Freeze Branding

It was drizzling a bit but the weather didn't stop us from branding the heifers at Batangas Dairy Cooperative (BADACO) in Lipa City. Rainier forgot the cordless hair clipper so he had to cut the coats short in preparing the animals for their baptism of fire (ice is more like it). We had this styro box and filled it halfway with liquid nitrogen. Dipped the branding irons to chill and drove the animals into the chute. The brand should be pressed squarely for thirty seconds applying about 20Kg pressure. BADACO has a three digit numbering system so we had to take turns. Edwin Sanchez, BADACO farm manager, did most of the animals.

There was some swelling on the skin after branding, like the instruction said, and will be gone within a week. In about a month the hair will shed off and new hair growth will appear in about two months without any pigment.

The goal is to have a discolored coat on the brand site by destroying the pigment follicle but sparing the hair follicle. Pressing for thirty seconds does the job, more than that and you'll reach the follicle for hair growth and you'll end up with a bald spot.