State and describe the five major methods of marking horses and cattle.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

There are five major methods of marking horses and cattle for identification:

1. Hot-iron: Hot-iron branding is a method of identification that has been used in this the United States for nearly 400 years. It is simple to use; an "iron" is heated in a fire and then the end bearing the brand is impressed on the upper hip of the animal, producing a permanent, hair-free shape in the hide that duplicates the face of the branding iron.
2. Tattoos: When used on horses, the tattoo is applied to the inside of the top lip; on cattle, the inside of the ear is tattooed near the mid-vein. Tattoos should always be placed in either the right ear or the left ear, or in both ears, but should be consistent for an entire herd.
3. Freeze brands: Freeze branding uses liquid nitrogen or dry ice and alcohol to supercool the hide and when it is applied, it kills cells that produce hair pigments; thus, when the hair grows back it is white. On light-colored cattle, white hair cannot be easily seen. When branding such cattle, the iron should be applied longer, which leaves a permanent hairless brand.
4. Ear tags: Plastic ear tags can be bought prenumbered or blank so the rancher can use his/her own numbering system. Different colors and sizes of tags are available, and they can be read at a distance. The tags are placed through the ear of cattle at a point between the ear's second and third cartilage rib, to prevent them from being easily ripped out. But because these tags can be pulled out, many experts recommend that a second method of identification also be used. A non-electronic ear tag is the means selected by most ranchers and farmers to identify cattle.
5. Electronic: A microchip equipped with a radio transponder has Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) capabilities. These chips may be injected, worn as part of ear tags, or embedded in neck collars. The information on the microchip can be read using a handheld RFID reader. If RFID-enabled ear tags are properly placed on cattle, they can be read with great accuracy as cattle move through properly positioned gates with readers.