Anybody else having problems with growing hair this summer?

[Sambosu]

My kids two heifers have been in the cooler for 5 weeks.  The cooler runs constantly at 40 degrees and fans are blowing on them.  They are blown off prior to going into the cooler and when we take them out.  In the morning I spray a show sheen mixture on them to help fluff their hair so the fans will generate some hair movement and stimulate hair growth.  At night, I also wet them down.  Our heifer that is 14 months old only has a grown a little hair on her back end.  Our 11 month old heifer had decent hair when I put her in there, hasn't grown much hair either, actually starting to lose hair.  Recently it was suggested I add a veterinary liniment with my show sheen mixture to stimulate blood flow.  Have only been using the liniment for a week so it is too early to say it hasn't helped.  Anyone else having problems growing hair this summer?

 

[NHR]

We are not having issues growing hair and we do not have a cooler. Just have fans, misters, water hose, rice root brush, sheen, and lots of work. Have clipped the heifer down tight several times this summer.

 

[cpratz]

It has been tough for me and I have them in the cooler. I'm in there for about 5 hrs a day.

 

[Sambosu]

That is what I expected to be able to do this year with our new cooler but so far I the results are pathetic.  It seems all I have to show for all the work we have done is a decent sized electric bill.  They get combed and brushed morning and evening and it just seems like they keep losing hair instead of growing hair.  They were dewormed about 2 months ago, they get conditioned, washed with a anti-fungal shampoo once a week, combed, brushed, etc..... I thought the calves would have hair like a woolly mammoth by now.  

 

[Sambosu]

cpratz, I am in Oklahoma as well.  I assume you are an OSU fan.  If so and nobody else is having problems, it must be because we are OSU fans.  ;D

 

[cpratz]

No kidding maybe we should just back to being cowboys not steer people! Haha

 

[NHR]

cpratz, I am in Oklahoma as well.  I assume you are an OSU fan.  If so and nobody else is having problems, it must be because we are OSU fans.  ;D

Thats to easy to comment on so I will leave it alone  .........

 

[cpratz]

What team are you rooting for NHR? Texas?

 

[chambero]

Genetics have more to do with it than anything.  I also firmly believe colored calves will grow more hair in the summer than blacks.  We have a black Monopoly steer that had fabulous hair last winter as a baby and didn't shed till about May.  He's just now starting to grow it back.  One of the calves that we work with the least is a little yellow Troubador x Yellowjacket calf.  He wouldn't look out of place at a January show right now he has so much hair. 

Don't feel bad about the cooler, its just as cheap on electricity to run them as it is a barn full of fans.  We don't use a cooler and my electric bill at the barn is about 3 times what my house costs.

If your calf was hairy as a baby he should be starting back on his hair any time as days are getting shorter and this 110 degree weather is gone.

 

[HAB]

Genetics have more to do with it than anything.  I also firmly believe colored calves will grow more hair in the summer than blacks.  We have a black Monopoly steer that had fabulous hair last winter as a baby and didn't shed till about May.  He's just now starting to grow it back.  One of the calves that we work with the least is a little yellow Troubador x Yellowjacket calf.  He wouldn't look out of place at a January show right now he has so much hair.  

Don't feel bad about the cooler, its just as cheap on electricity to run them as it is a barn full of fans.  We don't use a cooler and my electric bill at the barn is about 3 times what my house costs.

If your calf was hairy as a baby he should be starting back on his hair any time as days are getting shorter and this 110 degree weather is gone.

I agree with the genetics.  I also know that there is hair and "good" hair.  Here are pics of a dun Galloway heifer calf  @ 3 days, 1 month, 3 months, and 5 months.  No fans, no coolers, and it has been in the upper 90's with high humidity all summer.  She was her slickest in  early July.

 

[Sambosu]

Both calves were hairy this past winter. The one and only heifer was extremely hairy/more than the QDog heifer.  For example, her belly hair had to be 5 inches long and it looked like her belly was touching the ground.  One good thing about them being in the cooler, they look fresh and developed well due to not being stressed by the heat and staying on feed.

 

[sackshowcattle]

I'm not saying you have done this, but when I first got a cooler I thought hair woul be so much easier to grow so let the cooler replace some of the work. Never going to happen. My calves had long guard hair and nothing under it. 2nd year used the routine of brushing and blowing a few times a day while in the cooler on top of morning and night rinsing and drying and the calves had the hair they normally would in the winter. It can be done with or without a cooler all a cooler does is help grow the good hair under the guard hair heavier and take away some rinsing throughout the day to cool them. But all the rest stays the same with or without it. No supplement or cooler will ever replace a brush and elbow grease.

 

[Sambosu]

I attached some pictures of the QDog heifer.  The first two is when she was 6 months old (before and after being trimmed up) and the last one is when she was 10 months old.  As you can see she was hairy.  She has such small amount of hair, I am unable to train it.

 

[OH Breeder]

Your cooler routine has alot to do with it as well. If you put them in before it gets hot early morning and turn them out late after the sun does down it helps a bunch. Rinse and blow before you put them in and rinse and blow when they come out. Keeping the body cool and the light levels down should help hair grow. What is the temperature of the cooler? You don't have to freeze them to grow hair. I am not expert but we have had great luck with our cooler. It also usually takes a good 60 days in the cooler to get nice hair. I was always told start in May/June to get and keep nice hair for summer show. I am sure there are different schools of thought and tricks to the trade.
Before the cooler, I use to rinse three times a day and keep in darken room with fans. Believe it or not when I started out all I had was two box fans. I didn't have the stuff the kids have to use today. Also look at your diet. If you have it really hot it wo'nt help hair growth.


This is what has worked for us. Doesn't always mean it will work for everyone.

 

[sj0515]

Definitely genetics we have a red and white heifer that has lost alot of her hair (more of the white has fallen out than the red). Then we have a roan steer that has been growing hair all summer. Both are rinsed and cared for the same way but with different results.

 

[NHR]

What team are you rooting for NHR? Texas?

Umm, NO!

 

[mick rems]

we dont got a cooler. and we haven't had issues. and we've had some sketchy weather. my steer is on a pretty hot diet, 27 lbs of grain a day, plus he gets additional barley, cracked corn, heavy weight and rice bran. he has gained 4 lbs a day since beginning of june too. even with the heat he hasn't gone off feed. he has grown prolly a total of an inch and a half since junior nationals, its been clipped a couple of times though. our barn is pretty open to we got a big door that is open. and there is another door that goes into the cow pasture that is also open all day. even if the doors were closed it'd would still be pretty light, with the clear plastic panel at the top of the roof, as a skylight. we just have 2 turbo fans, a small basket fan with a mister and a funnel fan that doesnt even blow on them. however he is also naturally hairy this year, the hair in his ears gets knotted daily its so long and fluffy.