cooling off calf

[shorthornboy]

during the summer after rinsing the calf should i blow him or leave him wet to keep him cool?

 

[pigguy]

DO NOT LEAVE HIM WET!!! if you leave him wet he will over heat and sweat. rinse him for a long time then go and blow him out

 

[ShowStopper]

Pigguy is right. If you leave them wet the heat from their body heats up the water left on them and thus makes them much hotter than they were to begin with. Read Red's article on summer hair care. It should help a lot.

 

[red]

yes, if you leave them wet, they start to sweat & you can actually develop hot spots. trust me, it's not a fun thing to go through. Happened to one of my heifers over the winter when she'd get wet from the snow & rain.
The summer hair tips are on the front page of www.steerplanet.com

Red

 

[farmboy]

(cow) do you put him in front of fans? what i usually do is after i rinse him, take a brush and push the hair down to squeegee (you know what i mean) the water out then push the hair forward and dry under a turbo fan. OR, you can blow the hair and get most of the water of him and then fans. at about 7 PM i rinse mine and leave him wet cause it gets down to 50 at night here  (cow)

 

[red]

Farmboy- best to blow him out & then put him under the fans. It not only trains the hair but helps stimulate growth.
At night I will let them out wet.

Red

 

[ShortyJ13]

im kinda doing the same thing farmboy is talking about, i rinse my calf for a while, squiggy the water from her hair, comb it out & then put her under a turbo fan. But i have noticed a couple of places on her legs where she lays down... im not exactly sure what it is, when i first noticed it i was roto-brushing her leg hair. i thought it might be a ringworm or fungus of some sort but once i got to looking at it.. i dont think thats the problem but in those spots she's loosing hair & its like dry dead skin where i can see it... is that a "hot spot" ?? or am i dealing with something else?
:-\ ??? :-\

 

[red]

sounds a little like ringworm. There is an article on it at the front pages of the site.
I use a bleach pen or Sullivan's Fungus Fighter to kill it. After it's killed but something like fluid flim or grease to soften it up.
The hot spots make it very red, moist & the hair falls out in clumps.

Red

 

[Jill]

We do just the opposite.  In the morning we rinse, brush and blow enough to seperate the hair, but it is still fairly wet, they stand in front of fans until 1:00 then they lay down the rest of the day.  In the evening we rinse and blow completely dry and put in whatever hair product we use that day, blow that in and let them out.
That isn't a hot spot, we used to raise bull dogs and they had real problems with that, the skin would almost get like gooey, it was gross.  It sound like you just need to condition well, maybe some fungus spray.

 

[red]

ShortyJ- this is what a hot spot looks like. Let me tell you , it was a nightmare!

 

[ShortyJ13]

Wow Red, that does look like a nightmare! i think i would have to break down and cry... lol. her hair is falling out in smaller clumps, but the skin isnt red like that.. it's really flakey and discolored... maybe it's a different type of fungus. i'll try the bleach pen and keep up the fungus fighter and see what comes of it!. i just read this topic and thought " Oh No! " so i wanted to be sure! thanks for the tips you guys  ;D

 

[farmboy]

now that is not cool!

 

[Show Dad]

I had a spot on one steer thought it was ring worm but used a fungus fighter and nothing happened. Then I saw your picture Red (BTW - gross) but that's what it is a hot spot.

Thanks Red! (clapping)

 

[red]

OK, for hot spots- keep the area dry & well ventilated. Don't use heavy ointments or grease. Antibiotics was needed in her case. We gave her penicillin but that's a whole other story.

Yes, I did cry, sob & worry for weeks. She had about 6 of those spots. With a lot of work, care & praying she made it to the sale. Her hair was so thick & dense that it caused bacteria to form in the damp areas.

Red

 

[showcattlegal]

Put them under the fans damp durning the day and wet them down bush them and turn them out wet. Everybody always asks me how we keep our hair on in the summer time.( the pic is a blow and go show)

 

[Malinda]

ShortyJ13,

Sounds like your calf might have rain rot. Just scrape off the dead hair/flaky skin and use a Betadine shampoo. Make sure you get ALL those areas really dry.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Malinda

 

[ShortyJ13]

ive never seen rain rot on a calf before, but ill check into it and see.. our county fair is in a few weeks so im trying to hurry up and get it dealt with. but thanks for the tips.. every little tid bit helps becuase im new to this business!

 

[Clubcalfshowgirl]

Nice calf!! ya u sound like me, nobody can belive how much hair my calves during the summer time, sometimes its more than winter time!! I have a shorty that came in 4rm mississippi and he had only lost a little bit of his hair the whole time hes been here (FL) and i also have a little black steer and his pen stays 1/2 shaded and nobody can believe how much hair he keeps on him also.And thats just by fans and me grooming them and sometimes misters (makes pens toooo wet)

Put them under the fans damp durning the day and wet them down bush them and turn them out wet. Everybody always asks me how we keep our hair on in the summer time.( the pic is a blow and go show)

 

[ShortyJ13]

thanks! & yea.. we dont really have the weather on our side either. here in AR. i know what you mean with those misters though... they do keep the calves cool but they are a handfull

 

[Clubcalfshowgirl]

ya if its not pouring down rain its really hot,so i have to turn on misters when not raining and keep off when it is going to ran. when my misters are on they are set to a timer also, i went to walmart and they have a line of 6 and 12 misters for sale and they work really really good.

thanks! & yea.. we dont really have the weather on our side either. here in AR. i know what you mean with those misters though... they do keep the calves cool but they are a handfull