help! how should i keep them cool?

[Cowgurl101]

I have 6 steers to keep cool until august and i dont have a cool room. im new to this and need ideas on what would be the easiest/cheapest way to build something to keep them in. i have a barn with stalls,but during the summer it gets really hot. i am wondering if i could make a  vent in the roof to let hot air out and put the steers in the stalls with fans on them, or misting system( how much do they cost and were should i get it?) ive even thought about poking tiny holes in a heavy duty garden hose and  using it as a misting system, but i dont know if that would work....lol! my other option is to use the shelter belt outside(it has a roof) and put tarps around the side to keep the sun out- the problem is its gonna get like a greenhouse in there so id need some ventilation and misting sytem ect. i am thinking about making a 'real' cool room next year but need to do something NOW for this year. THANKYOU SO MUCH for your ideas - i feel kind of overwhelmed!!

 

[red]

we don't have a cool room either. I do a lot of rinsing, keep light out & run lots of fans. misters make my barn like you said a greenhouse. It might take some extra work but if you keep brushing, feed a balanced ration & rinse several times a day & keep the air moving you can do it!

Red

 

[OH Breeder]

If you go to TSC they have sprayer tips and nozzles that you use in the field. They also have the tubing.Put a timer on your hydrant and let it run.Believe it or not they do make them.

Get a cheap cooler from wally world fill with ice water. Then, you can get a mister from Sullivans and plug it into a timer like you would use in the house on lights. It will cycle and won't run dry. They say that cold water can lower the temp as much as 10 degrees.

Brush Brush Brush Nutrition

 

[afhm]

Watch your local classifieds and check ebay for some swamp coolers or port a cools that can be bought resonably.

 

[jlynch]

You've got your work cut out with 6 steers!  I hope you have some help!

Like Red and the others have said, just rinsing and brushing will do a lot, along with keeping them out of the sunlight.  We use a swamp cooler and misters on the fans.  At the moment I'm trying to find an used refrigerator and route my garden hose through it, with 50' or so of coils inside, then hook it to my swamp cooler.  Should cool things down even more.  I like the timer suggestion that OH Breeder had! 

Genetics of course plays a big part in the hair game, but working with whatever hair type you have is better than not working on it!  Kirk Stierwalt has some nice summertime hair tips in the "tips" section on his site you may want to check out. 

  http://www.showsteers.com/Stierwalt/Kirk's%20Tips.htm 

Good luck and stay cool!!

John

 

[Jill]

We have one of Sullivans ice box coolers we fill with ice and it feeds the mister system, we have the cooler on a timer so the calves are not wet all the time.  If you go with the vent in the barn we have ceiling fans in the roof that kick on at a certain temp that pull the air out, if you decide to go that route, let me know and I'll get the name of the company that makes them.
Keeping 6 of them cool is going to be a full time job, inside 6 of them produce a lot of heat, you might consentrate of the best couple and go from there.

 

[knabe]

i went to school at cal poly in the 80's and we had misters and squirrel fans.  i don't think we were hurting for hair or keeping it on.  we washed in the late afternoon evening.  i think the only time i had an issue with hair was when i rode one of my steers for fun and it rubbed the hair off one of his shoulders.

misters' are cheap now, and semi disposable price wise at hardware stores for city folks like me.  it can be pretty hard to find places that sell sytems that are heavier duty.  one thing you may have a problem with is water pressure, which i found to be the case with my barn waterer.  i tried the cheap pressure reducers as i have ag water at 120lb/sq in with burst pressure up to 200.  they lasted about a week.  so i got an adjustable one for house water and installed a gauge.  it holds at about 20psi very well.  one has to fiddle with the right size nozzle relative to water quality, as they will clog.  get an extra set of nozzles and while one set is on, soak the other in vinegar.

 

[kanshow]

FarmTek had some misters that seemed to be a little better quality..  www.farmtek.com 

 

[Cowgurl101]

We have one of Sullivans ice box coolers we fill with ice and it feeds the mister system, we have the cooler on a timer so the calves are not wet all the time.  If you go with the vent in the barn we have ceiling fans in the roof that kick on at a certain temp that pull the air out, if you decide to go that route, let me know and I'll get the name of the company that makes them.
Keeping 6 of them cool is going to be a full time job, inside 6 of them produce a lot of heat, you might consentrate of the best couple and go from there.

What im thinking of doing is getting a swamp cooler and also trying the ceiling fans you mentioned. i really need something to cool my barn down but it gets so hot i think ill  need some way to get some of that hot air out. it sounds like these fans would do the trick. im in montana and i think our humidity in mid summer is usually under 35% - would this work?? Thanks Jill!!

 

[Cowgurl101]

Whats do you guys think about buying a swamp cooler from www.air-n-water.com  - they have several variaties and if they would keep my steers cool enough i would be willing to spend the money. combined with the fans Jill suggested( or some type of vent to get the hot air out) you think it would work? As stated in my reply to Jill, our humidity here is supposed to be under 35% in mid summer(montana).
I am very grateful for all your advice, but as much as i hate to admit it, alot of it confused me. i dont know ANYTHING about this subject so if you think  my idea could use improvement, could you please use "baby talk"...lol.... sorry )) :-\
Thanks!!

 

[RSC]

Whats do you guys think about buying a swamp cooler from www.air-n-water.com  - they have several variaties and if they would keep my steers cool enough i would be willing to spend the money. combined with the fans Jill suggested( or some type of vent to get the hot air out) you think it would work? As stated in my reply to Jill, our humidity here is supposed to be under 35% in mid summer(montana).
I am very grateful for all your advice, but as much as i hate to admit it, alot of it confused me. i dont know ANYTHING about this subject so if you think  my idea could use improvement, could you please use "baby talk"...lol.... sorry )) :-\
Thanks!!

Last year we were very limited in what we could do to grow hair.  My sons steer was located at my Dad's farm about 20 miles away as it was being fed with my Brothers daughters calves.  Because of fuel price and time, it was not feasible to tie them up under a fan everyday.  We were able to have nice haircoats on all 3 steers.

Dad has an old dairy barn with a hay loft up top.  This gave us good insulation on the ceiling wich helped keep the barn cool.  If you can find a cheap way to insulate at least the ceiling, it may help.  We then had it set up for the steers to go in the barn on their own to be under 2 fans.  You will probably need more fans than this with 6 head.  Another tip: We made sure all doors except the door they entered in were close.  I believe that keeping it dark is just as important as keeping it cool.

The next thing we did was keep the haircoats clean and conditioned as Red has stated above.  We were limited at how many times we could do this.  We completely washed the calf with soap once a week.  4 nights a week we rinsed each calf, blew them out and used cheap spray on hair condition from Walmart  and altered it with Kleen Sheen to keep the hair conditions.  It's best to do this every day if possible but as I stated, we were limited.

Another thing to consider is the feed ration and additives.  We use a grind/mix show diet with a high oil content($300 /ton).  IMO, the high oil content helps with the haircoat as well.  We also gave each steer liquid melatonin every day.

You can get more extensive than this but it worked great for us.  Keep em in the dark, keep em cool and Keep em  Clean!

Good Luck,

RSC