Applications for the Paint Crayon in the Livestock Industry

Paint crayons or “Chalk” as they are sometimes referred to, are used to temporarily identify animals under special management circumstances, such as in artificial insemination, doctoring, or culling.  The following is a breakdown of the more common uses in the three most prominent sectors of the livestock industry; Dairy, Beef, and Swine.

Dairy:
The most common uses in the dairy industry involve heat detection for artificial insemination.  A mark is made on the

tail of the cow that is expected to come into standing heat.  Once the mark is smeared or rubbed off, the cow is ready for insemination.  A different color can be applied after insemination to indicate the source of the semen from a certain genetic line, the date of exposure, or to signify any other particular instance that requires special attention from the labourer.

Beef and Swine:
In these industries, paint crayons are used to temporarily identify which animals are bred, expecting, or are open.  They may also help indicate which trimester of pregnancy the animal may be in.  In grazing areas they serve as visual aids to mark those that have been given medicines for an illness.  As for confined feeding operations, paint crayons may be employed to separate animals that are deemed ready for harvest from those which require more feeding time.