This section is on cattle skin, cosmetics, hygeine, and ears. These are all questions that have been submitted or that I have been inspired to talk about because of a question submitted. If you have any topics that you would like to have discussed please feel free to email me with the topic or question.

What are the pieces of plastic in the ears of cattle?

Some are identification tags which provide the cattle owner a means of identifying and keeping records on the cattle. Others are sustained release pesticides tags which provide long-term (couple of months) fly and other parasite protection.

When are cattle dehorned?

Some cattle are born without horns -- these are called polled cattle. Those with horns need the horns removed because leaving the horns intact increases the intercattle trauma that occurs during shipping. Horned cattle can be dehorned as early as a few weeks when the horn buds first appear. This is the optimum time to dehorn since it presents minimal trauma to the animal. In some operations this is not possible, and the first opportunity for dehorning is at the first vaccinations. The older the calf, the greater the complications associated with dehorning.

I heard that some dairies are flaming the udders of their cows, what is this and is it as cruel as it sounds?

Flaming udders is a technique in which the udder of dairy cows are exposed to an flame briefly in order to remove all the hair. The hair is removed to reduce the risk of infection and subsequent painful and sometimes fatal mastitis (infection of the mammary glands in the udder). Have you ever swiped your finger through the flame of a candle? Did it burn if done quickly? This flaming technique of udders are perfomed so fast that the hair is singed but the skin is not burned. The cow suffers little, if any, discomfort and is protected from developing mastitis.

Why do some cows that I see in pastures have one of their eyes removed?

Cows, like people, are susceptible to cancer. One of the more common cancers in cows, particularly white faced cows like Herefords, affects the eye. This cancer is not easily removed, and the risk of it spreading is high. Rather than risk the cancer metastisizing and killing the cow, the eye is removed. The cow compensates rather well for the loss of one eye. Handlers have to be careful not to startle her by apporaching from that side, but otherwise there is little or no effect upon the cow.

What are the two bumps on both sides of a cow's foot?

These bumps are actually extra toes are common to all ruminants -- cows, sheep, and goats. They are called dewclaws and unlike their dog counterparts are not merely shortened toes. They actually have less bones in them than a normal toes hence their very short length. These structures rarely cause any problems and are typically left alone.

I have researched and answered these questions to the best of my ability. But I am human and make mistakes. If there is any part of my answer that you feel is incorrect, please let me know. The last thing I want is to disseminate false or incorrect information.