The BEST option OUT THERE

Being located in Florida, and not having access to a cool room hair is a rarity. I feel like I've searched and read every post on the subject that I can. The consensus seems to be genetics, rinsing, brushing, and genetics. Well, I know I have the genetics, and I rinse 3 times everyday and 4 most days. I brush him dry and hardly use my blower except for sheen. He does have some hair but its shedding and I don't want to wait for it to grow back in December because I plan to show all summer. So I figured my best option was melatonin, from what Ive seen most tend to use Shag, Epic, Grow n Shine, and some about Tasco but I'm just a kid on a budget and I want the most bang for my buck!! I've got 8 months left and I can get any of them but I wont spend money I dont have to.

So:... Rounded and Shipping Included

Shag=480
Epic=480
Grow N Shine=360
Nu-Grow=300

Which on is the best for the money. I haven't read much about Nu-grow but my thoughts are that it would be equivalent to Grow N Shine and since I feed Oxy-explosion I wouldn't need the added stuff in shag or epic. Is Nu-grow the best option in my case.... or does it not work. Like I said, haven't heard much about it. Please feel free to chime in and correct me where I'm wrong or suggest something I missed. I just want the best results for the money involved. Please help!!!

We used grow and shine do not know about the other products, worked on the ones with hair did not do anything for the ones without. Do not forget you need to keep them in a cool place in the out of the light if possible, from before sunrise to after sun down.
Misters, fans, rinsing, brushing, brushing, brushing, and minimal light, then melatonin, will help you grow hair. Calves shuck hair something like every 60 to 90 days so you will be consistently working the hair through the summer, but you should be able to get decent hair and keep it if you do the work.

they usually either have the hair, or they dont... if you supplement him too hard to have summer hair, his hair might not grow out and turn out how you want it in the winter because (some will dissagree) i think that they get immuned to some of the supplements and implants and you burn yourself out by the time you need the hair

just keep working it like your doing and hope for the best, then really turn it on when the fat show comes around

You can put a set of melatonin implants in them for $240 starting 90 days before the show.  The implants cost a little more but they are the best thing out there.

Thanks for the advice, as of right now he has 2 turbo fans and a butt fan in his shade cloth enclosed stall. I've got a mister but I think I'm am going to have to get a better timer because I can only set it to come on once a day (1 o'clock for 15 minutes), maybe I'll keep on with what I'm doing and reevaluate in the fall????

Can you leave the mister on all day?

I guess I could... but I've always heard that the humidity created by doing so can cause respiratory issues. I've never tried leaving them on so I can't say for sure. Do you think I'd be alright if I left them on? Would his bedding get wet?

DIG Irrigation systems carries a Battery powered timer that can be set to come on up to 4 times a day, and run from 1 minute to 12 hours. We used one in the past, I set it for like 9 to 9:15 and then 12 to 12:20 and then 1:45 to 2:15 and then 3:30 to 4. Once you figure out the timing and how long you can run them with out making a mess it works pretty good.

You want to run it through a filter, I used a drinking water filter, it removed more than just particles. If you do not use a filter the nozzles can clog, and our water is hard so the drinking water filter removed some of the minerals. Hard water really screws with the hair.

Well I don't know. We are in Oklahoma and its hot and dry during the summer with a lot of wind. So we never really had a problem with the bedding getting wet or respiratory issues. I can definitely see how that could be an issue in Florida though.

Does the heat rise out of your stall or does it seems to build up as soon as you turn off the fans, we had to insulate the under side of the roof on ours since it was Tin. Another thing you can do is put a a separate hose and low volume sprinkler on a timer and wet down the roof through out the day, you will be amazed at how much cooler it gets inside. (Chicken ranches do it around here, when it it hot, to cool off the coops)

Our barn is built such that we have a fairly steady draft coming though all the time (pole barn) so I think the heat escapes fairly well. I really like the idea of running the mister periodically throughout the day and it would be hard at all for me to rig up a line on the roof to run on the same schedule... would a soaker hose work?

If the roof is high and you have a good draft I would not worry about it. I think all you need to do is start the hard work now. Rinse, Brush and repeat as often as you can, keep him in the barn out of the sun, figure out your misters and you should be fine. Home Depot should sell the DIG timer, just make sure it is the one that you can select the start times not one that starts every so many hours.

http://www.digcorp.com/Landscape_Irrigation/174-9001DC_Battery_Powered_Hose_End_Irrigation_Timer_with_LCD_Display

Good luck

Thanks, I really appreciate everyones responses! And I'll look into that timer.

I think you have the right idea...I like the misters on the timers...I have never had respiratory issues from the humidity, but misters running constantly can sure make a mess out of a barn.  To keep my mister nozzles from clogging I just take the nozzles out every night and soak them in vinegar, than put them back on in the morning. Another thing is you dont generally need your water cranked wide open to make the misters work, in fact I find that often times it makes a bigger mess if cranked all the way open, but at the same time if there isnt enough pressure the nozzle will just drip instead of misting.  So its finding a balance.
I think ShowStopper is right on the Melatonin usage.  Melatonin is a hormone naturally produced by the body.  Melatonin production is triggered by light, its what triggers our body to prepare for sleep when the sun goes down.  Melatonin triggers hair growth and fat lay down in most animals because as fall gets here and winter approaches there are fewer hours of daylight, so as there are more hours of dark theere is more melatonin produced by the body, this increase in Melatonin tells the body to grow hair and put down fat to insulate itself.  That is part of the reason that it is important to keep show calves in the dark as much as possible, to trigger more natural melatonin production.  But ShowStopper is on the right track, its not a certain level of melatonin that triggers, it is simply the INCREASE in levels that triggers it.  So if you keep them on a melatonin supplement all the time, then that increased level becomes what their body perceives as normal level.  So there wont be increase in hair growth until the level begins to rise again.  This is why people that turn their calves out in the summer and some even slick them are able to get such good hair back in the fall, when they begin to pull the calf in during the day and keep them out of the light, their body naturally increases melatonin production which signals an increase in hair growth.  I never recomend keeping one on a melatonin supplement year round.  As was said earlier I think 90 days before the show is plenty.  I think in this case you have to decide which shows are most important to you and gear your program to haave the calves really bloom for those shows, still keep working and do the best you can, but dont worry about having the best hair at the smaller shows.  That has always been my philosophy at least. In fact I sometimes get a little worried if my calves are looking like they are at 12:00 3 or 4 months prior to the big show, I often start to wander if they are going to hold that bloom for the show that is most important for me.

I think I understand what your saying. Its not the amount of melatonin but simply an increase and by feeding it year round; there will be no increase and therefore no hair. I definitely will try soaking my mister nozzles in vinegar because we have alot of sulfur (and other stuff) in the water and they do clog up. I'm grateful that you'd share this with me, and take the time to go into an in depth explanation of why you do something.

Tasco can be fed non stop and sure seems to help.  It is one of the main ingredients in SHAG.  It is also quite reasonable.  I agree with only using the Melatonin the last 90 days.  But it will make a differance.

Ron

<cowboy>

I agree on the Tasco, it is not a hormone or anything even naturally found in cattle to my knowledge, but what it does is work to lower the calf's core body temperature.  By keeping the core temp lower you keep the animal more comfortable which, while it wont necessarily cause hair to grow, definately helps you maintain the hair you have.  The other thing I have found with Tasco is by lowering the core body temperature, it tends to help keep calves on feed a little better also, especially in these ridiculously hot summers around here.

Could I buy Tasco pure; I'm not sure if I could because we don't have that much in the way of suppliers like you would out west? Also if you just can't feed melatonin year round then what about epic (supposedly a non-melatonin product) or could you feed shag with out burning them out on melatonin. I'd like to have and maintain the hair but I agree I shouldn't do it at the expense of my terminal show. Also I got a timer and a filter today. One that can come on 6 times a day and run up to 2 hours... I'm gonna have to experiment to see what times and amounts work best.