click to expand...
We had an old neighbour that had the C hanging C brand as a horse brand, and it was placed on the jaw. I thought it was a wonderful looking brand. Years ago I tried to register it as a cattle brand but they would not let me have it.
 
My favorite cow marking is a waddle. Not on my cows. But the neighbors we run next to on the mountain use them. One has a brisket waddle and one uses a jaw waddle. Sure easy to see if a cow is ours or not.
 
For interest, on the subject of hide damage, in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, we were paid a premium for branding on the neck or lower leg, I always had my registered brand on the right side of the neck, with the birth date code on the left.
 
Faster horses said:
Our brand is CC, second C is hanging from the top C, so called a C hanging C. Mr. FH likes it because it is really one iron, easily put on and really easy to see on the cows when you are horseback. It never blotches.
We have Lazy K X, laying down K with X underneath, it's a rib brand but we are going to sell it. We also have Mr. FH grandfathers brand, X Tuning fork, looks like and X with a modified Y underneath, rib brand also. But we will never sell that, it will be passed on down.
Best rib brand we know is a Dutch X. Kind of like a C back to back and when the cow matures it goes from top to belly of the cow. But the owner switched to a hip brand long ago because there was some resistance to it, due to damage of the hide.
Click to expand...
In Alberta you can't use a reverse c or mono reverse C on cows. They won't let you do much like years ago you could design most anything. Now I think they want something that can be typed quick on a keyboard. You can still do an anchor,quarter circle or half diamond,but no tuning forks and stuff like that.
Interesting brands are grandfathered but you can't buy new ones.
I'm trying to remember other restrictions. No Q or number 0 or 1. If its a lazy letter it can only go left.
I'm trying to think of a nice brand for my daughter but everything I come up with seems to be taken.
 
andybob said:
For interest, on the subject of hide damage, in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, we were paid a premium for branding on the neck or lower leg, I always had my registered brand on the right side of the neck, with the birth date code on the left.
Click to expand...
Wow thats sure different. Never heard tell of that. I guess the lions eat the legs and neck last?( joking)
 
leanin' H said:
How you build a branding iron helps too. Mine is an H and when I made the iron I left half inch gaps where the horizontal bar meets the two vertical bars. The residual heat makes a nice H and it doesn't blotch. We brand on the hip and I like it there. But neighbors rib brand And it works well if it's a one or two character brand.
Click to expand...
I make the brand part of my irons out of stainless. Seems better than steel because it doesn't get as hot.
 
The discussion about branding iron material has me remembering when we used fire irons, but it's a distant memory for me now. I'm fortunate that I only have to brand at my chute at home and the 110v plug over the chute makes it easy to keep a hot iron all the time. I'll have to admit that I've sure become spoiled as I've aged, and electric branding irons and dehorning irons are just one example.
 
Most of the neighbors use fire irons. The ones who use electric have a small generator. Noise from the generator or smoke from the fire is probably a toss up. At one of the neighbors there are 4 family brands. A person needs a PHD in branding irons to keep it straight. What color is the ear tag. Which ear is the tag in. My closest neighbor is the youngest generation of this family. Every year, tongue in cheek, he tells me if in doubt just go ahead and use his iron.
 
Low Income iron is easy to see.
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Does anyone do shoulder brands? If so I assume thats similar to a hip brand and if not why?
 

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