How to get hair

[HT]

I have my steer on a schedule. I rinse him off twice a day everyday, blow him out, and put him under fans. He has very good hair, but he has absolutely no leg hair, and that's where he needs the hair the most. Also his coat is dull in some places. Are there any suggestions? and I was also wondering if someone could help me with my schedule.

My schedule:
6:30 feed/clean pens
7:15 rinse
7:45 Blowdry then put under fans
3:15 feed
4:30 Rinse
5:15 Blowdry/fans
6:00 Feed
6:30 turn out

Thank you. (cow)

 

[herefordfootball]

Roto Fluffer works great for leg hair. We've had good luck with it.

Chris

 

[shortyjock89]

Brush, brush brush!  I'd brush/comb him completely dry at least once a day.  I'd use Kleen Sheen or another hair polish for the dull coat situation.  Concentrated Laser Sheen is cheap and it works really well.  Cut by 1/2 with vinegar and that will help too.  Use a rice root brush and a scrub brush on his legs along with a roto brush. 

 

[eicks showcattle]

rinse in morning but dont blow out , just  put on fans

 

[shortyjock89]

rinse in morning but dont blow out , just  put on fans

You don't find that the water trapped on the body inhibits hair growth? I used to just rinse and now blow or comb dry, but then I started doing it on one calf, and ever since then, I've been a firm believer in getting them at least 75% dry.  To each his own though, I don't want to tell you what to do or anything.

 

[Cattledog]

rinse in morning but dont blow out , just  put on fans

You don't find that the water trapped on the body inhibits hair growth? I used to just rinse and now blow or comb dry, but then I started doing it on one calf, and ever since then, I've been a firm believer in getting them at least 75% dry.  To each his own though, I don't want to tell you what to do or anything.

I'm with Justin here.  The mere stimulation by brushing will grow alot more hair!

 

[Bone2011]

i wouuld try a roto brush just dont over do it cause it can have a tedency to heat the leg. Also for the dull hair try adding some rag oil to your clean sheen it does a nice job giving a nice shine and body to the hair.
Good luck

 

[box6rranch]

After we completely dry the cow we spray a liberal amount of Revive onto the cow, including the legs and belly. We take our palm scrub brush that we use for washing and "comb" the Revive deep into the skin then blow into the hair. Try not to blow it all out like you do the water.
From early on we get our calves really use to us touching their legs. We've tried a lot of different things including the Roto Fluffer. We've found that using the washing scrub brush or a dog brush and doing it twice a day brushing upwards works well.
You are on a pretty tight schedule. Is it still hot where you are at 6:30 at night when you turn them out? I know here when it's really hot we feed in the cool room and don't turn out until it cools off. You might be sabotaging what you are trying to accomplish all day if you turn out when it's still hot.

 

[herefordfootball]

rinse in morning but dont blow out , just  put on fans

In hot weather, with fans or not water is going to act as an insulator, and kinda slow your hair growth, I would definitely blow out, and brush, leaving a little water in or misting after you brush or dry would help.

Chris

 

[simtal]

6:30 is way too early to turn out, IMO.

 

[shortyjock89]

6:30 is way too early to turn out, IMO.

I agree, I'm just usually starting to rinse again at 6 30, and we turn out at about 9.

 

[Jill]

And 7:30 is also too late, if you want the best possible hair growth they need to be in before sunup and out after sundown.  On the am rinse we will brush and blow partial dry and then put under fans tied up, after an hour or so we go in and brush in a hair product (we don't always use the same thing) and blow it in we leave them tied until around noon and then brush again and let them down, repeat at night.  Leg hair is difficult and if you're brushing those legs that is probably all they will have, it's one of those thing your calf either has it or it doesn't.

 

[TMJ Show Cattle]

Some good posts here. Leg hair is usually genetic. Work the hair you do have alot. Not so much with roto brush,be careful there. NEVER blow hair completely dry.That can ruin hair quicker than anything. Always use conditioner after washing,and dip them with 1/2 cup vinegar to 5 gallons of water. This will kill dandruff befor it starts,and help sissolve and delete any soap that you may have missed.Always get calves in befor daylight and always turn out at dark. Keep your calves DARK during the day when not working on them.COMPLETELY DARK. If you have a cool room use a swamp cooler instead of AC if possible. Ac's are great when properly used, but can be a detriment if not used with caution.

 

[LFFASHOWER]

We rinse about 6:30 -7:00 in the morning and comb all the hair forward dont dry and leave under fans. We also feed them 1 oz. of  Nu-Grow. At night we rinse at 8:00 ish and blow partially dry, blow dry every other day just to train the hair. Seems to work very well but here in michigan we have only had a hand full of days where the temp was over 80

 

[wrc]

Ok i'm going to give out my ancient chinese secret.  It might sound nasty but it does work.  Go to the grocery store and buy a bucket of lard, if you can still get it.  In the mornings after you rinse rub the lard into the leg hair while still wet and then brush with a riceroot brush.  Brush until you can't brush anymore and then brusha little more.  In the evenings rinse the lard out and brush the leg hair until semi-dry.  I don't know why or how this works but it does work. 

 

[Nasc]

I used lard back in the day too.
I really liked the results then and have threatened to go back to it again.