Slick shearing cattle

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Trails End Ranch

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Nov 4, 2009
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Just wondering what the best way is to go about slick shearing,if anyone had any diagrams or advice that would be great.
 

ZNT

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Apr 25, 2007
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Rhome, TX
TER said:
Just wondering what the best way is to go about slick shearing,if anyone had any diagrams or advice that would be great.
If you check out our blog, you will find a pictorial on shearing. The demonstration does not show how to slick shear for a show though.

Today, I just put up a video on AI gun preparation and semen handling. Check it out.
 

KCK

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Feb 14, 2007
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Oklahoma
Direction matters, right? Depending on how tight you want to get it, like the Texas slick shows require such and such amount. I would be lying if I told you which was which. I try to put my cattle shearing days behind me and my shins appreciate that!

Use your head, go slow and be careful are my number one suggestions. Don't try to slick wet ones. We always dipped blades in transmition oil, the red stuff.
 

chambero

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Feb 12, 2007
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As far as Texas goes, 1/4 inch is our rule which means not much.  The easiest way to do it in my opinion is to get "Texas" blades for the old Shearmaster clippers from Sullivans.  Direction doesn't matter much and it all has to come off.  You pretty much have to go completely against the grain of the hair to get it all.  Lines disappear after 2-3 days.  Some guys are doing it now with the little Andis clippers using T-84 blades.  Typically they'll do it a week early and let it grow out a little.  You can buy other Andis blades of various length to adjust to your preference.  The T-84s are a little short for my taste.
 

showstick09

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Oct 18, 2007
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If it was a long haired calf, we usually shaved all the hair down one day and then on the next day shaved what was left up.
 

vc

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The boy I helped this year is taking his second steer to a small county fair, it is slick, do you clip the whole steer down, legs, belly tail?
 

Davidsonranch

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Dec 2, 2011
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SE Oregon
Ya, do you do everything? My boy has a steer that has little to no hair what so ever. The hair he has IMO actually hurts him more than helping him.  He is yellow and I think slick shearing him would really make him look good, but never done it before. 
 

ffa family

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Nov 1, 2012
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We use lister legand clippers with a whal cover cote blade on the entire steer. the cutting depth is .18 "
 

Barry Farms

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North East MO
Do you even have to buzz off the switch and tail hair? I would think that this would be ugly on Char X cattle, like a rat tail.
 

Mainevent

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Decatur Texas
Or people just need to work Harder to grow hair and not complain when all they do is dump feed and haul to a show. Slick shear shows don't make it any easier to judge cattle all it's to do is "even" the field.
 

RyanChandler

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Pottsboro, TX
For me as a spectator, I prefer to be able to see the steer's actually body as opposed to seeing his silhouette.  For those with inferior cattle, I can see how the desire to cover up flaws via hair placement is pretty significant. 
 

Mainevent

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Has nothing to do with inferior cattle. Cattle look better with hair to most people I'm sorry but slick sheared cattle don't look eye appealing that's why there is such a turn out as far as spectators that don't belong to the cattle world. Any person looking at cattle that knows anything knows when he's looking at hair or he's looking at close to the real calf.
 

cowboy_nyk

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Manitoba, Canada
I'm with you xbar.  I show in the summer and I slick my cattle out and I also show in winter/fall shows with hair.  Almost without fail, the cattle who place better in the summer are superior animals (funtion, longevity, production) to the ones who place better in the fall.  Cattle that look good slick do so with superior structure and natural muscling as opposed to hair and fat. 

I'm not bashing the show industry.  There is something to be said for the time and commitment that people put into preparing an animal, but I'm unsure if it's a great way to judge breeding animals especially.
 

InIt2WinIt

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Jun 14, 2011
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I strongly prefer hair shows, but I'm a northerner so I'm biased. I appreciate the beauty pageant aspect of a cattle show; it makes it more fun and I simply enjoy looking at/evaluating cattle with a beautiful coat of hair more. Sure the hair element does get away some from the purity of the beef production industry, but there is a difference b/w that and the show cattle industry.

I also like the work that comes with growing hair in the cattle project for these kids. Slicking would encourage less daily work.

Also, slicking to me would be tougher. You have to buy a closer to perfect animal if you want to win, especially at the Texas majors. There's no hiding faults and there's no building artificial mass with hair growth.


 
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