SHHHHH!!!! Some might think Ducks Unlimited, so don't tell anybody!
SHHHHH!!!! Some might think Ducks Unlimited, so don't tell anybody!
We finished it up today. It's been a long week. 6 5gal buckets of testiculars for the week. Lots of wet saddle blankets, bumps and bruises. I love my job! Burnt some "Hat" brands and year brands on our replacement heifers today. For some reason I like the smell. That's me tending the irons in the picture below.
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I thought most used dry ice these days to freeze burn in the brand?
Mostly freeze brands are for horses in my experience. However, most registered cattle outfits do use freeze brands on there cattle. Especially bull raisers.
Guess I'm hanging with some politically correct folks. Thanks for the info.
I'd be curious of the process of branding the cattle. Mostly the brand, approx. temp of the brand, how long you typically hold it one the animal and any antibiotics splashed or sprayed on it after the brand before it takes off all pissed off.
Well, back in the day it was a red hot branding iron taken from a wood fire around the pens. Rope em, secure the legs, and brand.
It appears cowcatchers operation is much more sophisticated with a propane heater and a hydraulic squeeze chute.
I've been in on several rope and drag em to the fire brandings. Definitely more fun. These are yearling heifers weighing 700ish so the hydraulic chute makes it much easier. We don't treat the branded area with anything. Yeah the hotter the iron the better. You hold it on long enough to burn the hair off and make the branded spot the leather color like ya see above.
Yeah Dennis we are plum sophisticated round here, we've got working corrals scattered all over the ranch and we pull a portable working chute along as we go from spot to spot. We used to use a manual chute but a couple years ago we bought a portable hydraulic that we run off of a tractor or on the hydraulic hookups on one of our feedtrucks. Makes life much nicer. The chute above is an old stationary model. Its at our headquarters pens.
Parks788, the freeze branding process is much more complicated in my opinion. You gotta have your timing right for sure. You don't know if you did it right or not until enough time passes for the branded area to grow white hair back. I've never been in on using dry ice but I know it is used by some. I have seen liquid nitrogen used.
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You guys ever hear of the Diamond Eye, Anchor T, Stirrup X, Rocking UL, Lazy S, Oxyoke 2, Triple 7, Frying Pan, Housetop W Ranch?
They only had six head of cattle. They're the only ones that survived the branding.
They only had six head of cattle. They're the only ones that survived the branding.
