How to mark calves?

[WI Dan]

This winter we'll do a "round-up" and catch the Bison herd. They'll get pour-on dewormer and the calves will get tagged.
I want to keep records of which calves came from which cows. But in the catchers: everyone gets mixed up and I can't tell them apart.

I can't get within 10 yards of the calves in the pasture. These are wild animals.

Is there a way I could identify them in the pasture (paint ball shot? slingshot? spray something?) and then later when they're in the chute - record their dam with their new tag number.
If each calf had a different color, I can watch to see who nurses who, then record it.
I have some very nice cows and I want to keep their offspring in our system.

 

[joeysmith]

Can you pen them up for a day or two beforehand to watch an mark them with paintballs?
Not sure how long they'll last out in the winter elements

 

[cjunrau]

This winter we'll do a "round-up" and catch the Bison herd. They'll get pour-on dewormer and the calves will get tagged.
I want to keep records of which calves came from which cows. But in the catchers: everyone gets mixed up and I can't tell them apart.

I can't get within 10 yards of the calves in the pasture. These are wild animals.

Is there a way I could identify them in the pasture (paint ball shot? slingshot? spray something?) and then later when they're in the chute - record their dam with their new tag number.
If each calf had a different color, I can watch to see who nurses who, then record it.
I have some very nice cows and I want to keep their offspring in our system.

If possible can you run them through a chute and mark all the female calves with different color spray paint. if you can spray a number on them it would work as well. We have done the numbers on the back or color front back middle. Then watch them suck and see what goes where. then you can match cow to the tag you put in. The other way is tag them all with a number that you can read and just right it in a book what number belongs to what number cow. the 2 cow might have 7 calf sucking her but if you right it down in a book it won't take long and you will know who comes from whom. That is what I would do but that doesn't allow you to sell what you don't want as it comes through the chute.

If they look different take pics while they are sucking and you can see it in the chute when you sort. I don't know bison to tell one from another.

My son says buy a paintball gun and shoot only the ones you want to keep as it is sucking it's mother. mark where you hit it and color. try to use different spots and different colors till all the ones you want to keep are marked. then run them through the chute. Biggest problem is when you shoot one the whole works will run so fast they won't stop at the next fence. I'm not sure a paint ball gun is load or that bad as I have never shoot one.

 

[ss55]

This winter we'll do a "round-up" and catch the Bison herd. They'll get pour-on dewormer and the calves will get tagged.
I want to keep records of which calves came from which cows. But in the catchers: everyone gets mixed up and I can't tell them apart.

I can't get within 10 yards of the calves in the pasture. These are wild animals.

Is there a way I could identify them in the pasture (paint ball shot? slingshot? spray something?) and then later when they're in the chute - record their dam with their new tag number.
If each calf had a different color, I can watch to see who nurses who, then record it.
I have some very nice cows and I want to keep their offspring in our system.

Will the cow and calf be reunited later or will they be weaned and separated after being run through the chute?

If they will be reunited, maybe tag the caves when you run them through the chute and then record the cow and calf tag numbers after they are reunited.

 

[Roger in Iowa]

This winter we'll do a "round-up" and catch the Bison herd. They'll get pour-on dewormer and the calves will get tagged.
I want to keep records of which calves came from which cows. But in the catchers: everyone gets mixed up and I can't tell them apart.

I can't get within 10 yards of the calves in the pasture. These are wild animals.

Is there a way I could identify them in the pasture (paint ball shot? slingshot? spray something?) and then later when they're in the chute - record their dam with their new tag number.
If each calf had a different color, I can watch to see who nurses who, then record it.
I have some very nice cows and I want to keep their offspring in our system.

To calm them down give them some cow candy. Couple bags a day to gentle them down. They will come to you. Be careful.

 

[Steve in VA]

This winter we'll do a "round-up" and catch the Bison herd. They'll get pour-on dewormer and the calves will get tagged.
I want to keep records of which calves came from which cows. But in the catchers: everyone gets mixed up and I can't tell them apart.

I can't get within 10 yards of the calves in the pasture. These are wild animals.

Is there a way I could identify them in the pasture (paint ball shot? slingshot? spray something?) and then later when they're in the chute - record their dam with their new tag number.
If each calf had a different color, I can watch to see who nurses who, then record it.
I have some very nice cows and I want to keep their offspring in our system.

Paintball guns were invented just for this purpose.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

You don't pen bison up. You give them a suggestion as to where they should stay and it's entirely up to them if they hang around.

There's a place called Hidden Valley Animal Adventures near where my parents' farm used to be. They keep all kinds of exotic game animals and offer tours throughout the summer. Gotta be about 10-12 years ago now, but their bison herd got out. Being dairy farmers, they thought they could just round them up like a bunch of milk cows. Pfft. Bison are wild animals, always have been always will be no matter how much "cow candy" you give them. They mowed down anything and everything in their path any time someone tried to change their course. I think they caught some of them eventually, the rest they had to shoot. These were animals that were fed hay and grain every day, and should have been as used to humans as any bison would ever be. Once they discovered they could just walk through the fence and leave, it was game over. This wasn't just a 2-wire barbed fence either, it was 8' tall high tensile woven wire. They walked through like it wasn't even there.

 

[joeysmith]

Or get an old

You don't pen bison up. You give them a suggestion as to where they should stay and it's entirely up to them if they hang around.

Yea I was more asking if he had the facilities to group them smaller than in an open pasture
Assuming since he raises them he knows a wire fence wouldn't do the trick

 

[rustred]

Why not mark that down in the spring with an ear tag.calf to momma with a number or name.

 

[trackrat]

There is a large ranch near me that has bison the cowboys on the ranch hate them. they say their cow ponies are afraid of them they have asked the ranch manager to sell them, but the owner won't sell

 

[Absent Minded Farmer]

This winter we'll do a "round-up" and catch the Bison herd. They'll get pour-on dewormer and the calves will get tagged.
I want to keep records of which calves came from which cows. But in the catchers: everyone gets mixed up and I can't tell them apart.

I can't get within 10 yards of the calves in the pasture. These are wild animals.

Is there a way I could identify them in the pasture (paint ball shot? slingshot? spray something?) and then later when they're in the chute - record their dam with their new tag number.
If each calf had a different color, I can watch to see who nurses who, then record it.
I have some very nice cows and I want to keep their offspring in our system.

How about an ear notcher?

Take video if you do.

Mike

 

[WI Dan]

Will the cow and calf be reunited later or will they be weaned and separated after being run through the chute?

If they will be reunited, maybe tag the caves when you run them through the chute and then record the cow and calf tag numbers after they are reunited.

That's a possibility. I hadn't thought of it.
Thanks.

 

[WI Dan]

If possible can you run them through a chute and mark all the female calves with different color spray paint. if you can spray a number on them it would work as well. We have done the numbers on the back or color front back middle. Then watch them suck and see what goes where. then you can match cow to the tag you put in. The other way is tag them all with a number that you can read and just right it in a book what number belongs to what number cow. the 2 cow might have 7 calf sucking her but if you right it down in a book it won't take long and you will know who comes from whom. That is what I would do but that doesn't allow you to sell what you don't want as it comes through the chute.

If they look different take pics while they are sucking and you can see it in the chute when you sort. I don't know bison to tell one from another.

My son says buy a paintball gun and shoot only the ones you want to keep as it is sucking it's mother. mark where you hit it and color. try to use different spots and different colors till all the ones you want to keep are marked. then run them through the chute. Biggest problem is when you shoot one the whole works will run so fast they won't stop at the next fence. I'm not sure a paint ball gun is load or that bad as I have never shoot one.

That's possible too. Some of the calves have distinct features (light brown back, tall horns, small size vs large)

Yes, trying to avoid paintballing if I can help it.

 

[WI Dan]

You don't pen bison up. You give them a suggestion as to where they should stay and it's entirely up to them if they hang around.

There's a place called Hidden Valley Animal Adventures near where my parents' farm used to be. They keep all kinds of exotic game animals and offer tours throughout the summer. Gotta be about 10-12 years ago now, but their bison herd got out. Being dairy farmers, they thought they could just round them up like a bunch of milk cows. Pfft. Bison are wild animals, always have been always will be no matter how much "cow candy" you give them. They mowed down anything and everything in their path any time someone tried to change their course. I think they caught some of them eventually, the rest they had to shoot. These were animals that were fed hay and grain every day, and should have been as used to humans as any bison would ever be. Once they discovered they could just walk through the fence and leave, it was game over. This wasn't just a 2-wire barbed fence either, it was 8' tall high tensile woven wire. They walked through like it wasn't even there.

You speak the truth.
This herd has hundreds of acres to roam, so they stay pretty happy.
The fences are just a suggestion. I'm grateful I haven't had a breakout.

 

[Texasmark]

I know nothing about paint guns but they are said to shoot paint a good distance. Possibly you could figure out a marking method....one dot red, two dots red...etc., one dot blue, two dots blue sort of thing?????