Freeze Brands vs Hot Brands

FREEZE BRANDS vs HOT BRANDS

The names of the animals have been changed to protect the innocent

What I'd like to point out here is that not only is there a big pain difference for the animal that is being freeze branded vs being hot/fire branded, but the outcome is so much better with the freeze branding. Long term, the hot brands may never totally heal and continue to be damaged such as on your rodeo stock that are continually going thru chutes, etc. A freeze brand will give you a cleaner brand than a hot brand due to the fact that the corners will not 'burn out' with the cold like a hot brand can.

Look at these two pictures of fresh brands on cows. Which seems to be the lesser of the two evils? One looks raw and the other is only a temporary indention.

Now think of the difference on the pain tolerance of a cow and a horse...
How much difference is there in the thickness of their skin/hides?

A LOT!

The following pics show various stages of hot brands. Granted, as with freeze branding, the more you do it, the better end result you will get from it.

I have cattlemen tell me some of the reasons they like the freeze branding is that it more visible from a distance, especially on dark cattle and the stress is so much less on the animals. The freeze branding does take more time per head but they agree it is worth it, as stress can affect things from breeding/AI to embryo transfers, etc.

~CATTLE~

~HORSES~

So now, which method do you consider more humane and more beneficial for the identification of livestock?

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