Questions about callf cooler

[JohnDeere]

I resently built a cooler in my barn and have some questions...I could use some feed back. 

What should i do with the calves before i put them in? Should i wash every day?
Just could use some advise...Thanks in advance

 

[farmboy]

expect no results if you don't wash them every day, twice a day, morning before they go in and after they come out.

 

[JohnDeere]

do i want to put them in wet? i will be bedding down with saw dust so i dont want to ruin my bedding...

 

[OH Breeder]

How are you cooling it? What type of unit?
I would rinse and til chilled and then blow them out. they can be slightly damp but putting them in wet isn't going to hurt. It is always better to work the hair after you rinse. If you are rinsing daily make sure you have something to condition the hair or a mixture of Kleen Sheen, Double Dip, and or rag Oil. We use Revive as welll to conidtion skin and hair.

 

[JohnDeere]

I just have a big a/c unit in with a couple fans

 

[farmboy]

I always put the calf back in wet and brushed him dry in front of the fan.

 

[JohnDeere]

ok do you condition the hair to?

 

[JCFAMILY]

How much time should we tie the calves up in the cooler? Also how much time should they be (standing)? Sometimes I think its better to let them be cows for a day or two a week. What is evrybody elses opinion?

 

[shortyjock89]

How much time should we tie the calves up in the cooler? Also how much time should they be (standing)? Sometimes I think its better to let them be cows for a day or two a week. What is evrybody elses opinion?

If you don't keep them in every day, and out of the sun as much as possible, you're wasting your time and money. Get the calves in as early as you can, rinse 3x's a day, keep it as dark as possible. As far as bedding goes, we wet down our sawdust/wood chips so the fans don't blow it all around and for dust control.  Use conditioner every other day, and at least once a day you should brush the calves dry instead of using a blower.  We use Kleen Sheen/vinegar for a spray on, and use quite a bit of it. You can buy concentrated sheen that folks use on horses from like  farm supply store and make a couple gallons for the same price as a quart of Sullivan's Kleen Sheen.

 

[OH Breeder]

ok do you condition the hair to?

You will find everyone has a little different way of conditioning hair. The big thing is because you rinse so frequent water removes the natural oils. The skin will dry out as well as the hair. The more you use the blower the better it trains the hair. A rice root brush is your best friend and should be connected to your hand. We use to rinse and fans only and brush brush brush. The kids have no idea how nice they have it with a cooler. Still takes work to get it and keep it.
Usual routine, put the calves in early morning. We use to feed ours and bucket water in the morning. Let say 7am. Leave them in all day usually an til the sunsets and the temperature is going down outside. Here that is 7-8 pm here. We offer water in morning and during day by bucket which helps when you go to shows. Rinse before you go in and blow and rinse when you bring them out. darkness is the key. We turn them in a lot outside on a round bale hay. The hair will grow when cool and dark. That is why some folks will feed melatonin as it tricks the body into thinking the days are growing shorter and its time to grow hair. We have never used any supplements.
The reason I asked what kind of unit is how many are you putting into the cooler. You want to make sure you have enough AC to handle the body heat of the calves. If you just have one or two a house window unit with the right insulation should do. We have a 3 ton AC unit for  a house and the cooler is 24 x 20. We can comfortable put 4 to 5  calves in it and keep it around 58.We run three fans in addition to the unit itself. AC units will try to remove moisture from the air. The more moist you keep a cool room the more the AC will work to remove the moisture if that makes any sense. That is why you never really should run a mister in a cooler.

that is my little knowledge.

 

[KMJCC]

Our routine is during the week I would go out and feed before I left for work at about 5:30 a.m. and turn on the A/C. The weekends I feed a little later you just want to make sure the coolroom is cooled down before you put the calves in. The kids and wife would go out about 6:30 or 7 depending how hot it was going to get and start rinsing them making sure they are cooled off.  Each calf then gets brushed out, we use a roto brush on the legs and then gets blown out.  Then we spray them down with Revive or Kleen Sheen, we alternate on each of those, and comb that in and then blow them out to get the hair to pop.  Then they go into the DARK coolroom and are tied standing up until all the calves are done and then we tie them down low just like they are at a show.  Then we usually feed in the evening around 6 inside the coolroom and then wait for it to cool down and do the same rinsing and blowing procedure we do in the mornings.  Hope this helps and good luck!

 

[JohnDeere]

Thanks for the advise guys...OH breeder i have room that i will be putting 2 calves in the cooler for now and i could put more in with another a/c unit..im not sure on the dimensions but this a/c unit is a bigger one and should do fine..Do you water during the day at all? and i have the option to let my calves untied. Do i want to keep them tied for part of the day and then let them untied for some of the day?

 

[Throttle]

i think you might find some good info here

http://www.steerplanet.com/?page_id=348

it's the transcript from the Stierwalt chat. similar questions were asked, and no one does it better than they do

 

[farmboy]

two calves I would probably untie them, just so long as they can't chew up cords etc etc. If they are going to be untied, keep a water tub or something in there with water.

Drinking water can cool your calves down too

 

[shortyjock89]

two calves I would probably untie them, just so long as they can't chew up cords etc etc. If they are going to be untied, keep a water tub or something in there with water.

Drinking water can cool your calves down too

I agree with letting them loose. I would make a couple pens in there so they can see each other but not wrestle and risk hurting themselves and tearing up the cooler. 

On the water thing, we water with buckets 3-4 times a day, and only let them drink from the waterers while its dark outside. It gets them used to drinking from buckets when they get the chance, and makes watering them at shows so much easier.

 

[JohnDeere]

Yup i have 2 pens in my cooler already so it will work good...It would be easier with a water tub just so i dont have to go in and out with buckets 3-4 times a day...just fill it up once a day and let them drink when ever...It will be nice to have the option to tie them up so when i have to work on them i can...Thanks for all the advice. It really helps

 

[JohnDeere]

Does anyone know of products i can buy at a TSC or cambells that is simmialr to maine and tail or sheen like sullivans?

 

[shortyjock89]

Does anyone know of products i can buy at a TSC or cambells that is simmialr to maine and tail or sheen like sullivans?

Laser Sheen concentrate. You can make two gallons out of it if you cut it by 1/2 with vinegar, which is what I do.  And as far as the mane and tail goes, it's only like 6 bucks we we buy that. But we also use suave conditioner, which is like 99 cents per bottle.

 

[JohnDeere]

You get that that laser sheen at TSC?

 

[shortyjock89]

Sure do. You can get it concentrated or pre-mixed. The concentrate is by far the best deal.