Animal ID for Cattle
By: Francisco Soto & Kaylah Brown
Why is Animal ID important?
Animal ID is one of the most important concepts in the world of agriculture.
- Its helps show ownership of livestock
- There are even tools used to show signs of estrus.
- When it comes to medications it separates livestock into two groups, those who are medicated and those who are going to be medicated.
- Animal ID individually identifies livestock with a number on a ear tag. This shows what animal it is specifically and what animal gave birth to it. When it comes to cattle, whether dairy or beef, animal id is very important.
Types of Animal ID
- Ear tagging
- Branding ( Burn or Freeze)
- Heat Sticker
- Tail paint
Ear Tagging
- The most common use of animal id in cattle
- Give cattle identification number to be individually identified
- Color tags are used to put cattle into groups by color code fro various reasons or experiments
- Ear tags have been used for cattle since 1963
- They play a big part in disease control for cattle and consumer confidence
- On January 1st, 2000 all ear tags must have be in a numeric standard form
Branding (Freeze or Burn)
- Branding is a mark of ownership for cattle
- Every legit brand is recorded within the state or country to prevent any duplications
- Freeze branding works by killing pigment producing cells and causing the hair to turn white
- 12.2 % of cow/beef producers brand their calves, This accounts for 37.6% of all calves
Tail Paint
- Tail paint is used to identify cattle in heat
- The paint is placed on the tail head and is run off on any cows that mount.
Heat sticker
- It's used to identify cattle in heat.
- It scratches off when cows are mounding.
- The heat sticker is placed on the tail head of suspected cattle.
- Heat detection accuracy using rub-off technology is greater than 90% when compared to vigorous visual observation and penile deviated Bulls
- The detector should be warmed to about 38 degrees c immediately prior to application