My steers hair is falling out. (kind of), Dirty, and Leading :/

[OH Breeder]

LindseyMaines-

I do not know when you are showing or your county fair is but if you want to have hair you will need to rinse. When I was young and my first few years of showing I had to borrow a chute til I had one built. If you can halter your guy you can tie him to the back of a truck to rinse him. You need to run the hose over him rinse him an til his brisket is cool. You do not have to wash him every day with soap cause as you said it will dry his skin out. Feed can create heat and cause your hair to fall out. I had two box fans that I kept on my calf and they moved air just fine an til I could afford newer bigger fans. Is your barn an old bank barn and he's in the bottom? I know you had pictures before of your barn and it has an old stone foundation. Is he on straw and do you have a dirt floor in the barn? If you want to keep him clean you should probably pick his stall just like you would a horse once a day. If you don't do it once a day then once a week. If you keep the manure out he won't get dirty and his hair will stay cleaner. His genetics also may be why his hair is short and coarse. if he had great hair this winter just like other cattle as they mature, it can get coarser with age and shorter. Remember how short your diary feeders were. Holsteins are not known to have alot of hair. It is short and coarse. Cattle do sweat. I am not sure why anyone wouldn't' think so. But even just moving the air around will help with that. If he is gaining well there are supplements and feed rations that are may not quiet as hot to help with core heat. There are several threads on daily hair care. Once he gets use to it you are in Michigan and he will appreciate it when the summer months roll around. In our part of country we have some temperature extremes, especially in the summer.
So
work on rinsing
Brush brush brush- stimulates natural oils as well as stimulates hair growth
keep his pen clean
get a box fan or two if you can't afford the big fans- you can find them at Walmart for 15.00
Do you have a feed consultant you could work with? Barley in the end can add some nice hard cover and does not create as much heat.

 

[LindseysMaine_Angus]

LindseyMaines-

I do not know when you are showing or your county fair is but if you want to have hair you will need to rinse. When I was young and my first few years of showing I had to borrow a chute til I had one built. If you can halter your guy you can tie him to the back of a truck to rinse him. You need to run the hose over him rinse him an til his brisket is cool. You do not have to wash him every day with soap cause as you said it will dry his skin out. Feed can create heat and cause your hair to fall out. I had two box fans that I kept on my calf and they moved air just fine an til I could afford newer bigger fans. Is your barn an old bank barn and he's in the bottom? I know you had pictures before of your barn and it has an old stone foundation. Is he on straw and do you have a dirt floor in the barn? If you want to keep him clean you should probably pick his stall just like you would a horse once a day. If you don't do it once a day then once a week. If you keep the manure out he won't get dirty and his hair will stay cleaner. His genetics also may be why his hair is short and coarse. if he had great hair this winter just like other cattle as they mature, it can get coarser with age and shorter. Remember how short your diary feeders were. Holsteins are not known to have alot of hair. It is short and coarse. Cattle do sweat. I am not sure why anyone wouldn't' think so. But even just moving the air around will help with that. If he is gaining well there are supplements and feed rations that are may not quiet as hot to help with core heat. There are several threads on daily hair care. Once he gets use to it you are in Michigan and he will appreciate it when the summer months roll around. In our part of country we have some temperature extremes, especially in the summer.
So
work on rinsing
Brush brush brush- stimulates natural oils as well as stimulates hair growth
keep his pen clean
get a box fan or two if you can't afford the big fans- you can find them at Walmart for 15.00
Do you have a feed consultant you could work with? Barley in the end can add some nice hard cover and does not create as much heat.

I can halter him and lead him over to the calf barn but he just gets scared.  yup he's in the basement. once hes cleaned up hes going on shavings or sawdust. We are putting box fans up next weekend I believe. Its cement floor. but some of it is broke so its like half dirt and half cement.  Corn keeps in heat right? His grain is Cracked Corn, Baby Beef Pellets, Dry Mollases and something else I dont remember.  Yes I am friends with a Kent Feed Rep's daughter. Thank you so much! Your advice was great! And I had 2 holsteins have long hair but it was straight. last year i could take a little hair dryer for dogs and blow dry him and he looked like a little beef steer! of course it took 3 hours. So Can I do less corn in his grain and substute it for barley? My fair is July 22

 

[RankeCattleCo]

I've shown dairy steers for five years now and I haven't once used a blower on them.  I start washing the middle of March here in Wisconsin.  You also don't need a chute to wash.  Just start at his feet and slowly work your way up.  Trust me, I betcha he would do more damage to himself if he was in a flimsy clipping chute.  Been there, done that.

Second- If he's shucking his hair, then the manure spots could flat out just be ripped out.  He'll grow that hair back just like the rest of his body.

Just the truth,
RCC

 

[farmboy]

Not sure if we're being trolled or not.


And Ranke, cows sweat, they sweat very heavily  <rock>

 

[RankeCattleCo]

I found that out when I googled it this morning..  ;D
Can't remember what species of mammals my pops taught me that didn't sweat...

 

[farmboy]

It's pigs

 

[Ohioteerchick]

Okay, when it comes to the fight with hair, I know all too well about it. I've shown for eight years now, and not a single calf (except for the one I have now) has had hair to even brush.

1. Cows sweat, bad. You sweat when you're hot, and as a girl you put your hair up. A steer, can't do that obviously. So he loses his hair to keep cool. Its a natural cattle instinc.
2. I'm not 110% sure about this but I've heard too much straight corn will burn them up? Correct me if I'm wrong someone.
3. The best thing you can do is brush all the dead hair out and start over. Yes it sounds crazy but I started going through this a month ago and my calfs hair now is growing back strong.
4. RINSE. Even if you don't have a chute, rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse. I mean for a while I had to tie my steer to the back porch because my chute was broke. Yeah, it kinda mucked up a little bit of my yard, and my mom was a bit mad. But it worked. Hell, if you need to have someone hold him somewhere the water hose can reach and rinse him that way. You want to sit there with that hose on him for a long time, get his face, his belly his legs, etc. Thats where most of the heat is in them. Grab and hold his ears, if their still hot feeling, he's not cool. (A cool calf is a hungry calf)
5. I think seen you said something about over washing him will dry out his hair. That you're right on. But when you rinse him, you don't need to use soap. Just water. I used to (during the summer) rinse early in the morning, twice during the middle of the day when its the hottest, and once in the late afternoon. It's a lot of work but its worth it in the end.
6. WD-40 on his legs, sounds crazy but it works. But be sure to get it washed off. It messes with leg hair.
7. Rice root brush. Yes, its amazing.
8. Melatonin pills? They could be an option, but wait a while, if you can naturally get hair started then go with it.
9. Fans help also. My steer right now is kinda in the same set up yours sounds like hes in. But mines in a barn with concrete floors which keeps it cool in there without the fans. But I still keep them on him. I had to use box fans for like two years. It takes more than two by from what I've learned. And once a week you'll have to clean off the blades. Dirt sticks to them really bad and keeps a lot of air from coming through.
10. Don't drown him in sheen. I've learned its a miracle worker but too much is bad.

I'm not trying to be rude if thats what it seems like. I've just been in your situation for years.

You don't want to be the kid at your show when the judge puts you in second and says at the end, "I wanted to put this steer in first, he has everything I was looking for thick, finished, fat. He just didn't have enough hair."

Then you hear your dad yell.... "WHAT?! You can't EAT the damn HAIR!"

 

[LindseysMaine_Angus]

Thank you guys SO MUCH!!!!!!!  <party>

 

[LindseysMaine_Angus]

Okay, when it comes to the fight with hair, I know all too well about it. I've shown for eight years now, and not a single calf (except for the one I have now) has had hair to even brush.

1. Cows sweat, bad. You sweat when you're hot, and as a girl you put your hair up. A steer, can't do that obviously. So he loses his hair to keep cool. Its a natural cattle instinc.
2. I'm not 110% sure about this but I've heard too much straight corn will burn them up? Correct me if I'm wrong someone.
3. The best thing you can do is brush all the dead hair out and start over. Yes it sounds crazy but I started going through this a month ago and my calfs hair now is growing back strong.
4. RINSE. Even if you don't have a chute, rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse. I mean for a while I had to tie my steer to the back porch because my chute was broke. Yeah, it kinda mucked up a little bit of my yard, and my mom was a bit mad. But it worked. Hell, if you need to have someone hold him somewhere the water hose can reach and rinse him that way. You want to sit there with that hose on him for a long time, get his face, his belly his legs, etc. Thats where most of the heat is in them. Grab and hold his ears, if their still hot feeling, he's not cool. (A cool calf is a hungry calf)
5. I think seen you said something about over washing him will dry out his hair. That you're right on. But when you rinse him, you don't need to use soap. Just water. I used to (during the summer) rinse early in the morning, twice during the middle of the day when its the hottest, and once in the late afternoon. It's a lot of work but its worth it in the end.
6. WD-40 on his legs, sounds crazy but it works. But be sure to get it washed off. It messes with leg hair.
7. Rice root brush. Yes, its amazing.
8. Melatonin pills? They could be an option, but wait a while, if you can naturally get hair started then go with it.
9. Fans help also. My steer right now is kinda in the same set up yours sounds like hes in. But mines in a barn with concrete floors which keeps it cool in there without the fans. But I still keep them on him. I had to use box fans for like two years. It takes more than two by from what I've learned. And once a week you'll have to clean off the blades. Dirt sticks to them really bad and keeps a lot of air from coming through.
10. Don't drown him in sheen. I've learned its a miracle worker but too much is bad.

I'm not trying to be rude if thats what it seems like. I've just been in your situation for years.

You don't want to be the kid at your show when the judge puts you in second and says at the end, "I wanted to put this steer in first, he has everything I was looking for thick, finished, fat. He just didn't have enough hair."

Then you hear your dad yell.... "WHAT?! You can't EAT the damn HAIR!"

My uncle and dad say it all the time. to funny thank you for your help!