Tags

[IL Rancher]

Nope no problem with the Z-taggers here.. I have about 5 tagers, only one pin has broke over the last 3 years and I tend to loose the tagger before anything goes wrong with them... I also tend to find them (Thus the 5 of them)...

I don't like them on lambs or kids however as the ears just aren't stiff or tough enough for them to work well IMO..

 

[Somewhere Angus]

Try writing your tags and then put them in the microwave for 30 seconds that seems to really help with them retaining the ink

 

[Horseless]

We use Z tags with very good luck. If I had one complaint it would be that it is somewhat easy to hit a vein in a baby calf. In the cows we use brisket tags. Yellow tags seem to last longer than white brisket tags. The white tags with black ink fade faster and break faster. I have never used white eartags but I wonder if it is the same as white brisket tags. Anybody have better luck with certain colors?

 

[Ben H]

We had a neighbor who lost his life putting in brisket tags. He was using the broadhead arrow applicator and it didn't go completely through with the first thrust. He got on the other side of the heifer, pulled hard, it came through fast and poked into his leg. It hit the main artery, and even with other people there trying to apply direct pressure, he bled to death.

In the past it was always last case scenario to put a tourniquet on, the military is now issuing these nice nylong ones to everyone and it's actually one of the first things you do, especially under fire. There are some nice bandages out there I'd recomend keepeing on hand, it wouldn't be bad to find one of these tourniquets too. There are all kinds of things that can happen on the farm. A buddy in college mangled his hand trying to get something out of a forage harvester.


I use allflex tags, I've had a problem with loss and a couple tears. The laser engraving seems to hold up well. It's also pretty nice when you customer order your tags. I ordered a batch of tags for the animals I had, I emailed a spreadsheet of the current ID's and then wanted consecutive numbers up from there. I also got my premise ID on there. Allflex is good about customizing your tag with multiple lines of text, logos, both sides and so on. There are things I like about their tags so I want to know what is different and what could be done for them to hold up.

 

[George]

I went back and re read my May 2005 post and I still stay with my assesment of the Temple Tag.

I get mine custom imprinted with the number of my choice on the front and my name , address and phone number on the back.

Turn around time is about a week and the numbers are good for 5 or 6 years but with the way they are burnt in I can re ink them easily. I guess the ear protects the back as it does not seem to fade.

I seem to lose about one tag a year ( out of around 35 cows with calves) but I got new round bale rings this year and so far have not lost another tag - - - I was finding them caught in the bars of one piticular ring I have had for several years that needed replacement any way - - - I don't remember where I got it but it was made of angle iron and had points that seemed to be made for catching tags.

You can find Temple Tags at www.templetags.com - - - great people to work with and MADE IN TEXAS ( sorry Soapweed)

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

How you been keep george? Long time, no typee.

 

[Northern Rancher]

We used to use brisket tags but I just found them too cumbersome-the funniest thing was my buddy and his Dad were putting them in-they got the bright idea to put a rope halter on and lift up her head with the front end loader. It actually worked good till the lift lever stuuck back and hoisted the cow and chute wayyyy up in the air. I think I've used almost every tag under the sun but found I like the Z tags the best.

 

[sic 'em reds]

I have been using the Z tags the last few years. They can be a pain to put in when there is a struggle, but they seem to work fine. I have our ranch name on the bottom printed by the company, then ink pen on the numbers. I use yellow tags, but the ink seems to wear easily.

I have tried multiple layers of pen ink, but it still seems to fade. Next time I order tags I think I with have them all stamped.

The thing I like best about the Z tags is that the applicator pin breaks so that you dont rip the ear. We worked our cows this weekend, I put another tag in the opposite ear ( so mine have a tag in each ear) to help identify ours from my wife's uncle's cows, we switched tags on most of his cows so that they are all the same, he uses Y-tex printed tags with his ranch name. I got to the point that I was used to pulling the gun, like on the Z tags, that I ripped the ears on a couple cows. It made me mad, but it made me feel good to know the Z tag applicator won't do that.

If someone ever figures out how to keep the numbers on the tag "for the life of the cow" let me know because I will be the first on the list.

I think I will try freeze branding this fall on the heifers that I keep. That seems real convenient as long as the brand sticks. Then I won't have to worry about tags falling or ripping out.

 

[Silver]

I quit using Ritchie tags because while the retention was great, only the top half of the tag came in with the cow. They tend to break off right where the neck starts to flare out to the tag. We probably have 60 or 70 cows of varying ages carrying around the button and short piece of tag.
We went back to allflex about 3 years ago. Dad uses black and puts white ink on. Now the ink is all gone :? . I use yellow with black writing. The pen is more like a felt marker and Ive never had one fade, plus they are dry in about 30 seconds. I also give my heifer calves one of those fold over metal tag deals for the same reason Soapweed puts in the extra button tag. Ive never lost a metal tag. However, when I was dehorning yrlg heifers yesterday I noticed that at least 1/3 of our RFID buttons are torn out . I'm blaming it on the feeder and bale strings. Gotta blame somethin :wink: .

 

[George]

One of the "proofs" of how long a Temple tag last is my method of idenitification.

I tag all females in the left ear and males in the right. When I keep a hiefer for a replacement I then cut the button and move the calf tag to the right ear when placing a cow tag in the old hole in the left ear.

The calf tags I use are the medium size and while my daughter tried various colors I how use only yellow with black ink for the calf tags. One thing I have noticed is that the cow tag ( Red with black ink ) in the left ear is sometimes bleached out while the calf tag in the other ear and a year older is not faded - - - don't know why this is but with the imprint melted into the tag they are very easy to reink. I must say it takes about 5 years for the ink to fade and the reinking seems to last about the same.

As I move my herd to Angus from Charlois I think in about two more years freeze branding might be the way to go for me. Kind of hard on Charolis.

As for applicators the "new style" ( at least 10 years old ) has a break away pin that stops split ears. I help several of the other cattlem men in the area and most are very surprised at the ease of application of this tagger and I keep getting them converted to the Temple tags ( I need a sales commission ).

Thanks for noticing Big Muddy - - - my wife has decided ALL CHAT ROOMs ARE BAD and I stayed away for quite a while and still need to keep my participation to a minimum or face the wrath of Debi. She is the IT director for the local High School and deals with the students getting into things they should not. I have tried to have her read the Bull Sesion but she finds it to boring and does not want me wasting my time here. I've been married to her for 34+ years and have found most of the time it is better to just go along.

 

[Northern Rancher]

After I check in the A'M I make up my tags-I put them in these sandwich bags with the RFID tag number on it. After I tag the calf I take an earnotch to test for BVD and use the bag to store it. They fit in saddle bags good and help from getting samples mixed up.

 

[Maple Leaf Angus]

. . . yesterday I noticed that at least 1/3 of our RFID buttons are torn out . I'm blaming it on the feeder and bale strings. Gotta blame somethin :wink: .

Silver, I think the solution is to put the tag so far into the ear that it sits right next to the eardrum! O.K., maybe that's a little extreme, but I do put them at least two-thirds of the way toward the skull. They don't get caught on anything when they are that deep.

 

[Leader area]

We use Y tex tags and we have a few cows that are over 10 and you can still read the tag number preaty good.

 

[George]

Maple Leaf Angus - - - - Did you ever have one of those light bulbs go off just over your head?

I always place the tag as far back in the ear as it will go and still hang stright - - - when I read your post I got to thinking about one of the nieghbors who can't seem to keep tags in and the way he tags - - - way out on the ear ( I guess to read better???)

I have discussed the poor tag retention with him in that I kept blaming the tags he was using but never the placement till I read your post - - - I will discuss the placement with him and I bet we can get better results no matter what brand of tags.

I don't even know what got me started way back in the ear ( possibly the instructions with the tags, first person to help me, or just dumb luck ) but I seem to have been doing it right in spite of my lack of knowledge.

 

[Maple Leaf Angus]

Well the RFID tags are impossible to read without catching the animal anyway so it doesn't matter about visibility anyway. Plug'em in deep in the ear and they are permanent!

Numbered dangle tags are a little different. It's sure tempting to have them out far enough to read easily, but I put them deeper than what is handy to read, but I figure a tag that is harder to read is better than one that got ripped out and laying beside the hay feeder of fence somewhere. I've seen enough of them in the past!

Some brands of tags do have weaker stems that go through the ear and while we do use Allflex, I don't think they have the best stem out there.

 

[Silver]

. . . yesterday I noticed that at least 1/3 of our RFID buttons are torn out . I'm blaming it on the feeder and bale strings. Gotta blame somethin :wink: .

Silver, I think the solution is to put the tag so far into the ear that it sits right next to the eardrum! O.K., maybe that's a little extreme, but I do put them at least two-thirds of the way toward the skull. They don't get caught on anything when they are that deep.

I too try to put the tag as close to the brain as I can get it. Dad tends to be a bit sloppy though. But what I did notice this year is not so much torn ears as just a nice clean looking hole where the tag used to be.

 

[lightninboy]

It seems like about half the time with my Z tagger, the tagger and tag get goofed up and I have to start over.

 

[George]

If you are seeing a nice round hole where the tag was you are having stems on the tags that are not strong enough or possibly the tagger was not closed completely so the button did not lock properly.

With the "new style " tagger from Temple tags you should not have either problem and it is much simpler to use than any other I have used.

The new style is at lease 5 to 10 years old.

 

[Horseless]

It seems like about half the time with my Z tagger, the tagger and tag get goofed up and I have to start over.

I have had problems if I tag to far out to the end of the ear. The ear is to soft out there. I put it closer to the head were the ear is firmer. Also some calves, maybe it has something to do with the breed, just have soft ears. The skin actually pinches in the tagger before it punches thru.

 

[Anonymous]

It seems like about half the time with my Z tagger, the tagger and tag get goofed up and I have to start over.

I have had problems if I tag to far out to the end of the ear. The ear is to soft out there. I put it closer to the head were the ear is firmer. Also some calves, maybe it has something to do with the breed, just have soft ears. The skin actually pinches in the tagger before it punches thru.

Thats the major drawback and problem I run into with the Z tags- lot of time you need one hand to hold the ear flat and tight and one to operate the tagger- which usually leaves me one or two hands short to keep Mommas nose out of the picture..... :wink: :lol: