what do you put on your cattle tags?
- Thread starter Angus Cattle Shower
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randiliana
Well-known member
Calf gets the same number as mama, and our brand (-G) above that number. We also tag all the steers and any heifers that we know we don't want to keep with a RFID at birth. When we buy replacements, or put our own into the replacement pen they will get their own tag# which is is just whichever # happens to be vacant at the time. So we reuse all our numbers, and will reuse tags if they are in good enough condition. The cow herd is simply numbered 1,2,3..... and so on, with our brand above it.
For extra ID I tattoo all the heifer calves with the order they were born in and the year letter in which they were born, so the first heifer in 2007 will be T1 and then T2....
For extra ID I tattoo all the heifer calves with the order they were born in and the year letter in which they were born, so the first heifer in 2007 will be T1 and then T2....
I have the Vet dig thru his bangs tags and get them that the 3rd to the last number starts with the year 6 this year then we just write them down 600 on up. We put in a tag with their number on the bottom cows number above that and a code for the bull they are from on top.If the are registered we add a letter D in front of the number we also freeze brand so one of the 3 numbers should be readable.In the spring we tag the calves different colors to which pasture they will be going to makes sorting calves easier.Our registered cows get broke down into smaller bunches.We AI 30 cows every spring we tag the first 30 registered calves with yellow tags they go to the AI pasture.
sic 'em reds
Well-known member
Messed up.
sic 'em reds
Well-known member
Tatoos can be great or your worst nightmare. We do it on all of our's and careful as you might be putting them in, they sometimes end up looking like Chinese lettering. If you put a good flashlight on the back side of the ear, you can sometime decifer a bad tattoo.
I am thinking of trying either freeze or hot brand #'s on the rib this year on the replacements. Sometimes they can get to looking like billboards, but for the family, and others that don't know the cows like I do, it could come in handy.
It's funny that everyone has their secret tag lettering, like 2FE or NENT. We have one ornery broad that raises a good calf every year, passes on a gentle disposition, but I'll be darned if I can't figure out how to process the calf. It's been a circus the last few years. Last year when me and my wife worked some calves, we caught the calf and put a tag in it that read Big F'ing Female Dog!!! Took the wife's uncle and others a long time to figure out what it meant!! The worst part is that the calf was kept as a replacement and still has the tag in her ear!
I am thinking of trying either freeze or hot brand #'s on the rib this year on the replacements. Sometimes they can get to looking like billboards, but for the family, and others that don't know the cows like I do, it could come in handy.
It's funny that everyone has their secret tag lettering, like 2FE or NENT. We have one ornery broad that raises a good calf every year, passes on a gentle disposition, but I'll be darned if I can't figure out how to process the calf. It's been a circus the last few years. Last year when me and my wife worked some calves, we caught the calf and put a tag in it that read Big F'ing Female Dog!!! Took the wife's uncle and others a long time to figure out what it meant!! The worst part is that the calf was kept as a replacement and still has the tag in her ear!
If its a steer it gets a small (aka 'cheap') tag with its mothers number on it. What else would it need?
The heifers get momma's number in small letters on top, and numerical birth number followed by year letter on bottom. That way at a glance you know who her mother is, and her age in relation to her birthmates. The tag they get at birth is the biggest one money can buy, and it's hopefully (but not bloody likely) the last tag she'll ever get. I also give a metal tag and cross reference the number in my book so if she does lose her plastic tag I can replace it with the right tag numbers if I happen to get her in (preg testing, calving time, etc.)
The heifers get momma's number in small letters on top, and numerical birth number followed by year letter on bottom. That way at a glance you know who her mother is, and her age in relation to her birthmates. The tag they get at birth is the biggest one money can buy, and it's hopefully (but not bloody likely) the last tag she'll ever get. I also give a metal tag and cross reference the number in my book so if she does lose her plastic tag I can replace it with the right tag numbers if I happen to get her in (preg testing, calving time, etc.)
Badlands
Well-known member
When I bought my registered cows, I wanted to keep track of cow lines.
In some cases, some came from the same cow line and the guy did this too, so it was set up.
In other cases they used a silly system of putting the year in front, then the order born, then putting the letter code for the year. I don't know why, but I guess some folks like to repeat themselves. I had a bunch of 6??F cows. See what I mean? The 6 and the F mean the same thing!
So, what I did is to use a 4 number code with the cow line 1st, then start adding numbers to the end on the female calves. Bulls get tagged with momma's number and their own year code.
Females look like this:
In the neck of the tag is the letter code for the year.
On the bottom of the tag is the cow code: In my case my "22" line has been the most productive. I started with one "22" cow in '95. I called her 2200, then bought a couple more from the same guy whom I called 2201 and 2202. I don't care how the 03, 04, 05.... are added since I handle that also. The cow code is the largest writing on the tag, since if I can see that, I can look up everything else anyway.
To handle which cow is the dam of another, I add the cows last 2 digits of the cow code to the tag in the upper right corner as I view it.
Then I add a sire code to the upper left corner of the tag as I view it.
So, my tag has 6 pieces of info contained in these 4 codes.
I look at the letter code to see how old she is.
I look at the sire code to see who her sire is.
I look at the dam code to see who her dam is.
I look at the bottom number to see-cow line, her personal ID code, and how far down the line she is in the cow line.
So, one of my tags would like like this as I look at it:
Neck of tag has an "M" meaning she was born in 2002.
Top left has the code "Ex", meaning "Executive" is her sire. Top right has "02" meaning that 2202 is her dam. Bottom has 2206, which is her number. Her "real" number in her tattoo, and at the Association is then 2206M.
This won't work for big time guys who end up with more than 100 cows going back to the same cow. Although by the time that happens, they should probably sell all the other cows anyway, as they have probably found the most productive dam line.
Some of mine never made it past ??00, my 22 line is up to 2210 or so. After 10 years in this 40 cow herd that was trimmed to 10 head about 5 years ago, nearly every cow I have is from the 22 cow line.
Badlands
In some cases, some came from the same cow line and the guy did this too, so it was set up.
In other cases they used a silly system of putting the year in front, then the order born, then putting the letter code for the year. I don't know why, but I guess some folks like to repeat themselves. I had a bunch of 6??F cows. See what I mean? The 6 and the F mean the same thing!
So, what I did is to use a 4 number code with the cow line 1st, then start adding numbers to the end on the female calves. Bulls get tagged with momma's number and their own year code.
Females look like this:
In the neck of the tag is the letter code for the year.
On the bottom of the tag is the cow code: In my case my "22" line has been the most productive. I started with one "22" cow in '95. I called her 2200, then bought a couple more from the same guy whom I called 2201 and 2202. I don't care how the 03, 04, 05.... are added since I handle that also. The cow code is the largest writing on the tag, since if I can see that, I can look up everything else anyway.
To handle which cow is the dam of another, I add the cows last 2 digits of the cow code to the tag in the upper right corner as I view it.
Then I add a sire code to the upper left corner of the tag as I view it.
So, my tag has 6 pieces of info contained in these 4 codes.
I look at the letter code to see how old she is.
I look at the sire code to see who her sire is.
I look at the dam code to see who her dam is.
I look at the bottom number to see-cow line, her personal ID code, and how far down the line she is in the cow line.
So, one of my tags would like like this as I look at it:
Neck of tag has an "M" meaning she was born in 2002.
Top left has the code "Ex", meaning "Executive" is her sire. Top right has "02" meaning that 2202 is her dam. Bottom has 2206, which is her number. Her "real" number in her tattoo, and at the Association is then 2206M.
This won't work for big time guys who end up with more than 100 cows going back to the same cow. Although by the time that happens, they should probably sell all the other cows anyway, as they have probably found the most productive dam line.
Some of mine never made it past ??00, my 22 line is up to 2210 or so. After 10 years in this 40 cow herd that was trimmed to 10 head about 5 years ago, nearly every cow I have is from the 22 cow line.
Badlands
PureCountry
Well-known member
Sic 'em reds system for his 'favorite' cow reminded me of a couple years back when I culled a no-good b!%$h for trying to hug me everytime I went in a pen with her. When we ran her in the chute to put in the CCIA tag, I put another tag in her other ear that said 'Man-Eater' in big letters.
When she went through the ring, the brand inspector(good friend of mine) said everyone got a charge out of it. He said I shouldn't have done it 'cause she's probably friendlier than some guys put up with everyday. I figured at least I gave everyone fair warning! If she went through the sale ring like she went through our corrals, I'm sure everyone there that day knew why she was being sold.
We tag 1 or 2 like that with pet names every year though. Our milk cows tag just says Buttercup, and her heifer calf, being half Galloway, is ButterScotch.
When she went through the ring, the brand inspector(good friend of mine) said everyone got a charge out of it. He said I shouldn't have done it 'cause she's probably friendlier than some guys put up with everyday. I figured at least I gave everyone fair warning! If she went through the sale ring like she went through our corrals, I'm sure everyone there that day knew why she was being sold.
We tag 1 or 2 like that with pet names every year though. Our milk cows tag just says Buttercup, and her heifer calf, being half Galloway, is ButterScotch.
montana cowgurl
Well-known member
we write the dam's number big on the tag, and then at the top we put an abbreviation for the sire, such as "BB" for BooBoo. we tag the heifers in the left ear and the steers/bulls in the right. pretty simple :lol:
Jinglebob
Well-known member
I don't put tags in ACS. But if I did I'd put ink on it. :?
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Angus Cattle Shower
Well-known member
Jinglebob, you smart alec!!! lol.
the_jersey_lilly_2000
Well-known member
Or......you can be real lazy and buy the one's that are pre-inked