Ear Tags

Hopefully I'm not counting my chicks before they hatch, but I find it easier to get the ear tags written before you need them. Then they are dry and ranch ready.

I'm a Y-Tex guy. Really have never used anything else. They look good and are easy to apply. 

I bet I've had this paint marker for five years. Keep the lid on and it lasts a long time, I guess. 

I find using a separate paper or something to depresses the painter and load the ink to work better than doing it on the tag.

You almost can't make the letters too bold. This is probably even a little light. But these are calf tags and will likely get replaced with bigger ones in the next year.

Once the fronts are all dried, I like to mark the backs with the same number. Then, when you're riding up behind a calf, you also know who you're dealing with. Have to write the letters smaller, though, and close to the bottom because their ear covers the top half.

Giddy up.

Fun stuff. It's nice having them done. Now, as the calves drop, we can grab a tag and keep trucking. I'm confident we'll punch them all. Let's ranch!