What do tags on cows ears mean?

Ear tags are needed for animal identification. They make it possible for us to identify and keep accurate records about each calf, heifer, steer, cow and bull. When you stop and think about it, animal identification has been around for a really long time. Similarly, we use ear tags to identify our cattle immediately.

When should calves be ear tagged?

Dairy farmers – calves must be tagged with one ear tag within 36 hours of birth, 20 days is allowed from birth to fit the secondary tag. Beef farmers – have up to 20 days from birth to fit both tags. Both tags must be fitted before the animal moves off the holding of birth.

Why do cattle have tags in the ear?

Although to many people, the ear tags cows wear are just a number, to the owner of the cattle, this little piece of information is actually a shortcut to a cow’s history, body mass evolution, vaccination, birth date, bloodline, and other such characteristics. Ear tags are used to help the livestock producer identify cows, bulls, calves, heifers, and steers and keep a record of their health history and of all the above-mentioned aspects.

What are cattle ear tags used for?

Ear tags are used to help the livestock producer identify cows, bulls, calves, heifers, and steers and keep a record of their health history and of all the above-mentioned aspects. Such tags are used for other animals as well including sheep, goats, and rabbits.

What is a metal cow ear tag?

Some cattle ear tags contain chemicals to repel insects, such as buffalo flies, horseflies, etc. Metal ear tags are used to identify the date of regulation shearing of stud and show sheep. Today, a large number of manufacturers are in competition for the identification of world livestock population .

What are cattle tags?

Numbers are particularly useful when a herd of cattle are all the same colour, which is typical of the Angus breed. A bar code may also be on the tag as a code to scan for RFID (radio-frequency identification) data on that particular animal. Buttons, also “tags,” are used. Both serve for traceability purposes.