OT: Branding irons

[Paul B]

I did not want to steal another post. I am interested in knowing if they still brand cattle? On our dairy all we did is use ear tags.

[unkle spike]

Some places "cold" brand with liquid nitrogen, less chance of infections. Horses now they generally Tattoo inside the upper lip.

[rdbrnr]

yes we still do brand cattle and some places horses the upperlip tatto has gone out of favor in the standardbreds they are all freeze branded old saying trust your neighbor but brand your cattle still applies

[Steve McCarthy]

Over the week end not far from whereI live 60 head were rustled. All were branded but none have been found yet.

[Paul B]

Over the week end not far from whereI live 60 head were rustled. All were branded but none have been found yet.

Man I find that interesting. I wish I was in the pose'


edit: I just did a google search on rustling, its happening allover the place. Edited February 11, 2009 by Paul B

[Steve Sells]

yup people steeling property all the time, cattle, horses, hammers ...

[David Einhorn]

If my memory serves me correctly, rustlers used to use a specialized branding iron called "running irons" to alter brands. These irons used to be, and may still be illegal to own, in some states. The running iron was basically a straight line that could be applied to a brand to change, for example, an A to "Bar-A" or a T to a cross or a star shape, etc.

An interesting site on branding irons is located at: The History of Cattle Brands

I observe on the site that not just letters were used in designing brands but also symbols, and what appears to be interesting designs.

Are tatoo parlors still sometimes offering "artistic branding" to customers? I think I heard that somewhere a few years ago. Could be wrong on that.

[tech413]

Yeah, there are places that will "artistically" brand people:o. Not sure why you would want to purposely burn yourself???:confused:

[rthibeau]

Steve....someone stole yer hammers ???....call me for how many replacements you need ....:)

[Jack Evers]

The western states still have registered brands and brand inspections All livestock crossing a county line here in Wyoming, must be inspected by a state brand inspector (you can get a permanent brand inspection for a horse, so you don't need to find an inspector everytime). We still have grazing leases on BLM land and Forest Service land where a number of owners may share the same range so brands are necessary even W/O rustlers..

Freeze brands do not scar the hide but cause the hair to come in white where they are applied. OK for a horse, but on a cow a swipe with a dye rag would hide the brand and the animal could be slaughtered, before anyone knew. A hot brand and the resulting scar would remain visible even if dyed.

Good easy to apply single iron brands, W/O a lot of heat concentrating corners (see other thread) are hard to come up with today, so some older brands that meet the criteria sell for thousands of dollars. (the registered brand itself, not the branding iron). I've had mine for nearly 60 years and will will it to my kids.

[Frosty]

Jack:

Will you post a pic of your brand please?

Frosty

[Jack Evers]

Be one up this evening, Frosty.

[easilyconfused]

Rustling happens up here in canada too. We have issues many years with our unbranded calves (born after turnout) going "missing" in the neighbours pasture. Another type of running iron was a curved piece of metal that would let you slide along. I think they may be illegal up here too still.

[Warren Nakkela]

Any fool can get a tattoo, but it takes a real man to get a brand.
Warren

[Paul B]

Well I must not be a real man, well unless these scars from hot iron on hands count.

[Jack Evers]

Here's some of my branding iron work - the one on the left is my personal brand - I call it a keyhole E, but the state considers it to be a C lying on top of an E (a keyhole would flare out at the bottom) If you'd look it up in the Wyoming brand book, it would be found under "C", One rude wag even asked me if it might be the elephant butt brand. Actually the handle could be heated and used as a running iron. Real rustler running irons, though, would fit in a saddlebag.

The Sigma brand was probably intended for human branding - the guys that ordered it had too many questions about hygiene and caring for a brand site. Anyhow they never came to pick it up and all I had was a cell phone number so I still have it.

The last brand on the wood is an iron that I made for some friends in Pa. Just thier initials - Jim and Maryanne F--. Not a registered brand, but someting to decorate woodwork around their farm.

[Frosty]

You might've heated it up and laid it on the Rude Wag. Then you could've told him yes, it will work on an elephant's a$$.

I see the notches at the intersections on your iron. Does it leave as nice a burn on hide?

The only irons I've made were copied from originals and I left a gap rather than just notching them. I don't think it makes a difference though, results look about the same.

Thanks for the pic.

Frosty

[Jack Evers]

I see the notches at the intersections on your iron. Does it leave as nice a burn on hide?

It has for me Frosty, but I'm the local horse branding expert and my technique isn't the same as the cow branders. I clip the hair short, then use a very hot iron with a get in and get out quick technique. The cattle branders tend to burn down thru long hair and I think that's when the heat buildup becomes a problem.

[Frosty]

That sounds logical Jack. It's the same basic technique and reasoning I use for disbudding goats.

I clip the hair short and use a hot iron (Rinehart 50 electric) and do the deed quickly to minimize heat soaking into their skulls. I've never lost a kid, had one faint once which scared the crap out of me but she was okay.

I've never branded an animal but have been on the scene, many years ago.

Frosty

[blksmth]

I've had requests for human brands, but have not elected to make any.

[easilyconfused]

We've clipped and branded through the hair and clipping makes it goe quicker and does seem to clean the brand up a bit. The more important keys however is to have a dry hide and keep the iron clean of the burnt hair and scale. Sand or gravel in a bucket seems to work good, especially for electric irons that need to heat up quick as the bucket and sand help insulate. Wire brushes work good too but not as quick and there's the greater risk of a burn. Another trick I've seen and used is to brand some wood before the run to make sure it's not too hot which leads to a bald animal.

Another tip my dad can attest to, if you have a bar iron, don't weld a straight bar handle on it. Can get confusing as to which end is hot.

[bigfootnampa]

Here in Missouri there has been a resurgence in branding cattle as the ear tags are easily clipped off by rustlers. The resurgence in branding has been fueled by a resurgence in rustling... they have targeted cattle in remote pastures and pens... theories circulate that they may be using airplanes as spotting vehicles. The problem seems fairly large and quite likely involves professional criminals.