Two Questions(: Clipping/Fitting and Tattoos.

[LindseysMaine_Angus]

Ok First Question:
(Since Im Just Getting Into Showing 'Beef')
Is clipping a Steer,Heifer,and Cow the same? What are some Fitting Tips you can give me?

Now please explain everything to me about tattoos xD

xD Lindsey  (cow)

 

[cowman 52]

On the clipping yes and no,  you wil hear 100s of answers on that.
Tatoo- any number or in some breeds, maine's for one a letter and a number, the letter corresponds to a birth year, and the number is the identifier. Red angus want the number in the rt ear and herd prefix in the left.
Right ear is also the vet's ear for calf hood vac tattoo,
Every one has their own system, first number is the year, 2 for 2012 and 001 would be the first calf of 2012. Tattoo being 2001.
Some use the dams no plus a year identifier.
Ours a little wacky---what ever number you have loaded-- we have 33 cows so -----
In the old days(and making a come back). You could do alll sorts of things with tattoos, make 8 out of 6, 8  out of 9 , show it one year as 12, and the next year as 122,  the old guys enjoyed messing with the minds.
Not condoning anything, just remembering

 

[leanbeef]

As far as the clipping & grooming, I suggest you ask somebody with more experience to give you a few hands on pointers. Another good idea is go to ambigger show & walk around & look at the cattle. For the most part, grooming & clipping are fairly standardized practices. Some things tend to be a fad (like the tail balls we did back in the 70s & 80s), but most things people do have a purpose and a methodology. The second consideration applies to cattle with particular flaws or weaknesses...a good clip job can help minimize those things, just like the right haircut can be flattering on a person!

Regarding the tattoo, you should consult your breed association and ask about standard practices and/or requirements. Every breed association is not the same, and any of them will allow room to imement your own individual system. Ours combine letters and numbers, the first letter required by the ASA to acknowledge year of birth, and other letters or numbers that identify the dam or the cow family. Using more than one letter took some gettin used to, but I like keeping the cow family's number, and when you have several females out of the same cow family, you have to do more than one letter & the number to keep them straight.

 

[Okotoks]

I think the system we use in Canada is good in that there are no duplicate tattoos in any breed for at least 22 years. Each breeder is assigned a tattoo prefix. For example our daughter's tattoo prefixes are JE and JD and ours is DAN. No other breeder within any breed can use someone else's prefix. The animal's year of birth is assigned, so 2012 is Z, 2013 will be A, 2014 B etc.. The letters i ,o ,v and q are not used as they can be easily confused with other letters and numbers. eg. v and  u or 1 and I.
Then each calf is given it's individual number, usually in order of birth. We number the calves in our herd straight through so as not to have any duplicate year letter combos. (If we have a JD 1Z then the next calf if it's Jacqueline's will be JE 2Z) Tattoos are usually placed in the right ear.
You will of course get duplicate tattoos after 22 years if you are still in the breed but those animals are long gone.
I know some other countries use the same system but some are on a different year letter rotation.
This system really avoids several animals in a breed having the same tattoo and also makes it harder to alter a tattoo.

 

[renegadelivestock]

i tattoo by birth date fro example, if a calf was born on jan first, with 2012 being the letter Z,and my herd prefix being SSM, the tattoo would be SSM 101Z

 

[heatherleblanc]

Clipping - NO two animals will ever be clipped the same.  You need to picture the PERFECT animal (whether it be a steer, heifer or cow), and then shape them by clipping to make them look more like the ideal.  Look at pictures of grand champions from denver, IOS, etc to see things close to the ideal.

Fitting - the best i can say is, watch and learn.  You are going to get very little from asking in a forum because you have to see it.  I would recommend looking into Kirk Stierwalt's fitting clinics and seeing when he is in your area to attend one.  It will be worth every penny you pay.  http://www.kirkstierwalt.com/calendar.html

Tattoos - They are literally a tattoo in the animals ear that is used for identification.  It varies as to what is in the ear depending on the breed (recquired for all registered animals), but usually there is a prefix made up of up to 4 letters that identifies the breeder, each breeder will have one, and no one else will have the same prefix within that breed association, and then below, is the animals identification, made up of numbers and a letter.  The numbers are usually based on the order of the calves born that year, and the letter is based on the year and is universal across breeds.  2012 is year Z, 2013 is year A, 2014 is year B, etc. The letters I, O, Q and V are not used because they can be mistaken for other numbers or letters I=1, O=0, Q=O, V=U

ex.  The breeders Jane and John Doe may have the prefix JJD , have their first calf of the year and designate it 1Z

The tattoo would be
JJD
1Z

 

[leanbeef]

i tattoo by birth date fro example, if a calf was born on jan first, with 2012 being the letter Z,and my herd prefix being SSM, the tattoo would be SSM 101Z

So then what if more than one calf is born on the same day?...

 

[renegadelivestock]

i tattoo by birth date fro example, if a calf was born on jan first, with 2012 being the letter Z,and my herd prefix being SSM, the tattoo would be SSM 101Z

So then what if more than one calf is born on the same day?...

i don't have enough cows for that to have been a issue yet, ha ha, i suppose you could just add a # so both jan 1st calves would be 101z, and 1011z, or 1012z, not to be confused with calves born jan 11, which would be 111z, or jan 12, which would be 112z

 

[AAOK]

Clipping - Hair Care is the most important point in clipping.  If you don't have the hair grown, trained, and popped, your clip job is doomed.

#1 Clipping Rule - Begin with the End in mind. (translated - you must picture in your mind how the calf needs to look to win the show, and then start clipping)