As the pastures green and turnout approaches, many producers across North Dakota are preparing to brand their cattle. For some, branding day is an anticipated social event that enlists the help of neighbors and friends. For others, branding, like other ranch chores, is accomplished without outside help and is considerably less intense.
But whichever style is used, the goal is still the same, Darryl Howard, NDSA chief brand inspector, said: to yield clear brands that will serve as permanent identification of the animals’ owners.
The effectiveness of a brand that is poorly applied is reduced for both producers and inspectors, Mark Kramer, Northern Livestock Exchange’s inspector-in-charge, said. “A blotched brand is as good as a no-brand,” he added.
Howard recognizes that honest mistakes do happen, especially when you mix a lot of people, a lot of work and a corral full of bawling calves. If your calf is mistakenly branded on the wrong side, the iron was turned when it was applied or you encounter some other problem, call the NDSA at (701) 223-2522 as soon as possible for advice.
2) Heat irons until they are wood-ash gray in color.
Irons will turn this color when they are at the ideal temperature for branding hides.
3) Keep the hides dry.
Branding irons, obviously, work best on dry hides. But if the crew is there, it starts to rain and rescheduling is not realistic, chase the animals into a barn or enclosed shelter and brand there. If there is not enough room to brand inside, keep the cattle inside until you are ready to brand them outside.
4) Clip the animals when it is practical.
Most producers won’t have the time or desire to clip the hides of a couple hundred calves before turnout, but when it is practical, especially when branding older animals and animals with thicker hair coats, a quick shave in the place of the brand is very beneficial. This is because clipping eliminates one layer the branding iron needs to burn through.
5) Apply the iron only until the hide turns to the color of buckskin.
Less exposure will not burn deep enough. Longer exposure will cause the heat to erode from the brand boundaries, blotch and blister. If you notice blisters on the animals immediately after you brand them, you are holding the iron to the hide too long.
6) If the animal moves before you are finished branding, reapply the iron.
Instead of holding the iron in place and smearing the brand, give the animal a minute to relax and then reapply the iron.
7) Keep the iron clean.
Irons can build up layers of charred hair and debris and compromise the crispness and cleanness of the brand’s lines. Thus, occasionally, clean the iron with a wire brush or whatever is recommended by the iron’s manufacturer.
8) Consider the likelihood of blotching before registering a brand.
Because of their intersecting lines, brands containing Bs, 8s and Rs are most susceptible to blotching. That is because there is more heat concentrated in a smaller area at the intersections and, consequently, the heat has more tendency to erode the brand boundaries and blotch. For that same reason, the NDSA no longer registers brands that are made up of symbols inside of symbols. If your brand consists of characters with intersections, consider making your iron large enough to spread out the heat centers when branding. There are no legal requirements dictating the size of branding irons, but the NDSA generally recommends for older cattle that each character be 4 inches in length and have a 3/8-inch face. On calves, however, the brand grows with the hide, and so a 3-inch-character iron should be adequate, unless it has a lot of intersections and small spaces.