Sambosu said:
I know there are quite a few folks with walk-in coolers on this site. When should I put my son's steer into the cooler? His final show is the Oklahoma Youth Expo. He is sired by Eye Candy and has tons of hair. This is my first winter to have a cooler and didn't know if I should go ahead and put him in now or wait til we get closer to OYE, as long as it is cool here.
I don't know where you are located in OK, or the details of the OYE. I believe this is a March show?
First off, I am not a fan of putting a steer in the cooler just because you have one. We have a cooler too, and only use it when we need it. If he is pretty close to fat and you have "cooled off" his ration, he may not need to go into the cooler at all. Eye Candy calves are 1/4 Galloway, and that has a huge influence on hair coat! Just remember that when you start to EASILY SEE signs of shedding, it is too late! You will not stop Mother Nature once she tells him to shuck his hair.
What I would do is rough clip the steer EXCEPT his head, so that his hair coat is shorter and he stays cooler. Use a shedding comb on him so that you can easily monitor what is going on with his hair coat. Remember that a shedding comb will only remove hair that is not attached, and will not pull healthy hair. Get him inside and under fans right now, along with rinsing and working his hair. Monitor the temperature in the show barn, and hit the cooler at the first sign of shedding or February 1, whichever is first.
I bet you don't need to actually put him on ice!
Good luck!