By RON DAINES
Freelance Writer

(March 1, 2010)  Temporary branding with paint can be a useful identification tool, but hard dried lumps of paint that can not be scoured out can contaminate clean wool.

To address the problem, the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) is conducting a preliminary paint trial to see which paints, colors and application techniques work best in a broad trial.

Ron Cole, ASI wool consultant, presented results to date from general trials during the Wool Roundtable in Nashville.

Bottom line, he said, size and altering the paint makes a difference.

“Less is better,” said Cole. “Smaller branding irons accomplished what we need with less paint, and it’s easier to apply and scours out much better.”

Cole recommended using a 5 mm or smaller branding iron, and he reminded growers to follow the paint’s label directions and warm the paint container in a water bath before using. Interestingly, if paint is frozen or heated improperly it significantly affects the scourablity of the paint.

He noted that AWEX of Australia recommends applications using a 4 mm or smaller branding iron (4 mm is the thickness of four credit cards put together), branding on the head or neck and using less paint.

The trials found that, in general, the color of paint didn’t make any difference, but Cole said red, blue and black paints are the most problematic.

As a next step, the paint trial will scour fleeces with paint applied 330 days prior to see whether paints are still visible and scour out more easily. Results are for general information and not conclusive.

After the first testing phase is complete, more complex comparisons will be available.

Producers should keep in mind the following at shearing time:

• use a paint that is scourable;
• apply less paint by using a 4 mm applicator;  and
• follow label directions by not allowing the paint to freeze, not adding anything to the paint and use a water bath to heat the liquid if it is too thick.