calves first bath

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katie_k

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 14, 2010
Messages
316
Location
Shell Lake WI
what to do the first time. this is my first year starting out with calves. last year i had one that was older and really calm. what to do the first time and in what order
 

fed_champions

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 2, 2010
Messages
400
The only way to calm a steer down is repetition. I would wash them at least 3 times a week, i would certainly invest in a blower, and when u wash them be sure to comb the hair forward while they are still wet, this trains it and will make it easier to work with the blower.
 

jlingle

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 10, 2009
Messages
249
Location
SW Oklahoma
Quit putting it off & go buy a blower.  You need it, and you're not gonna be able to do the things that you really want to get done without it.

Here's what we do when rinsing calves daily:
1. Bring them in and blow them out thoroughly.  This removes all the dirt and debris from them before you start rinsing.  This does the lion's share of the cleaning.
2. Rinse them really well.  I turn on the fans when I'm doing this, and blow 2 sullivan turbo fans right up their tailpipe from this point on.  I rinse them and let the fans blow on them until they're cold.
3. I comb them all over with a plastic palm brush, and I work the hair on their legs and tailhead with a rice root brush.  If you'll do this one thing every single time you rinse, you'll have trained hair within a week.
4. Blow your calf out thoroughly, being careful to blow the hair the direction that you want the hair to be trained to go.
5. (Turn your fans off) Sheen the calf and blow it in lightly, then blow the calf out again completely.

Every monday I wash with soap, and every Tuesday I treat them with revive very thoroughly.  If I find any dandriff spots, I blow some pink oil into those spots when I'm done with everything, and let it stay until I rinse the next morning.
 

Bradenh

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 10, 2010
Messages
2,646
Location
Central Texas
that sounds like an excellent routine. . . on our fort worth calves we blow the dirt out first and  wash everyday when we get home from school. and rice root the whole body (while their still dripping wet). but emphisise the legs. then we blow them half way out and spray revive on em and brush it in with a rice root. then blow all that in and leave the hair damp and tie em in the barn under the fans and comb em out till their dry. (but when most of yall blow yall have to completly dry em. we have it really hot here and wetting and leaving em wet under fans is the only way to make em cold)
 
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