I is for Identification

I know that I told you that no two cows have exactly the same spot pattern, but they are still hard to tell apart sometimes. Also record keeping is very important on a dairy farm. So here's what we do to keep track of everyone on Bremer Farms.

 All of our calves get earrings! Our bull (boy) calves wear yellow ear tags.  Each tag bears a number, date of birth and mom's name. 

I took this picture before we even recorded all the information, but are you wondering why this tag is blue? Each heifer (girl) calf gets a blue tag...this year. Each year we use a different color ear tag for the girls so we can quickly identify their age by a quick glance at their tag.

At about two years old, our ladies begin to milk. They then add ankle bracelets to their jewelry collection. The leg bands are fastened on each of their back legs so they are easy to see when they are standing to be milked.

So why is assigning numbers to each animal so important?

All kinds of important information is recorded about each animal on our farm. Besides birthday, we also record mom and dad's names, the date each animal is bred, if they get sick, and  if they are treated with antibiotics. We also note if they have any difficulty when having a calf. We keep lots of notes because just like the charts your doctor keeps about you; history is important information.

Have you entered for a chance to win my Dairy Prize Package?

Go to E is for Enter to find out how easy it is to perhaps be the winner. Good luck!