We didn’t have cattle shoot on our 25000 acres. So we had to push to a corner and rope them. The advantage is the fire brand burns off the hair and brands the skin in about 4 seconds. Plus we used the firebrand to seal up the horn cores where we remove the horns. I can see this working well on a farm for cattle your keeping in for future production.
@@amethystflower8799 you sound like a really mean self righteous and very very judgmental person whose opinions and mind elites he/she is the moral authority and judge of us all
Freeze branding has been used on harness used for harness racing horses, for I don't know how long, just because it's producing a more visible branding and is more humane. Fire branding is extremely painful.
Sorry for the slow reply, but they are Oster A5 Turbo 2 Speed clippers. I bought a second blade for it as well in the bigger size. I believe that its a 10W replacement blade. They are about the mid range clippers for price, but perform well overall!
Suddenly applying liquid nitrogen for a prolonged period, is going to cause harm, and most definitely so does tagging. Here's what I would do: Offer the cow a restraint "suit" with an embossed pad which gradually becomes cooler and cooler, to the point whereby the branding process can be undertaken in completely unnoticeable comfort of the animal. I would also never puncture the organs (skin) either. A comfortable (locking) collar is infinitely more humane.
@@letsdiscussitoversometea8479 do you know how easy it would be for the animal to get caught on something if they wear a collar all the time? Even small cats aren't supposed to have something that stays on, they need a breakaway collar so they don't choke themselves to death if it gets stuck. Watch the videos. I've seen horses get more upset and riled up at Necessary medical procedures like sinus drainings and abscess lancing. The freeze branding gets super cold and then just goes numb, may tingle and burn coldly afterwards, it's the most humane and least dangerous way to do it thus far
It showed me a second comment, but wouldn't show up in the comments on the video for some reason. I used about 15 pounds of dry ice with about 3/4 to 1 gallon of gas. You also have to get your dry ice as close to the time you're going to use it or it will dissipate. I got 20 lbs. the night before working these heifers and was down to 15 lbs. the next morning with keeping it in the freezer overnight.
@@MattHildebrand12 ethanol or non oxygenated gasoline? This year was our first year where all the freeze brands turned out good after switching from liquid nitrogen to dry ice & alcohol, but you are right 99% isopropyl is over $20/gallon now.
@@silentHangus I just used pump gas. The highest octane rating we have for “premium” around here is 91, so I just used that. I used the same timing as I did with dry ice and alcohol, and all my brands turned out great this year too, and at a fraction of the cost.
Alright I have some ideas on how this can be improved 1. Anesthetics should be lawful here, with post-procedure care Opioid or NSAID treatment to manage on going pain 2. In the future computer vision and machine learning could be used to identify livestock visually. Combined with AR could be used to give you the stats of the animal.
This all sounds great, but the cost of computer based software or AR will never be sustainable for a smaller cattle operation. As far as anesthetics, the animal feels little to no pain with freeze branding. Using those drugs for pain control is not a feasible option in this situation.
@@MattHildebrand12 I would estimate that the feeling of pain after cold branding happens when the tissue warms up and inflammation sets in, which would presist for a few hours or several days. As for vision systems for identifying livestock, this should be the go to once it becomes cheaper than branding. Lastely I'm also stating that ethical guidelines while reasonable should apply to all the industry - - not just a small independant rancher such as yourself.
@@phieyl7105 I can see that after inflammation sets in it could potentially be slightly painful for the animal. I can tell you from experience that it doesn't affect the animal at all. In order to give pain medications, especially narcotics, that would involve having to get a vet and prescription for the animal, as well as aftercare keeping the animal under constant watch, etc. I can't imagine a large animal vet anywhere prescribing something like that for a non-invasive freeze brand. As far as the vision systems, I agree that they should be implemented if they ever become cheaper than branding. That being said, my freeze branding irons cost approx. $125 for a set, I only had to buy them once, and I've already owned them for 7-8 brandings. As far as the consumables in branding (dry ice and gasoline or 99% alcohol) they are extremely cheap. Probably less than $30 worth of materials to brand 20-30 animals. It's very cost effective and requires no other equipment to use or read information on the animal. I can see those systems getting cheaper someday, but I don't see them ever getting cheaper than branding, and never surpassing the ease of just seeing the branded number on their back. I understand the ethical guidelines related to this issue as well. That being said, I treat my animals extremely well and I don't believe that freeze branding is an unethical process to subject this cattle to. I also believe it is a necessary process that protects the animal as much as it does myself as the owner.
@@MattHildebrand12 @MattHildebrand12 I'm glad you treat your animals the best you can and that we are on the same page with vision systems. As for the horse not showing obvious signs of pain, this could be stoicism. In prey animals and maybe even domesticated ones; they don't display obvious signs of pain to counter prey animals that might spot this weakness. Studies show that cold branding still causes discomfort, and based on stoicism; that level of discomfort is not always entirely clear through a visual assessment alone.
@@phieyl7105 I understand the thought behind stoicism, but cattle are much different that humans. I'm not at all saying that it's not mildly uncomfortable for the animal while getting a freeze brand (and possibly in the days afterward) but it's no different that us getting a shot due to a vaccine or a tattoo. It is uncomfortable or even hurts in the moment, and may be a little sore a few days afterward, but its not something that we receive pain medication before or afterward...
The freeze brand actually kills the pigment in the hair follicle causing the hair to come back white. If the brand is only held on the animal for the correct amount of time, it will not do anything to the skin pigment, only the hair follicle.
cattletags.com - they have all sorts of different tags you can order with custom numbers and logos. These specifically are the allflex tags with our brand. They are laser engraved as well as painted on the number so they seem to last longer overall.
Does the freeze branding hurt the animal or the regular old fashioned branding hurt. What about the ear tag? is their much pain associated with the process? I see them shuffle a bit at some point.
The freeze branding itself doesn’t really hurt them. It’s a little uncomfortable for the first few seconds until the skin numbs, then it’s just the pressure that they notice. Heat branding is slightly more painful but lasts for only a few seconds if done right. The heat brand takes way less time to complete. As for the ear tags, it’s simply like getting your ears pierced. Cattle have a thin spot between 2 large veins in their ears where the ear tag is placed, and it’s just a quick pinch and it’s all over.
@@cameronwelsh4630 I’m not trying to be inconsiderate, but this is the way it has been done for hundreds of years. If you have a better method to permanently mark an animal for identification that’s weatherproof and will last the lifetime of the animal, I would love to hear it.
@@rizzyullah You really should be more sensitive if people have real questions that they want answers to. Would you tell your child that if they asked it in school?
I wouldn’t recommend it. This works by killing the hair follicles in the animals skin so the hair grows back in white (without pigment). Human skin is much thinner and would freeze much quicker too.
Heh, had to look up freeze branding since I just watched a video of a guy freeze brand a horse, put his full body weight into it and held it for a minute. Skin looked totally messed up.
I forgot to ask You, will 91% or 70% alcohol work instead of 99% ? I have also heard Denatured Alcohol will work, but don't know how expensive it is. All Alcohols bother My breathing and burn My nose if I get too much of them.
@@missouritraveler6401 I know the 70% won’t work very well. 91% would probably be about as good as gasoline. Denatured alcohol works really well but is about $15+ per gallon if you can find it. I keep planning to get a video of the brands now but I’ve been to busy to get it done yet, I hope to make one soon
Matt, I meant the percentage of Alcohol that is sprayed on the skin. Using the gasoline with the Dry Ice is fine with Me. Can Denatured Alcohol be used to spray on the shaved skin to make the brand work. Thanks for answering all these questions.
The zero at the beginning of the number is the year they were born. These heifers were born in 2020 so the zero shows the last digit of the birth year. The second and third numbers are the ID number. That way we always know how old the animal is without having to look it up.
@@Chicknugz608 That's a good idea, but there's just no way dye would last outside in the elements. Also the cows would not just stand there and let you grab their tale and dye it. We can't keep them in groups of 10 because they are all either in 1 or 2 big lots during the winter months to be fed, or split up on multiple pastures with anywhere from 15 to 50 head per pasture. We also have to keep track of the exact number of each cow and calf so we know the history of each specific animal.
I'd also like to note trying to use colored dye [Like a blue or red] on a darker colored cows tail would most likely barely show up, if at all. You'd need to bleach their fur and then add the colorant. This alone would be extremely time consuming, especially for a bigger cattle, and expensive. And that's all assuming the dye wouldn't wear off after a week of bad weather.
How much does it hurt? I mean,do u have to help it heal etc? I watched a show,where they still did it with hot iron and I had to switch off,I understand,it’s smt that is necessary and it has been done since the beginning of ranching,but damn,there could be a more humane way Freezing sounds lots better than burning
@@MattHildebrand12 yeah I noticed,that by the time you placed 0 in front,the swelling had gone down But why don’t all ranches do it by freezing? Like I’m from Europe,the only places,that brand their cattle here are major ranches,that literally provide for the whole country,but smaller ones just go only with ear tags Also,why do they get a branded mark and an ear tag? If smt happens,and the tag comes off,then you will have the brand mark? You have a very facinating channel,thank You so much sir for ur time Kindly appreciated 🙏
@@saintsinner7565 a lot of ranches still use heat branding because it’s easier and is visible quicker. Freeze branding takes some time to see due to having to wait on the white hair to grow back in. We still heat brand a little on our ranch, but only for our family brand symbol. This is so we can identify that animal as ours if it ever were to get out or get stolen. Our brand is registered with the state, so it can be tracked anywhere. We always have trouble keeping ear tags in as well. Cows seem to loose ear tags all the time from rubbing on different things in the field or pasture. Hopefully that gives you a little better idea of why we do use brands. I’m also glad you enjoy the channel and always happy to answer questions!
@@MattHildebrand12 I remember when my gf was at a farm with me, when she got her huge bust at some point in her life, she said make my initials into a brander, so I did and she wanted on the chest, where we had her chest tattooed with the words, property of StickFiguresMaster, I’m a mad dog 😎 (2 other girls have the same tattoo on their chest nowadays to as well now 😂)
I wouldn’t say it’s better than denatured alcohol, but it is a lot cheaper and much easier to find. I think the alcohol does a little better job overall, but for the cost I’ve had really great luck with gasoline
I honestly don’t have any experience with branding white cattle as all of ours are black and red. I’m assuming that it wouldn’t work well to freeze brand white cattle, but I don’t know for sure.
In my experience with horses, about half the amount of time is long enough due to the thinner skin horses have. Approx. 25-30 seconds should be sufficient.
I don’t have any experience with stainless steel irons... I think stainless holds heat and cool just a little less long than brass, so I would guess 5-10 seconds longer might do the trick.
I finally got around to make a results video showing the freeze brands from this video. You can check it out here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ptxL-Y9yF_k.htmlfeature=shared
Freeze branding wouldn’t work very good for a cowhide rug. Freeze branding works by killing the pigment in the live hair follicles to grow back white hair. You would probably have better luck using a hot brand to burn away the hair on the rug.
No. The freezing part of the branding damages the hair follicle and only grows white hair follicles back. So you would have to Brand an entire cow and wait about two months for it to grow back
But this looks more painful than the premitive way. It literraly made numbers in holes shapes on the animal skin, feels harsh, no need to sign animals. Farmers start respect your wealth in a deserving way not belittling on animals emotions
I’ve explained it many times in previous comments why we need to put numbers on our animals and why this process is not as invasive to the animal as heat branding. I’m not going to explain it again. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.
The 0 at the beginning stands for the year the heifer was born. This heifer was born in 2020 so the 0 at the beginning is the last number of 2020 and the 32 is the ID number. Whenever you have hundreds of ID numbers it takes at least 3 digits to keep track of what is what.
These cows are not being mistreated. We take pride in the handling and treatment of our animals. Like I’ve said in other comments, it’s in my best interest to keep our animals happy and healthy at all times.
These animals are not being mistreated, they live a great life under our care. Without ranches like our raising cattle, the world would not have food to eat.
That cow is fine there’s animals getting slaughtered just for breathing or being abused just because……and here people go freaking out about some damn dry ice??? Meanwhile there’s animals literally being mistreated for no fucking reason this man ain’t mistreating this cow 😭😭😭🤣🤣🤣they use numbers on the cows for a reason it’s not just because 😭and if you don’t know why they brand their cows then you shouldn’t be trying to be a cow expert 🤣😭
We are not using this as punishment for anything, it’s simply for identification purposes. When we place a brand on our animals it protects them as much as it does us. An officer being maced in training to practice fending off an attacker if they get the pepper spray in their eyes. If you are comparing branding and getting maced to the same thing, you are talking about 2 very different things.
