Farmers mark their livestock for many reasons, including to show or prove that they own the animal. In larger herds, marking helps the farmer to tell one animal apart from another. Marking is also part of record keeping, which is essential if a farming enterprise is to survive and do well. Marks can either be temporary or permanent. Temporary marks are those that last for less than a season and include cutting off the brush of the tail or using colour paint.
Permanent marking includes: Ear notching, Ear tags, whether metal or plastic, a tattoo, hot-iron branding, Freeze branding and electronic identification.
Points to consider when marking
The enterprise: If a farmer wants to concentrate on commercial goat meat farming, for example, he’ll need a different type of identification to what he would use for a stud operation.
Tools: The availability of the necessary tools for marking must be considered. If, for example, metal ear tags are to be used, and these are only available from overseas, obvious problems will arise, notes the department. In other words, you might not be able to afford them, or they might be hard to get.
Animal age: At what stage of an animal’s life must the mark be applied. Branding at a young age, for example, requires a smaller brand than when the brand is applied to a fully-grown animal.
Animal stress: If a particular method causes an animal a lot of stress, it could lead to financial losses, which will negatively affect production. Damage to hides by brands can also cause financial losses.
What to record in animal marking
The owner’s identity. Where theft is a problem, the owner must be able to identify his animal before prosecution can take place.
Animal’s identity. In larger herds it’s difficult to remember individual animals and marking becomes necessary.
The animal’s age. Whether a cow has calved or not can be recorded by, for example, cutting a notch into her ear.
Pregnancy status. This is usually a temporary mark, such as tail-brush cutting, to allow easy identification of animals for culling.
Weaning mass, post-weaning growth, final mass, carcass grade achieved and temperament.
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