Need advice on using a cooler room on calves

[kndcattle]

I am considering putting up a small cooler room for couple calves.  After talking to some friends that have used one i'd like to get some other opinions as well.  They say its not completly about keeping them cool to get hair growth.  He said that keeping them in the dark makes their body thinks its shorter days of winter.  My friend said his never got to see daylight till going to shows.  He put them in before sun up and let them out after sun down.  Is this what everyone else does.  Or can they have some light exposure and still grow hair.  Also does this mean no light inside for calves to see either a dimmed light or red possibly.  Does this seem like a good start and what does everyone else do to help in cooler.
Thanks

 

[vc]

In before daylight out after dark, and temp drops below 80% is what my buddies kids did. They had a wash rack in the cool room as well. Only time the lights were on is when they were working on them. Grew hair like a yak, but that was from working the hair 2 to 3 times a day.
They rinsed in the morning when they brought them in, and then when they got home from school they rinsed and worked the hair again, just before they kicked them out they added product and blew them out one more time.

Our fair started at the end of June the calves were always started in the cool room the weekend before April First or close to 90 days in the cool room.

 

[iowabeef]

Good hair comes from a combination
1-Dark
2-Daily rinsing
3-Daily riceroot brushing
4-Cool temp (doesn't have to be frigid)
5-Genetics

Very important to start raising the temp slowly of the cool room about a week before an event where the calves will be in a barn for a few days like a fair.  Otherwise they won't be acclimated to the warmer temps. 

 

[kndcattle]

can u get by with only rinsing once a day.  with my work its hard to do it more. 

 

[Tallcool1]

We put them in about 9:00 am.  A little daylight doesn't hurt them.

We never ever rinse/wash more than once a day.  I would say that in any given 7 day period of time, we probably rinse them 6 times.  However, we do keep them clean and we do work their hair.

We keep the cooler 65 degrees.  We used to keep it way cooler but in my opinion it is hard on the cattle and doesn't seem to really grow any more hair than 65 degrees does.

Melatonin helps.

In my opinion, what helps more than anything is keeping them clean and in the dark for around 90 days.  You can work at it pretty much however hard you want to, but in the end it just takes time and you have to keep them clean.

 

[iowabeef]

We put them in about 9:00 am.  A little daylight doesn't hurt them.

We never ever rinse/wash more than once a day.  I would say that in any given 7 day period of time, we probably rinse them 6 times.  However, we do keep them clean and we do work their hair.

We keep the cooler 65 degrees.  We used to keep it way cooler but in my opinion it is hard on the cattle and doesn't seem to really grow any more hair than 65 degrees does.

Melatonin helps.

In my opinion, what helps more than anything is keeping them clean and in the dark for around 90 days.  You can work at it pretty much however hard you want to, but in the end it just takes time and you have to keep them clean.

Tallcool is spot on.  A little daylight doesn't hurt.  Rinsing once a day works fine but when it really gets warmer and closer to end show, twice a day will add that extra.  Brush, Brush, brush and then when you are tire of brushing, brush some more.  You will be happy with the results.

 

[vc]

The people I know that had a cool box rinsed twice a day, and the afternoon was with chilled water, their calves had a ton of hair, they may have had a ton of hair if they did it once a day, who knows. They did work the heck out of the hair, and that was probably the biggest thing that gave them hair, and good thick hair.

I know when we went into the box to check out the calves, they had so much hair on their heads, they looked more like a bison than cattle.

When do you plan on putting your calves in the cooler?

 

[kndcattle]

Well i havent built the cool room yet.  If i get it done they wont be going in till next spring probably.  Does anybody use a cooler for their calves they raise to sale.  Or are they too young to put them in to get them ready for sales in fall.

 

[vc]

I think the calves all have their baby hair, most are still fuzz balls, they are just rinsed and tied in front of fans then clipped right before the sale.

 

[iowabeef]

We do not cooler room on the babies we are selling.  Simply rinsing and fans.  Have seen more health issues with young calves that have been cooler roomed too soon. 

 

[kndcattle]

If you can rinse them and put them into a cooler in the morning and they are ok.  How about when now that i dont have a cooler and calves are under fans going into winter.  Can you still rinse them when its cold durring winter temps.  How do people deal with growing and working hair in the winter.

 

[vc]

At this time of the year we would just leave them out all day and then run them in after the kids got out of school, rinse, work the hair and then tie them high for an hour, work on setting up and kick out, every day. You want to work the hair, but more than that I think handling them every day is the most important thing you can be doing at this time. If you get them used to a routine when their babies, life is easier when their bigger.

If it was raining, and the calves were not muddy, then we would skip rinsing and just blown them out and work the hair.

 

[Tallcool1]

If you can rinse them and put them into a cooler in the morning and they are ok.  How about when now that i dont have a cooler and calves are under fans going into winter.  Can you still rinse them when its cold durring winter temps.  How do people deal with growing and working hair in the winter.

Don't worry too much about growing hair this time of the year.  Mother nature will give you all the help you will need. 

Just get them in and tie them up.  Blow them out real good.  Give them a bath if they are filthy, but otherwise just get them used to being around people.

 

[CAB]

  You can rinse them while it's in their comfort zone easily enough. The big thing is to get them dry after rinsing and have a good comfortable place to rest when they are done.