The Truth About the Springtime Process of Branding Cattle

The media is often one-sided and highly biased in regards to reporting most issues regarding animals. The effect of this misinformation about the agriculture industry has caused the public to have negative perceptions of this industry and other recreational activities that people within the industry enjoy.

The truth about all aspects of the industry should be exposed and explained clearly to the public so that they do not have a skewed view of the American agriculture industry. The practices and procedures that are used by the majority of agriculturists are highly humane and are also entirely necessary for the continued operation of food production in the United States. One practice that is commonly thought of as inhumane but is truly necessary for the agriculture industry to continue to function, is the branding of cattle. If a person understanding the actual events that take place when cattle are branded, they then can formulate their personal option about this practice based on none biased or distorted facts.

The purpose of branding cattle or other animals is so that the animals can be permanently marked so that each ranch's animals can be identified and kept separate from other ranches' cattle. By having the animals marked if they get into another ranch's pasture they can be returned to their rightful owner and it also prevents cattle from being stolen and sold. The branding of animals has been common practice for several centuries and the process of branding also serves as a social gathering for agriculturists that neighbor each ranch.

Cattle of all ages are branded. Most people think of the branding of calves in the spring, when they think about branding. Cows and bulls are also branded when they are purchased for similar identification purchases. When calves are branded they can be ran up through a lane and then tipped on their side on a branding table, roped and wrestled, held on the ground, by two people, or they can be roped and there heads held in a fork. None of the processes for holding down the animals is harmful to the animals. Occasionally, animals do get hurt in these processes but this is rare and it is usually caused because a horse gets startled or other complications related to the animals.

Next, the calves can be vaccinated. Calves are vaccinated to prevent different illnesses depending on where in the country they will be living. Vaccinations given at this time in a calves life is called preconditioning and these vaccines are designed to keep the calf healthy from this time up until they are weaned and sent to a feed lot where they will once again be vaccinated. Illnesses that can be vaccinated for at this time include; black leg, dust phenomena, bronchitis and scours.
Calves can also be treated with either a pour on pesticide or a pesticide containing ear tag, so that insects will not harass them during the summer months. When, calves are treated with these products they will gain more weight before they are weaned because they will not lose weight-fighting flies.

Cattle can also be castrated and dehorned when they are young and being branded also. Most commonly they can be castrated using small rubber bands that slowly cut of the circulation to the testicles, which are highly humane and painless. The dehorning is also usually done in a very humane and painless manner by placing a small amount of chemical paste on the horn buds.

The process of actually branding the calves can include a couple of steps. First, the branding irons are heated using a propane flame. Then the iron is placed on the calf. The branding iron is left on the animal until the hair has been singed off. The cattle not burned more severely than a person can be burned by a curling iron. If a ranch's brand consists of more than one symbol then this process will be repeated with each of the irons that complete the brand. It is also important to note that the skin of cattle is extremely thicker than that of humans, dogs, cats and many other animals. Additionally, since cattle are much larger then humans they can also not as sensitive to any form of contact or pain then humans.