Freeze Branding

The Freeze Branding Process

In the Cow Freeze Branding process, the Iron kills the colour pigment in the hair making it turn white within 4-6 weeks.

If your goal is to get the best and most readable brands you will need to use dry ice and methylated spirits because it is so much colder and thus more effective.

Timing is also a critical consideration and varies with age, weight and condition of the cows.We recommend branding replacement heifers at approximately 1 year of age as the brand will grow with the animal and you will have a larger number by the time the heifer will be calving.

Freeze branding cows and young heifers can be very useful in permanently identifying a cow herd through a unique number system. No two cows in a herd should have the same number.

Freeze branding is obligatory for accurate milk recording.

Advantages of Freeze Branding

• Freeze brands do not fall off or wear off
• Easy to read from a distance
• The only permanent identification available for cows
• Ideal for identification in the milking parlour and necessary for efficient milk recording •Essential for stock identification
• Suitable for all animals but the younger the better
• As ear tags frequently get lost, the number fades or the tag becomes unreadable due to mud and manure, freeze branding is a far better option of identification.

To find out more about FRS Freeze Branding contact your local FRS Co-Op.