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Don’t forget to submit your entries to the 4-H office by the 3rd of the next month! Send a photo of your completed challenge to somer.meade@wsu.edu to be entered into our drawing for prizes at the end of our 4-H year.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
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Instructions<\/h3>\n
MAY 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n Description<\/b><\/p>\n Youth will design their own unique herd brand.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Objectives\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n After completing this activity, youth will know a basic history of brands and their purpose, create their own unique brand, and cement their understanding of why animals need to be identified.\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Supplies<\/b><\/p>\n Background<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n Different Species of Animals use different forms of identification just like we have school id cards or driver’s licenses to show other people who we are. In the Animal Identification Matching Activity we looked at the many different ways animals are identified by their owners but those means of identification have changed over time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n For many years before we had microchips, before we had phones, before we had cars, before we had highways, many parts of the country did not have fences.\u00a0 That meant that animals, like cows, could roam and graze wherever they wanted. It was up to cowboys to go find the cows that belonged to their ranch and gather them up.\u00a0 Brands on the animals helped identify who a cow belonged to so that people didn\u2019t accidentally take someone else\u2019s animal.\u00a0 When people stole cattle, law enforcement would look at the brands on the cows to prove who an animal belonged to.\u00a0 This wasn\u2019t just limited to the American old west. We know that people branded animals as in Ancient Egypt as long ago as 2700 BC.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What is branding? A hot iron applied to the skin creates a permanent mark quickly on the skin of an animal. <\/span>Branding is still the #1 method of identification because it is permanent, cattle cannot lose it like they could possibly lose a tag.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Animals still go missing today and it is important to prove who the animal belongs to so it can go home.\u00a0 If a fence breaks and a cow gets out into the road someone has to call the rancher to make sure they save the cow from getting hit by a car! A brand, or other form of identification, helps people do that. Here in Washington there are people who track registered brands and can look up who an animal belongs to based on the brand.\u00a0 If a cow gets stolen then that person can help read the brand. Cows are also mischievous and can get out of fields and get lost.\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n What makes a good brand?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Brands are made of simple letters, numbers, characters, and symbols.\u00a0 Like an emoji or character that you might text. <3 \ud83d\ude42 Letters can be sideways, or upside down.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Your brand represents the name of your family, or ranch.\u00a0 It can share something that is important to you or that you care about.\u00a0 Brands can be funny or you can take a letter, such as maybe the first letter of your first name, and use that in your brand in different ways.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For more information and examples of brands, view our animal science activity guide, found here:\u00a0 https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/skamania\/youth\/for-youth\/grab-go-kits\/\u00a0<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Directions<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n Look at the samples of brands and choose a design to represent your herd (your family or maybe any animals you are raising).\u00a0 You can combine designs or include other symbols not seen.\u00a0 Key Advice: try to use as little detail as possible.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It is also important to get your brand approved by local authorities.\u00a0 Watch for a fun challenge to \u201capprove\u201d your brand with the Clark, Skamania, and Klickitat 4-H Office!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Reflect & Apply Questions<\/b><\/p>\n What symbols can you identify around you?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n How do you label things that belong to you or your family?\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n If your animal gets lost how do people know to contact you?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Fair Entry<\/strong><\/p>\n This is a great project for an educational display that could be entered as part of animal science or veterinary science, submitted as a poster, or as a presentation.\u00a0All items entered should include 3\u00d75\u2033 card explaining exhibit: what item is\/its use, what was done\/learned, publication title\/page# where goals listed for the project if applicable.\u00a0<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n <\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n APRIL 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n The Challenge:<\/b>\u00a0Create a comparison sheet that shows how to care for animals in hot summer weather.\u00a0 This can be for an animal you already own, or an animal you would like to own. It should include information on how to feed the animal, what their living situation (home, pen, coop, cage, or pasture) needs to keep the animal healthy, and what sort of weather is dangerous for that animal.<\/p>\n What You Need:<\/b>\u00a0Paper and writing supplies. You may need books from the library or access to the internet to research. Ask your 4-H leader for help if it is your project species.<\/p>\n How to prepare:\u00a0<\/b>Animals need to be cared for in different ways during different weather. Think about the upcoming summer and how the animal you choose might need to have its living set-up changed to deal with high levels of heat. Research by yourself or with an adult what sort of weather is dangerous for your animal and what someone who raises that type of animal might change to keep their animals healthy.<\/p>\n What to do:\u00a0<\/b>First, research your animal! Then make a list or drawing of how to care for that animal in good weather and then make a comparison list or drawing of how that animal\u2019s home, pen, coop, cage, or pasture might need to change for that animal to be healthy in hot weather.<\/p>\n Reflection Questions:<\/b>\u00a0What did you find most surprising about what animals need? Do you do any of the things you learned about to help keep yourself cool during the summer?\u00a0 How do you know if it is too hot for animals that you own?\u00a0 Do you need to prepare for good and bad weather when you own an animal? How can you do that as a responsible animal owner?<\/p>\n For Fair Entry:\u00a0<\/b>This is a great project for an educational display that could be entered as part of animal science or veterinary science, submitted as a poster, or as a presentation. All items entered should include 3\u00d75\u2033 card explaining exhibit: what item is\/its use, what was done\/learned, publication title\/page# where goals listed for the project if applicable.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n\n
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