Beef Equipment

Beef Equipment
(Be able to identify and write the name of all items.)

Calving/Perinatal Equipment

Calf colostrum supplement	Electrolyte supplement for calves

Obstetrical chains and handle. Chains are looped around calf's legs and the handle hooked onto the chain to apply appropriate force on the calf to assist birth.	Elastrator with band. Used for castration (belongs in the next section with castration equipment).
Castration Equipment

Emasculatome	Newberry castration knife
Dehorning Equipment

Barnes dehorners	Electric dehorners

Scoop or tube dehorner
Animal Identification Equipment

Allflex ear tagger (top) and Metal ear tagger with enlarged metal tag (bottom)	Allflex ear tag

Comparison of hot branding iron (top) with freeze branding iron (bottom)	Hot brand (left) and cold brand (right) Note the breaks in the metal at the top of the "A" and where the cross-bar meets the legs of the "A." These breaks allow heat to dissipate so there will not be hot spots on the iron.

Livestock marker/paint sticks	Tattoo pliers
Health Equipment

Balling gun for administering pills (Also called a bolus gun)	Rumen magnet to collect hardware (wire, nails, other metal) that an animal might swallow. Prevents hardware disease (infections caused by sharp metal objects puncturing the wall of the reticulum or rumen).

Digital thermometer (top) Hoof trimmers or hoof shears (bottom)	Drenching gun for administering liquid medicines or anthelmintics into the stomach of an animal.
General Management

Scrotal tape (two views) to measure scrotal circumference of bulls. Scrotal circumference is an indicator of sperm production. Also, bulls with larger scrotal circumferences tend to sire daughters that reach puberty at younger ages. Weight tape (bottom) to measure heart girth circumference. The animal's weight can be estimated from the heart girth; handy if you don't have a set of scales.	Hip-height measuring stick to determine frame size.
Handling and Restraints

Halter (without a lead rope)	Lead rope for halter

Nose tongs	Hot Shot/shocking stick or electric prod. These two pictures are misleading relative to size. The nose tongs are about half actual size; the Hot Shot is approximately 3 feet long.

Squeeze chute. Cattle normally will become quiet once squeeze pressure is applied from the sides.	Headgate (normally on the front of a squeeze chute) for catching and restraining cattle.

Curved chutes are preferred over straight chutes because cattle cannot see what is at the end of a curved chute until they are almost there. A curved chute also utilizes the natural tendency of cattle to circle around the handler. Note the round crowding pen in the right picture. A round crowd pen will work better than a straight or V-shaped crowd pen because, as cattle go around a 180° turn, they think they are going back to where they came from. Round crowd pens should be laid out so cattle make a 180° turn as they move through the crowd pen and head single-file into the chute.