The Animal Identification Act, 2002 (Act No. 6 of 2002) replaced the old Livestock Brands Act, 1962 (Act No. 87 of 1962). It is by law compulsory to mark all cattle, sheep and goats and pigs.
An important part of any cattle farm is the identification and branding of animals. Brands must be registered with the Registrar of Animal Identification to ensure that livestock owners each have their own identifying brand. If you have only one or two cows, it might not be necessary to be able to identify them, because you will probably know them by name, but as soon as you become a farmer with fifty or a hundred cattle, it can become difficult to identify them.
Permanent identification is the preferable way of marking animals. strong> Permanent identification methods include an ear notch, an ear tag, or hot iron branding, freeze branding or tattooing.
- Freeze branding: A brand mark can also be put on the animals by way of freeze branding.
- Freeze branding is done by means of dry ice and alcohol.
- Tattoo mark: Tattoo tongs and ink are used to mark the animals.
Temporary identification includes a wax stick or a rainfast paint marking on the hide of the animal.
What does an identification mark look like?
- •An identification mark consists of not more than 3 letters of the alphabet or symbols characters).
- •A three-letter mark can be used in 4 different ways (look at the picture).
- •Two-letter marks can be used in 2 different ways (look at the picture).
- •The characters may not touch one another.
- •The same mark may be used on cattle or small stock.
- •Mark your cattle with a hot iron or by freeze branding.
- •A character of an identification mark on cattle may not be smaller than 40 mm or bigger than 100 mm (high or wide).
- •The mark may have 1, 2 or 3 characters.
- •The characters may not be closer than 12,5 or further apart than 19 mm from each other.
- •You may put the characters next to each other, below each other or in the form of a triangle, or an upside down triangle.
branding formations
Where to put the identification mark
- Put the identification mark as low as possible on the body but where it can be seen easily.
- Do not put the mark on the feet. Look at the picture. Put the brand any place outside the square.
- You can put the mark on the left hind leg, the left shoulder, the right hind leg and on the right shoulder. Remember, you can lose money on hides if you mark in the valuable areas.
branding placement
Branding
- Whether hot-iron or freeze branding is used, the process involves cauterising the skin -creating a surface wound and instantly “sealing” it to stop bleeding, which leaves a scar – the brand.
- Holding a hot iron against the skin for too long damages the skin around the brand, resulting in a smudged brand. The iron must also not be too sharp as this can cause open wounds, which could lead to infection and the brand will be indistinguishable.
- The animal’s coat and skin colour affect how clear the brand will be. A brand on a dark-skinned animal with light hair colour is often very clear, as the “scar” shows up dark against the light hair. The brand itself should be designed so that there are no letters that enclose a whole area of skin, so try to avoid using A, B, D, P, Q and R. An “O” can be used if it’s not a complete circle, but has at least one or two openings, as in ( ).
Hot-iron branding
Good hot-iron brands are permanent and can be read from a distance. When branding with a hot-iron, animals must be dry and the area where the brand is applied must be clean. Moisture or mud on the hair causes smudged brands. Where the coat is relatively heavy or woolly, the hair can catch alight.
Branding irons must be heated to a dull glow. To make sure the brand is hot enough, test on a wooden plank. The animal must be restrained and held very still. The length of time the brand is applied varies from three to five seconds depending on the heat of the iron and the amount of pressure applied. The branding iron must be held firmly, because the steam produced may cause it to slip. If the hair on the branding site is the colour of brown shoe polish and the skin isn’t broken, the brand has been applied correctly. After branding, it is best not to apply any medication: instead, use clean water to cool off the area quickly.
With the hot branding method, it is important to have a good iron and to have a consistent fire that will keep the iron as hot as possible. The best way is to have a gas burner that will ensure the iron remains at the same temperature throughout. When using hot branding, you have a legal obligation to apply to the registrar for branding to obtain a registered branding number.
Under normal conditions the farmer will use an electronic immobiliser that is connected with 2 clips to the lip and anus. An electrical stream will completely immobilise the animal to prevent kicking and to ensure a fast and clinical operation, with minimal stress to the animal. Modern immobilisers are simply squeezed up the animals’ anus.
Freeze branding
This is considered more humane than hot-iron branding, but isnot always as successful. It also involves equipment an emerging farmer might not have access to. For this type of branding, the hair is clipped as short as possible over the area where the brand is to be applied. The branding irons, which are stronger than hot branding irons, are cooled off in liquid nitrogen or dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) with methylated spirit.
The amount of time the branding iron is applied to the skin varies from 28 to 60 seconds and depends on the animal’s hair and skin colour. At a shorter interval, there is hair de-pigmentation (hair loses its colour); at a longer interval, the hair is destroyed. Applying the branding iron for too short a time to cause de-pigmentation of white hairs on white skin will result in an invisible brand; de-pigmentation of black hair on white skin is very successful.
Cold or freeze branding is a relative expensive way of branding because the irons are made of a specific copper-alloy material. Crushed or dried ice is used to cool down the irons or liquid nitrogen can be used to chill it.
Marking with a freeze branding iron
Equipment needed
- Coolant dry ice in ethyl, methyl or isopropyl alcohol and liquid nitrogen
- Isolated container for the coolant
- Set of copper or high-quality bronze alloy branding irons
- Set of clippers
- 95 % ethyl or methyl alcohol
- Gloves
Freeze branding steps
Step 1: Get everything ready before you start branding.
Step 2: Get someone to help you. The helper must hold the animal firmly. If you have a crush-pen, branding will be easier.
Step 3: Knee-halter the animal so that it does not kick.
Step 4: Shave off the hair on the spot to be branded.
Step 5: Freeze the irons by putting it in liquid nitrogen or in spirits which have been chilled to -40 °C in dry ice.
Step 6: When the iron stop bubbling, it is cold enough to brand. Shake off the nitrogen or spirits, or the flow-off will also mark the skin.
Step 7: Press hard for the following exposure times:
- Animals of 6 to 8 months: 20 to 25 seconds
- Animals of 9 to 18 months: 25 to 30 seconds
- Animals over 18 months: 30 to 35 seconds
Ear Notching
This involves clipping an animal on a particular place on its ear. Each notch position represents a certain numeral value.
Together, these numeral values indicate an animal’s identity number.
It is a good way of identifying animals because it is visual, and you can see it from a distance.
The left ear
- On the top side of the ear there are two notches representing a number one (1) and one (1)
- On the outside tip of the ear a notch that represents the number five (5)
- The bottom outside of the ear will represent a three (3)
- The bottom inside, the number one hundred (100)
- In the centre of the left ear will represent the number eight hundred (800)
The right ear
- On the top side of the right ear there are two notches representing the number ten (10)
- The number fifty (50) can be found on the outside tip of the ear
- The bottom outside of the ear will represent a thirty (30)
- and the bottom inside a two hundred (200)
- a notch in the centre of the right ear will represent the number four hundred (400)
Example:
How would I mark animal number 28?
Number 28 will have two clips at the top right ear -a 10 and a 10 totalling 20.On the left ear, you will clip a 5 on the outside tip of the ear plus a 3 at the bottom outside of the ear. this will give you 8. Add 20 on the right and 8on the left to get 28.
Ear Tagging
An ear tag is a plastic or metal object used for identification of domestic livestock and other animals. If the ear tag uses Radio Frequency Identification RFID technology, then it is often referred to as an electronic ear tag. Electronic ear tags conform to international standards ISO 11784 and ISO 11785 working at 134,2 kHz, as well as ISO/IEC 18000-6C operating in the UHF spectrum. There are other non-standard systems such as Destron working at 125 kHz. Although there are many shapes of ear tags, the main types in current use are as follows:
- Flag-shaped ear tag: two discs joined through the ear, one or both bearing a wide, flat plastic surface on which identification details are written or printed in large, easily legible script.
- Button-shaped ear tag: two discs joined through the ear.
- Plastic clip ear tag: a moulded plastic strip folded over the edge of the ear and joined through it.
- Metal ear tag: an aluminium, steel or brass rectangle with sharp points, clipped over the edge of the ear, with the identification stamped into it.
Practical ear tagging
This method is widely used and a popular way of identifying. There are many different types of ear tags, available in different colours, shapes and sizes.
Small ear tags with a permanent number are not ideal because you have to catch the animal to read the number. It is preferable to use bigger ear tags, which can be pinned on either the left or right ear, or in both.
Although the ear tag is a popular way of identifying animals, it is important to keep these points in mind:
- an ear tag is not permanent
- if cattle are stolen, the tag is easily removed
- if animals graze in dense bush, the ear tag can hook onto a bush and tear out
If you choose the ear tag as the way to identify your cattle, use a tag that is about 3 – 4cm in length and width, along with a permanent embossed number on it.
You can write on an ear tag, but if you don’t use a permanent marker, the number will fade or be washed off easily.
Where do you place an ear tag?
The ear of an animal consists of cartilage with skin on the outside. There are two cartilage ridges on the inside of the ear and ideally, the tag should be placed halfway between the base and the tip of the ear and between the two cartilage ridges.
Tattooing with ink
Calves can be tattooed at weaning age, and stud breeders will tattoo calves shortly after birth. Tattooing is done with a special tattoo pliers that is commercially available from veterinary companies. Tattooing of cattle is done on the inside of the ear or under the axilla (oxter).
Method
Step 1: Get everything ready before you start tattooing.
Step 2: Get someone to help you. The helper must put the animal down and hold it firmly.
Step 3: Put the characters in the right order and position in the tattoo tongs.
Step 4: Apply the tattoo ink on the area to be branded, ears or oxters (arm pit).
Step 5: Press the tongs until little holes appear on the skin.
Step 6: Rub the ink into the holes.
