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Alberta | Same reason we started branding all our calves, there is no arguing who's calf it is if it has a brand. Tags can be cut out, brands cannot. A 2 inch rib brand on a calf is a 6 inch brand on a cow, its like a walking billboard with your name on it, easy to read if done right. A few words of advice with electric that we learned the hard way. Google how its done. the Brand should look like tanned leather when finished. very easy to underdo and overdo. A very young calf ( less than a week) only needs a few seconds, the hide is very thin and fragile an older calf (week or more) 3 or 4 and a cow maybe 5. Know the difference between branded hair and branded hide. Some people shave the hide, I do not. I hit them once for a second to burn the hair off and again to get a good brand. If the iron is cherry red, and animal is restrained well, sometimes you can get a good brand in one hit. Make sure you have a good #12 or #10 wire cord with to keep your electric brand hot, a lot of amperage is lost in small wire cords or longer cords. A plug at the chute works best with the iron plugged in there. We started using a 50 foot extension cord, and could not keep the brand hot. then, before we had power chute side We started using a generator at the side of the chute which was a night and day. The iron would actually get red, but the noise of the genny for 8 hours gets old. Another tip is get yourself a steel pail to hang the iron in between animals. It keeps it out of the wind and helps keep it hot. I also wear a leather glove on one hand to brush off burned hair after I am finished an animal, a clean iron helps it get hot faster and makes for a nicer brand. With all this said, I still prefer electric over individual fire irons in a chute working environment. I cannot speak for the rope brandings. Good luck | |
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Electric branding iron
