Livestock Farm Practice

BRANDING

• It is a permanent method of identication used in animals.
• There are two types of branding methods viz., Hot and cold branding.

Hot branding

• Hot branding is the oldest method in which the red-hot iron is used to burn the animal skin that will later form a scar tissue upon which hair will not grow.
• The height and width of the letter and symbol is about 4 and 3 inches respectively. Duration of application: 3 to 5 seconds.
• Disadvantages
  • Scar produced by the hot branding reduces the value of skin quality.
  • Hot branding also produces more pain.
• Precautions: Avoid hot branding during rainy season.

Cold branding

• The hair on the brand site should be clipped as closely as possible to the skin.
• Wash the brand site with alcohol or acetone to remove the scruff, dirt and loose hair.
• Before starting, the rod should be cooled with refrigerant once the irons are cooled and the brand site is prepared the iron should be applied to the site for required time.
• The refrigerants used are Dry ice (-70ºC) and Liquid nitrogen (-196ºC).If dry ice is used; it should be mixed with 95% alcohol. For 20 animals, 5 litres of liquid nitrogen can be used or 5 litres of alcohol with 10 kg of dry ice is used.
• Advantage: It does not reduce the value of skin.
• Disadvantage: It can’t be practiced for white skinned animals.