Grooming and fitting white steers

[Meadow Creek Farm]

What are your tips, secrets, methods for grooming and fitting pure white steers. We just got in a purebred white shorthorn steer and have never worked with an all white one before. Do you use the blue-purple whiting shampoo? When using the white touch up, does it go on real bright or does it blend in pretty good. We show mostly blacks so I see we'll have to have a separate set of brushes for this animal. Thanks for your advice.

 

[DFSC]

Keep them clean and wash them everyday so they don't get those yellow stains. You can use quicksilver or any kind of whiting shampoo, but don't leave in to long it does tend to stain the hair pink. Good luck! It seems like every good shorthorn steer I had was white 

 

[SKF]

Keep him clean is the most important thing and the white paint works well on them.  When your at a show stay away from the black calves as much as you can. There's nothing worse then being ready to go in the show ring and someone with a black calf bumps into your white calf because it will leave black paint on your calf. Plus if you also have black calves use a different grooming chute or wrap your chute with vet wrap so that any old black paint will not get on your white calf. My daughter learned that one the hard way her white calf came out of the chute with gray marks on her neck. Plus wask any new rope halters first my daughtere new pink rope halter left pink on her calf.

 

[farmboy]

don't leave blue soap on for a long time. i have a friend who had a pure white hsorthorn steer and he said he left blue soap on him for about 30 minutes and he had a smurph steer for about a month

 

[jlingle]

don't leave blue soap on for a long time. i have a friend who had a pure white hsorthorn steer and he said he left blue soap on him for about 30 minutes and he had a smurph steer for about a month

Ditto that.... the best hog I ever owned was a bluebutt that I turned blue at our county show.  The judged loved him, and called him "Blue Thunder."  I would imagine this would be a real problem on a calf though.

 

[farmboy]

it was funny, he was washing his steer and some heifers escaped his barn and it took him about an hour to get em back in,stuff happens i guess

 

[Hofstatter Farms]

as far as fitting the white ones goes, it all depends on how white the steer is. if you have him pearl white then it doesn't work to bad, but if he is stained at all, do a light mist. tail adhesive blends pretty well on its own with the yellower ones

 

[COd]

mix mrs. smith's bluing with joy.  works great

 

[afhm]

Start with clean combs or have some that you only use on white calves so the black doesn't get on them.

 

[BCCC]

If you have an aluminum chute make sure to wrap the head gate and side bars in either vet wrap, or plastic wrap because it will turn the gray where ever they rub on it.

 

[TexasHeat]

Can dust with baby powder on the stained spots when fitting, it will also smooth up color transitions.

 

[afhm]

If you have an aluminum chute make sure to wrap the head gate and side bars in either vet wrap, or plastic wrap because it will turn the gray where ever they rub on it.

Try painting the chute with a clear laquer or a aluminum colored paint.

 

[SWMO]

Just be careful of the rules of your show.  Many sanctioned Charolais shows will not allow paint and coloring agents, or baby powder.  They even caution fitters about using tail adhesive to color. ( Tail adhesive is tinted white)

 

[sjcattleco]

ezall

ezall

ezall and more

ezall... that is by far the best stuff and we found it actually blocks stains on white cattle! <rock>

 

[the angus111]

the guy that knows white cattle and shows a ton is stumpy.maybe he can give a secret or two.thats why we have angus,rusty