Conditioning/Growing hair

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ChristaCheatham

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Aug 8, 2011
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302
I know that MANY threads have been made on this, but I would like advice for my situation. I am running out of double dip. Therefore, I need more conditioner. I was thinking on getting kleen sheen and Sullivan's hair simulator and mixing the two? What are your thoughts?? And then at the start of May I was thinking on bringing my shorthorn steer into my "cool room". It consists of two power 24 in. fans, a mister, a small circular fan, and a box fan. The windows/opening would be covered with shade cloth, and the barn door would be open for a breeze. I just want him to grow hair. The thick "poofy" kind. What temperatures would you suggest bringing him in? I don't want to do it too early, but I don't want him to shed all of it off either. Mid 70's?? Our fair is at the end of July and it gets HOT here in Indiana. During May I would rinse him before school and then after before letting him out. During the summer I would rinse 3 times a day. What routine works for you? Rinse/comb forward/sray conditioner/then rinse? I just want to know that I'm doing things right and that I'm doing the best that I can in order to maximize success.
 

twistedhshowstock

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May 2, 2011
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758
Location
Nacogdoches, TX
I like clean sheen for daily hair care.  I would not rinse after conditioning, things like Kleen Sheen and Double Dip do not need to be rinsed out.  I would tend to stay away from the Stimulator for daily hair care, I have used it some on show day or day before to get the hair to really pop, but the stimulator has linament in it to make the hair pop and if overused can actually burn the hair off of them.
For your "cool room" if it is hot and all the windows are covered etc, are there doors on either end of barn to create a tunnel effect? If not I probably would not cover the windows, may get a little hot in there if there are just openings on one end of the barn for a breeze.  The misters and fans work great if you dont have access to an actual cool room, we dont and have great hair with just using the fans and misters in the hot part of summers.  My suggestion is put your misters on a timer so they come on and run for 20 minutes or so with half hour or so gaps in between, if they run all the time you tend to get a real mess in your barn.
My daily routine goes something like this depending on how much time I have.  If its really hot I will rinse them good in the morning, blow them to get the excess moisture out, but leave them slightly damp, put them under the fans and misters and leave them there.  If it is super hot and you are home I would go out a couple times during the day and run cool water over them, especially around the neck, legs, brisket, belly, run cool water over them for a while to lower their body temperature, I ussually say 10-15 minutes or until they are cool to the touch, then again knock the excess water over them but leave them slightly damp and put them back under the fans.  (Note: I never leave a calf even slightly damp unless they are going to be on clean shavings and under fans.)  Then in the evenings I will pull them out, run the blower over them to knock out any dirt or debris that is down under the hair, rinse them good(shampoo once a week or so), while they are wet I use my rice root brush or a scrubby on them and work all the hair forward, and then I will really use the rice root or a roto bruch on their legs for a while to really get that hair trained and to stimulate the follicles, after that I would blow them out pretty good, then spray my conditioner in them, then take a  brush or scrubby and work the hair good after I put the conditioner in to their skin, then if needed I will run the blower over them to get the dampness out.
As far as what temp to bring them in at, cattle have an ambient temperature of around 50 or 60 degrees, this means they are comfortable at that temperature so they need to be colder than that if you want them to GROW hair, I find that at around 70 degrees they will maintain hair and not shuck it, but not get a whole lotta growth.  They need to be colder than their ambient temp in order to for that to signal their body to grow hair.  Of course genetics plays a big roll in that as well, fed a Smooth Sailing steer this past summer that I swear would grow hair in the desert.  Another suggestion I have is keep the hair clipped regularly, this allows for new growth and healthier hair in my opinion.  I find that if yo just keep working and growing hair and never clip until show hair, it looks really fuzzy and doesnt clip well, can be really difficult to blend and get smooth lines in.  This is my routine that works well  for me.
 

bruiser

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Dec 28, 2009
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198
Location
Illinois (God's country)
TSS has some great advice. If it's warm enough for short sleeves get those fans and misters going. I have a home brew that I use daily- 1 part showsheen ( I buy the concentrate at Farm & Home and add water) 1 part white vinegar and a couple ounces rag oil. I blow the dirt out, rinse the calf and blow dry, then spray mix lightly, comb in and blow dry. As with TSS I leave them a little damp in warm weather and let the fans blow directly on them. Remember in warm weather to reduce rag oil content, it will make them hotter.
 

ChristaCheatham

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Aug 8, 2011
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302
Thanks for the advice! As far as having a timer on the mister how do you do that? Right now I only have the ring with the little knobs on them. I'm planning on buying the filter. Do you think my mikxing kleen sheen and vineagar would be good? Or water?
 

ferkj

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Sep 6, 2009
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194
We use a valve with a built in timer that is designed for lawn/landscape sprinklers.  Think we got it at Lowes.  If your using the concentrated sheen mix it with water according to directions on bottle and then you can mix that with vinegar if you want.  The vinegar helps prevent dandruff and to certain extend flies.  Just be careful around his head you don't get it in his eyes. 
 

ChristaCheatham

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Aug 8, 2011
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302
Ok here are the water timer and filter? I have the ring with valves so would I attach filter and then timer? Is this the right thing? The timer was $25 and the filter was $20??
 

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ChristaCheatham

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Here is th exact misting ring that I purchased.
 

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ChristaCheatham

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Yes I totally agree! Thanks you so much for the advice! So is this the right timer I should get? I just want to make sure I'm getting the right one, because I have to pay for it. lol
 

ferkj

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Sep 6, 2009
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194
As far right or wrong can't say for sure without looking at the manual but as long as you can set it to come at multiple times a day and for a certain length of time you should be good to go.  The one we have had a dial with the hours of the day on it and you put little pins in it to turn it on and off but it's prob 10 years old. this one looks a whole easier to use.  Read the box and keep the reciept coz if it ain't right just take it back.
 

twistedhshowstock

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May 2, 2011
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758
Location
Nacogdoches, TX
I used to have a bunch of timers similar to that and it should work...if I remember correctly you turn the knob to "How Often" and set the intervals you want it to come on at, so say 30 minutes to have it come one 30 minutes after it shuts off...and then turn to "How Long" and set it for say 15 or 20 minutes to have it run that long everytime it comes on.  If I remember correctly you cant set a time period for it to run in if your using that method.  So you cant say tell it to do that between 10 and 7 every day, but if you just turn the water off when you dont need it I dont think it will affect your settings.
 
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