Body Clip or Not?

[ViniVidiVici]

I'm from Wisconsin and we've had a long cold winter. We still have a couple inches of snow on the ground. I was wondering if it is too late to body clip our steers for shows starting in mid to late june. One of my steers has a huge amount of hair but he also has a lot of dandruff. Just by using a comb im pulling out tons of hair. Do i keep combing or body clip?

 

[obie105]

We never body clip just keep combing which will stimulate the hide. Start washing and rinsing when you can. Kleen sheen and I believe vinegar will help with dandruff. If you use the search function on here theres some info on dandruff and what to use

 

[frostback]

I would worm him with Cydectin, and then just keep working. Look into getting a grill brick or a shedding comb and using a blower will remove dead hair too. I think they bet a better regrowth when they shed natually.
https://www.sullivansupply.com/cart/ia/p-1445-sullivans-dually-hair-shedding-comb.aspx
https://www.sullivansupply.com/cart/ia/p-735-grill-brick.aspx

 

[Shebet21]

I'm not a fan of body clipping. Do like Frostback says and get yourself a shedding comb. They work great.

 

[Jeferin]

We are in the same boat. We washed yesterday for the first time all winter. We have never body clipped because our first show is mid April. We blow and comb and it seams to work fine.

 

[BA Maines]

I'm from Wisco also.  We use the Shedding comb by Sullivans or Weaver. It works GREAT!!!. We wash our steers and heifers at an outside washrack all thru the winter as long as it is over 25 degrees  and sunny.  Just make sure you get them COMPLETELY DRY.

 

[ZNT]

I guess I will take the other side of the fence on this one.  Around the second week of February, we slicked off our Jr. National cattle to get rid of the winter coat, and to get a head start on the new growth by taking advantage of the cold nights down here in Texas.  We used our flat-head blades, and clipped everything with the grain of the hair.  So far, so good.  I think we will definitely be better off on hair come mid June than if we spent the whole spring combing out the dead hair. 

 

[ViniVidiVici]

We body clipped last year toward the end of february but last year it was also a lot warmer. Since this year was so much colder we couldnt until now I wasn't sure what to do. Slicking them last year worked great for us tho.