Questions about Branding

[LauraleesFarm]

Hi all,
We are going to start branding our cattle. We have not branded in the past. I have sketched a design and sent it to husky branding irons. I would like to see your opinions on the sizes of brands to use, and the width of the irons. I am thinking we will brand our mature cows, and the heifers we are keeping at weaning.
Our primary purpose for branding is for security against theft.
Please share your thoughts on the size(s) I should buy and the pros and cons of 3/8" width versus 1/4".
Thank you in advance.

 

[Supa Dexta]

Doesn't it have to be approved and registered?

 

[LauraleesFarm]

It does not have to be approved per se. It should be filed with the county as "your brand" so that a record is made in case your cattle are misplaced/stolen/loose. Also will file with TSCRA. Things are probably different here in Texas than they are in Canada.
Anyways my question was pertaining to the SIZE of the brand and the WIDTH of the iron. Any ideas on that?

 

[John SD]

Doesn't it have to be approved and registered?

+1. I would make sure you own and are legal to use a brand first.

Certainly before you go and get irons made :shock: :shock: :shock:

This place sells L&H electric branding irons. They also carry locally made regular hot irons with stainless steel figures. Most common figures are in stock. Special orders might take a couple weeks.

http://store.cammackranchsupply.com/category-s/1876.htm

 

[Kingfisher]

Doesn't it have to be approved and registered?

+1. I would make sure you own and are legal to use a brand first.

Certainly before you go and get irons made :shock: :shock: :shock:

Yes you surely want to look at the brand book for your county. It's usually a big book with lots of brands that are already registered.

 

[John SD]

Doesn't it have to be approved and registered?

+1. I would make sure you own and are legal to use a brand first.

Certainly before you go and get irons made :shock: :shock: :shock:

Yes you surely want to look at the brand book for your county. It's usually a big book with lots of brands that are already registered.

Brand administration is at the state level in SD. You would also want to make sure the brand you get is in the desired location.

I have both a left rib brand and a right rib brand. Used the left brand mostly because that is the way my calf table was already set up :lol:

Sometimes the same brand is registered in more than one location and species. Though I can't say I've ever seen a rib brand for a horse I knew a lady that had the same brand for both cattle and horses. It was a good brand and in the hip location on both.

SD brand renewals came due just after the first of the year, as they do in every year ending in 0 and 5. Cost $50 each to renew my brands for another 5 yrs.

 

[chippie]

I second http://www.lhbrandingirons.com/

You can call them and talk about what you need. Really nice folks. You can send them your drawing and they will tell you if it is feasible for a hot brand or freeze brand. Design can be tricky because narrow spaces will burn out or merge.

Also, you really need to research the brands in your county with your County Clerk before having it made. If someone already has the same one, you won't be able to register it.

Wanted to add, in Texas, brands are registered by county. The big ranches like the Four 6s register their brand in all 254 counties. We have a brand that is registered in two.

 

[John SD]

I second http://www.lhbrandingirons.com/

You can call them and talk about what you need. Really nice folks. You can send them your drawing and they will tell you if it is feasible for a hot brand or freeze brand. Design can be tricky because narrow spaces will burn out or merge.

Since the OP mentioned the purpose of branding is for security against theft, I might add that a freeze brand in SD is not legal for ID purposes. Must be a valid registered hot iron brand.

The two brands I renewed were suggested by the brand board when I and my sister applied for brands. At that time, the brands cost us nothing other than the paperwork.

Since she got out of the cattle business, I bought the right rib brand from my sister quite a few years ago for $500. It should easily be worth $2000+ now the way brands sell nowdays.

The left rib brand can be made with just a bar. It is LL with an arrow underneath pointing toward the rear of the animal.

The right rib brand is a single figure. An upside down J with a J laid over on its side to the left underneath.

Both brands are very open and do not blotch.

 

[LauraleesFarm]

So does anyone have a suggestion on the size and the width of the iron?

At least I can get a price quote on the brand if I can settle these two questions.

The design is original and I sincerely doubt it will be duplicated. But thanks for allllll the warnings.

 

[John SD]

So does anyone have a suggestion on the size and the width of the iron?

At least I can get a price quote on the brand if I can settle these two questions.

The design is original and I sincerely doubt it will be duplicated. But thanks for allllll the warnings.

3 1/2" iron dimension should be fine for individual figures.

1/4" vs 3/8" width basically boils down to personal preference. Only advantage I see of the 3/8" iron being heavier will hold heat better so you might be able to brand 2 calves with it before heading back to the stove. Again, that boils down to personal preference, and moot if your iron is electric.

My irons have always been 1/4" and I've always branded one calf at a time. Never branded cows or yearlings. 3/8" would be probably be OK on cows and yearlings. Maybe a little excessive on young calves.

So .... 1/4" X 3 1/2" ..... that is my final answer

 

[chippie]

John SD, LauraleesFarm lives in Texas.

LauraleesFarm, I would contact the brand manufacturer as to their recommendations. After all, they will be the one to make the iron.

How are you going to heat the brands? Or are you looking for an electric iron?

One suggestion for sure is to make a brand that is easy to read (identify). I've seen some brands that could be read several different ways and that may not be a good thing.

 

[John SD]

John SD, LauraleesFarm lives in Texas.

Yes, I fully understand that, but I sincerely doubt that it works in TX to put the cart before the horse any better than it works in SD :hide: I seem to have done a very poor job of making my point, so I will make one more attempt

It would be a total waste for LauraLee to go to the effort and expense of having branding irons made, and then discover she would not legally be able to use that brand. Or worse yet, open herself up to the possibility of criminal charges if she used a brand not registered to her on her cattle when it came time to sell.

I misplaced some branding irons in my possession I had used for a absentee landowner who bought a beef from me every year. I looked and looked and could not find his irons anywhere, so I bought him a new set of irons. I got the new set to him as quickly as possible so he could brand some horses while he was here for the summer.

The place that made the new irons doublechecked the state brand book in my presence when I ordered on how to make them. It is a nice hip brand well designed for the location and registered for both cattle and horses. Left hip on cattle, right hip on horses.

Of course, after I purchased the new irons, I found the old ones The old irons did the job but had done their share. But I'm glad I found them and returned them to the guy.

The old irons are worth more as a handed down family heirloom from a deceased family member than they are for actual branding irons. Now he has new irons to use and the old ones for posterity. The new irons are stainless.

Paperwork is time consuming and possibly very expensive if purchasing a brand. Manufacturing irons is the fast and least expensive part. As mentioned previously I prefer 1/4" x 3 1/2" irons on calves. 3/8" x 4" would be fine on yearlings and adult cattle. A bit much for calves IMO. Remember on small calves a brand grows exponentially in adulthood.

I don't believe there is an absolute right or wrong answer to the original question. It all boils down to personal preferences/experience and I've given my :2cents:

The bottom line is to get the legalities of the brand ownership in order, THEN get the irons to make the brand with. IN THAT ORDER :!: It possibly will save everyone involved a lot of needless headache and expense :idea:

 

[cow pollinater]

Hi all,
We are going to start branding our cattle. We have not branded in the past. I have sketched a design and sent it to husky branding irons. I would like to see your opinions on the sizes of brands to use, and the width of the irons. I am thinking we will brand our mature cows, and the heifers we are keeping at weaning.
Our primary purpose for branding is for security against theft.
Please share your thoughts on the size(s) I should buy and the pros and cons of 3/8" width versus 1/4".
Thank you in advance.

Mine is four inches tall and about two and a half wide. It's to small on a grown cow(my cow iron is 6" and even it is kinda small) but it's a rib iron so if branded young it turns into a foot tall brand on a grown cow.
As far as the metal, I would think it depends on your design. If you have a lot of closed letters that will hold a lot of heat then the thinner metal will be a cleaner brand as it won't scorch as much but if your design is really open like mine then the thicker metal will make it stand out more.
And, John SD is right, make sure you get it registered before you slap it on a cow. :nod: If it's similar to an existing brand you could have a real problem selling your cattle if you don't get it set up legally.

 

[LauraleesFarm]

Hi again all and thanks again for all the great information.

I promise it will be registered with the proper authorities.

It will be an electric brand. I am planning to brand left hip.

The brands for each county are listed and viewable at http://www.tscrabrands.com

There is no brand listed that is even remotely like my design. It is an abstract design, an original that is not easily duplicated nor would it be easily marked over or changed. It is not typical alphabetical characters or symbols.

 

[skeeter swatter]

For bigger cattle I'd use a 4 to 5 in, easier to see and in many places it has to be at least 4 in on a mature cow to be legal.
Also use the 3/8, easier to read through winter hair.

 

[chippie]

I don't think that the tscrabrands website is very accurate. I looked up 3 brands including the Four Sixes "6666" in King County where the ranch is and the website could not find a match.

and John SD I did mention researching her brand before having it made.

Also, you really need to research the brands in your county with your County Clerk before having it made. If someone already has the same one, you won't be able to register it.

 

[jedstivers]

Well since your question is maybe answered I'll just ask that you post it once you get it registered.
If you wonder what old brands are worth go here http://www.ranchworldads.com/index.php?cat_id=30

 

[BC]

On branding cows, I would use a 4" iron. On calves that are branded at weaning a 3" iron would be better. I use an electric iron (3/8" thickness) now after years of fire branding. The electric iron has the advantage of constant heat temperature.

I see you live in Camp County. You need to go to the county clerk's office and see if your brand is being used. If it is, you can still use the brand - you must change the location on the animal (left hip to right hip, etc.) Brands in Texas are recorded on a county basis, so if you have cattle in multiple counties you must register that brand in all counties that you operate.

 

[js1234]

There is no brand listed that is even remotely like my design. It is an abstract design, an original that is not easily duplicated nor would it be easily marked over or changed. It is not typical alphabetical characters or symbols.

thats is a very good description of the kind of creative iron that normally winds up reading as "big ugly illegible blotch" once it's healed up.

 

[John SD]

There is no brand listed that is even remotely like my design. It is an abstract design, an original that is not easily duplicated nor would it be easily marked over or changed. It is not typical alphabetical characters or symbols.

thats is a very good description of the kind of creative iron that normally winds up reading as "big ugly illegible blotch" once it's healed up.

I'm certainly no brand expert, but in the back of my mind I stil fear LauraLee might be running up against a brick wall in her quest for her particular "orginal abstract design".

But then again, none of us will know until she does it and reports back, so I encourage her to proceed with her plan

If LauraLee were in SD, it's highly doubtful the powers that be would approve a new "abstract design" that does not consist of typical "alphabetical character or symbol" :idea:

AFAIK, old "abstract design" brands are grandfathered in to the system, but no new ones are allowed. Any newly created legal brands must consist of alphabetical or numerical characters and recognized symbols such as open A, diamonds, staples, arrows, bars, quarter circles, etc.

And I can see the reason for it. There must be certain standards enforced, otherwise a brand is nothing more than an unpronounceable symbol such as the name of the artist formerly known as Prince, now known once again as Prince

A good brand is a brand you can visualize in your mind when someone verbally tells you what it is. Yes, I'm sure most brand inspectors also prefer a conventional readable brand to "big ugly illegible blotch"