BRANDING YOUNG CALVES.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1390, 25 March 1912, Page 10

BRANDING YOUNG CALVES.

"TATTOO" EAR-MARKER. Commeating on the . "Tatt.c;" earmarker, .and comparing it with other known' methods" bT'brondinj:" shid" stock, Mr. C. G. !•'. Grant, Dairy Instructor at the Wollongbar Experiment Farm, writes as follows in the "Agricultural .Gazette of Ko\v South Wales":— "It is essential in tho rearing of stock for stud purposes, that calves be given spine distinguishing brand at birth, in older to guard against error and confusion when tho time arrives to number them for the Stud-book. Of the many efforts that have been .mndo to introduce a system 'that would be simple, lasting, and , reliable, four are worthy of mention, viz., the hot-iron brand,, the'liquid.brand, the ear ta£, and tho tuttoo ear-marker. "Tho hot-iron brand," the'most widely known .system, though successful in its main objects, has many ill-effects on the animal. Applied to the tender skin of a calf it to 1 often results in blotching, and the blistering thus caused forms into horny excrescences, in many cases leading to cancerous growths. The brand also increases in size with tho growth of the hide. "What is described as the liquid brand, consists' of clipping the hair and then applying a patent liquid preparation by means of a wooden stamp. Of the eases wider this treatment that have- come under my notice, some have proved excellent, but in most instances I have found fliat with age and wear, the brands have become too indistinct to bo easily decipherable. ■'"-"" "Tho ear-tag system would seem", to a casual observer, to be efficient in..every way, and to ect as a trustworthy., distinguishing brand; yet experience at this farm has proved that it Ciinnot be recommended as a method likely to. ensure' absr.hilely correct results. It has been proved time and -again that, no matter bow carefully inserted, the tni; will not remain in the car for more than twelve month-!. Either-the hole enlarges, allowing the tag to be pulled out, or the tag tears out, leaving a disfigured ear. , "The failing of the above-mentioned systems brings us to the more modern tattoo oar-mark, which has been tested on this I'arin during the last two venrs; the relulte befns so satisfactory that it 'can

be thoroughly recommended to brooders of sheep ami cattle Tho viiluo nf the tattoo lies in the fact that tho cnlf may j>B branded as soon us it is taken iroiii its mother, without detriment to its health or appearance. The branding machine is so constituted that the numbers or initiaN may bo punched on the inside of the calf's ear.

"Preparatory to operating, the inside of (ho ear should be washed with turpentine' or warm water,. in order to remove any greasiness which would otherwise interfere with the process of tattooing. When thn ear is pierced, blue Indian ink (procured in stick form) should bo damped and rubbed well over the holes. In three or four days' time small blisters will appear on the skin, but must not be interfered with; these will disappear, leaving a clear distinct branl. With this method of numbering calves* nt birth, tho cnlf may be allowed to grow to, say, nine- months, when the hot-iron brand may be applied with most satisfactory results."