Hi I’m Mike, the branding of cattle is a tradition in the American west, but its roots
may surprise you as we head into our branding recap, looking how branding 2019 went, also
the purpose behind what we do and what we hope to achieve on our Wyoming life.
Hi and welcome to our Wyoming life.
If this is your first time here, let me thank you for coming and checking us out.
We are just a family from Wyoming, my wife and I weren’t raised on the farm but through
fate, not long after we got married we ended up here to help out her ailing step father.
He has since passed away, and left myself, Erin, my wife and her mom Rita to run the
ranch, take care of the animals and all the land that they require.
This in itself is a full time job, add in 3 kids and a produce, beef and pork business
and we tend to keep the candle burning at both ends.
Part of the job that we have undertaken, one that we had no experience or clue in what
to do or how to do it was calving on the ranch.
Our first calving season was very much trial by fire.
At that time we had about 100 cows that were ready to calve in late winter and it was my
job to make sure that happened both safely and efficiently.
To tell you the truth, I don’t remember much of it.
I know I didn’t sleep much, but that’s about it.
But one thing I do remember is my very first branding, which came at the end of calving,
and once all the new calves were born on the ranch.
Branding is the practice of marking cattle.
In fact, most livestock is marked in some way or another.
Pigs have their ears notched when they are born to keep track of who their moms are and
what number of the litter they are.
Sheep herders and farmers also use notches to keep track of their herd and even those
that raise horses use brands to identify their horses and their bloodline.
Livestock branding has been practiced for thousands of years, in fact, according to
the Smithsonian, an ancient Egyptian tomb had paintings depicting a cattle round up
and branding from 2700 BC and is the earliest record of branding.
Just like what was done almost 4700 years ago, our branding starts by bringing in the
cows.
Once all the cows are brought in, then we have to sort the moms off of the calves, the
moms receiving their own dose of medicine, a pour on that kills lice, ticks, flies and
other biting insects.
Branding time isn’t just about branding the cows, although that is one procedure the
calves will go through while they are here with us for the day, in addition to branding,
each calf will receive a soundness exam, checking to see how they walk, and if they have any
joint problems.
They will also receive shots, to boost their immune systems against disease and they will
receive some new ear tags, to control flies and other parasites.
The boys will be banded, some refer to it as castration, but we are not actually cutting
the calves open to remove their testicles, we are using a rubber band to cut off circulation
and eventually with the loss of blood supply they shrivel away to nothing.
Banding is proven to reduce the chances of bleeding in the young calves and is less stressful
on a calf than a surgical procedure, the down side is that a band could break or one testicle
could be missed.
Each producer is going to handle their herd differently, but the primary reason to casterate
bull calves is to calm their tempers and attitudes.
Bulls will fight, bulls will get hurt but once they are casterated we call them steers
and they are less likely to hurt each other and me.
Another reason is to change the flavor of the meat.
By removing the testicles the hormone profile is changed also and this changes the flavor.
There is research being done to produce a sterilization shot although its not in production
yet and a vaccine that you definitely don’t want to accidentally inject into your finger
while you are giving a bouncy calf a shot, which does happen.
After all the shots, the ear tags and even after casteration, then its time to brand
the calf.
There are two types of branding that are in practice.
One is hot iron branding, which we do and we will take a look at in a minute.
The other is freeze branding.
Freeze branding involves the use of liquid nitrogen or dry ice and alcohol to cool a
branding iron to -300 degrees Fahrenheit or -200 celsius and by pressing the iron to the
skin of a calf it chances the pigmentation of the hair follicle.
Changing hair to a white color or removing it completely.
Freeze branding requires a branding iron made of copper and all branding sites must be shaven.
Freeze branding takes anywhere from 3 to 10 minutes per animal and costs about 5 cents
per head.
Even at the low end of 3 minutes per calf, we would only be able brand 20 calves per
hour, that would stretch our branding day out to almost 8 hours and that’s not counting
the vaccinations, banding, or even the time it takes to sort and get everyone ready to
go.
Freeze branding is also not permanent and will fade after 5 to 6 years.
We want our cows and calves to be able to be identified no mater what and no matter
when.
We choose to brand our calves with a hot iron.
A branding iron will generally take about 5 seconds to apply a good brand to a calf.
Pressing it to the skin and rocking it back and forth will produce an even and clear brand.
We use and electric branding iron, allowing us to ensure that our iron is always at the
correct temperature to produce a good brand.
Once all that is complete then off we go, on to the next calf and repeat the procedure.
Often we get asked why we brand, and the honest answer is that there is no other permanent
way at this time to mark and identify our cattle.
Ear tags are applied to every cow in the herd, in fact our breeding cows get two, a matching
set, but they are far from permanent, and a number of cows on the ranch lose one, or
both each year and they need to be replaced.
RFID tags are also available, but they are not permanent either.
The only true way for us to keep track of our cattle is with the brand.
Not only does this help us identify our herd but it also tracks our cattle through the
food chain, adding accountability and traceability to every animal that leaves the ranch.
I’m guessing there would be no way that you would leave a brand new big screen tv
out in this field over night, but everyday, we are leaving our entire herd, the biggest
asset on the ranch, out here.
Who knows what could happen.
Our cows could get out, get mixed up with another herd and if we didn’t brand our
cattle, we might not get them all back.
On the more sinister side of things, cattle rustling is still a major concern to producers
across the US.
Recently Drug addicts have figured out that you can steal a single cow from a herd and
a rancher may not notice, allowing you to get a check at a sales barn the same day and
slip away scott free, especially if a rancher doesn’t brand his cattle.
Less than a week ago, a couple in Oklahoma were arrested for stealing and selling 11,000
dollars worth of cattle at a local stock yard.
The workers at the stockyard recognized a brand belonging to a rancher in Kansas, who
didn’t even know his cattle were gone.
Cattle theft is on the rise in the US, with about 4000 cows being reported stolen in Oklahoma
and Texas alone, nation wide, hundreds of thousands of cattle are lost or stolen each
year, accounting for millions in lost revenue, time and replacement costs.
Wyoming itself employs brand inspectors and range detectives to investigate and prosecute
cattle rustlers even today and as a cow cop once told me If you cant help yourself, we
cant help you.
A no brand, or slick, cow or calf is almost impossible to prove ownership on, even if
it is recovered.
I have no doubt that branding will eventually be rendered obsolete with injectable RFID
tags at some point, but until then, if you want to protect your investment, your property,
your TV, sitting out here in this field, you better have some way to prove its part of
your ranch.
Calves feel the branding, some jump, some cry, others just sit there and wait for it
to be over, but rest assured, within a few minutes they are up and running around once
again, having forgot about the entire process and without a clue of all that we have done
to protect both their health and their well being.
Thanks for coming along for the ride and remember that you can meet us here 3 times per week,
and explore the ranch life and escape the ordinary.
Subscribe so that you don’t miss a thing, and I’ll see you again soon.
Until then have a great week and thanks for joining us in our Wyoming life.