Freeze Branding Iron Brass Set 3" 0-8 Numbers Cattle Identification Brand

Heavy brass construction maintains proper temperature to brand more stock effectively in less time. In freeze branding, a super-cold branding iron, chilled in a mixture of liquid nitrogen or dry ice and alcohol, is applied to the animal’s hide, killing the pigment-producing cells. Freeze branding is a technique in which a supercold branding iron, properly applied to the animals hide, kills the color pigment producing cells. The result is that white or colorless hair instead of colored hair, grow at the brand site. Freeze branding is effective on both cattle and horses along with dogs. One advantage of freeze branding is that it produces a readable brand at any time of the year. The skin of the animal contains millions of hairs which make up the animals coat. Figure 1 is an enlarges, simplified drawing of one hair shaft with its color (pigment) producing follicle (CF) and its growth follicle (GF), both shown below the skin. Under normal circumstances hair grows as a clear shaft (like a clear straw) from the GF. On colored animals, pigment (black, brown, red, yellow etc.) is added from the CF below the skin to the clear hairshaft, which gives the hair its color. When the intensely cold iron uséd in freeze branding is placed on the skin for the correct time and at the correct pressure, the cold temperatures destroys the CF's at the brand site so they no longer can produce pigment; however, the hair still continues to grow for the GF's. The result is that hair at the brand site contains no pigment and appears white. This is the desired result-a uniform, white brand. If the iron is pressed to the skin for a shorter period of time and/or with less pressure that required, some hairs grow in colored and some hairs grow in white, so the brand has a streaked appearance. If the iron is held on a longer period of time, the cold destroys the GF's as well, so that no hair grows at all. On light colored animals the bald is desirable because the dark skin with no hair shows up better that a white brand. Things you will need: Holding chute or some other positive device to keep the animal from moving Container large enough so the irons can stand upright when the heads are submerged in the coolant Coolant-Dry Ice and Alcohol or Liquid Nitrogen Electric clipper (surgical blade preferred) Grooming brush for cleaning the brand site Gloves Stopwatch Squirt bottle