By Markie Hageman
5 TIPS FOR TAGGING YOUR CATTLE
Cattle producers will tag the ears of their herds for various reasons. They might tag ears in order to identify which cow or heifer a calf came from, what month they were born, which vaccinations the cow has been given, or how much they weighed at birth, to name a few purposes of tagging. While some cattlemen will also brand their cattle, others use tagging as the only form of identification. Ear tags are like an ear piercing on humans and might be ripped out by other cattle, or removed by cattle rustlers. While these are rare, branding does provide added security for herd identification. Ear tagging, though, serves many important purposes.
Cattle are tagged when they are younger, typically, and easier to handle. They are loaded up into a chute, or roped and held, while someone grabs the ear and uses a tagging “gun” to pierce the tag into the ear. Cattle have thick skin and a piercing isn’t painful, it’s a quick poke and then the calf is on its way back to momma. There are many tips for making sure that the calves experience the least amount of stress and don’t get an infection. Much like a human, there are techniques to piercing cow’s ears!
- Make sure all tools and supplies are clean. Your tagging gun will be used on multiple animals and should always be clean to prevent disease spread.
- Be sure your cattle are not overly stressed, this could cause you piercing a vein, cartilage, or arteries.
- Remove any hazardous materials from the area where cattle are, they may catch their tag on hay string or broken fencing and rip the tag out.
- Use the correctly sized tag- nothing that weighs down the ear of the cattle
- If a piercing is present in the ear, do not reuse the same hole.
This image, courtesy of Y Tags as a handout during Cattlemen’s Convention in 2018, shows where veins, arteries, and cartilage are in a cows ear, and details where you should be piercing. Not all ear tags are the exact same, so be sure to look at instructions. The red star is where an Electric Identification is placed, the black stars are where your tags should be, the black lines are cartilage, the red line in a vein and the blue lines are arteries.
As always, be sure to have someone more experienced to help you with your first try. Tagging is a great tool and, if used properly, will make your operation more efficient and successful.
