show steer up
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do you have any pics of the cooling system for the show :help: or a link
Air Conditioned Space
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Cowboy 2.0
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I don't have any pictures cause we sold most everything when I graduated. Just search port-a-cool. It's a portable water cooler. The fans were just your typical 24" sullivans barn fans. As for the trailer had an Onan in the nose and 3 Carrier rv a/c units on the roof.
show steer up
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UPDATE as of June 1st we were up and running :clap:
Here are a few pics
The switch to the left opens and closes the door, with a little help from Mr. paint can :nod:
When the power is turned off the magnet turns off and Mr. paint opens the door. :lol:
This vent along with an internal fan, help keep the evaporator coil from freezing...so far :cowboy:
As you can tell it is a work in progress, as of today the air conditioner no longer stands square on the cement pad that was built for it. We added the extra vent after the coils froze once.
How do you like our custom trampoline "spare parts" fan stands. :secret: shhhhh its a family secret :secret:
This is the sensaphone system, what a great addition. We got called once and it said "the barn power is off" my daughter and I high tailed it back to the house as fast as we could. One of the steers got loose and unplugged the sensaphone and the sensaphone ratted him out :shock: .
As of today we have kept the barn between 48 and 51 degrees F. The hottest day so far was 90F and we stay that temp most of the summer, very seldom we will have a 100F day. I don't think our hot days will be a big challenge, it's when the outside temp gets below 75F or raining that we have a close call with the coils freezing. But so far were doing good.
The cattle love it, we love it..... and :banana: WE ARE GROWING COAT'S :banana:
Thank goodness ;-)
show steer up
Well-known member
Hay Splinter
FYI..............That little fan that we put in front of the evaporator coils is the ticket to the whole system working properly, on the return air side. Today we forgot to plug that fan in :roll: and within 30 minutes the coils were frozen solid. We got a call from the barn and were able to fix the problem real fast.
FYI..............That little fan that we put in front of the evaporator coils is the ticket to the whole system working properly, on the return air side. Today we forgot to plug that fan in :roll: and within 30 minutes the coils were frozen solid. We got a call from the barn and were able to fix the problem real fast.
show steer up
Well-known member
Splinter....we had to turn the temp up to 54, it was too cold for the rainy days. If we had any cloud cover we would freeze the coils. So far we are growing coats, they are better this year than when we used fans and swamp cooler. Thank goodness :lol:
Australian
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What a lot of rubbish. Seems to me the cattle aren't much good if you can't get their coats right by natural means, correct feed correct nutrition etc etc. Come over and have a look what our top fitters do without all the fuss and bother. There are fitters here in all different environments that don't need to resort to artificial means.
A
Anonymous
One word.... OVERKILL.
My cattle get pulled out of the paddock the week before the show, if they're lucky, a few washes (even then, only if I have time), and a clip, and still go out and do darn good. WHY refrigerate LIVE beef just for a ribbon?! Sheesh. :roll:
My cattle get pulled out of the paddock the week before the show, if they're lucky, a few washes (even then, only if I have time), and a clip, and still go out and do darn good. WHY refrigerate LIVE beef just for a ribbon?! Sheesh. :roll:
show steer up
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Gosh that would be heaven to us if all we had to do was pull them out the week before the show. My kids want to move to Australia and show cattle, they can't believe all you have to do is watch them in the bush :lol: .
I brought them back to reality and let them know that any show steer takes extra time, care and nutrition, even without a coat.
Just for the record....we don't chase the ribbon we chase the pay check, the ribbon is icing on the cake. We don't worry about grand we worry about making auction, it just so happens in the process we are always in grand drive. It's a win, win situation ;-)
It sucks that we have to go the extra mile and worry about one more thing. But lucky for me, my kids don't know how nice it is on the other side of the slick steer fence. My hope is that some day it will be mandatory that everyone shave the coats off :clap: it would be wonderful to get to bed before 2:00a.m. and sleep in past 6a.m.
I think it's great that my children can see through this cattle forum that there are all different kinds of shows. Most kids around here have no idea that cattle can be shown without all this hard work (coats).
Our cattle are also clipped by us, my feeling on hiring professionals to fit out your project :secret: I have to many bad words that would come out of my mouth.........so all I can say about that is CHEATING.
Maybe if it wasn't a 4H project and we were in it to sell cattle and that was our sole income then it would be a different story. But a 4H project is just that, Mom, Dad and the kids. It's about teaching the kids how to be responsible and with good hard work, there are rewards at the end of the trail. Buying a fitter to make their cattle better than what they could personally do for themselves would bring us down the wrong path and against what we stand for.
Most fitters out here charge $150.00 and can fit the animal out in two hours. My kids start clipping three weeks before the shows and work up till they are in the ring. It may take them three weeks to do the same job, but some day they will be able to fit out as good as the professionals: and best of all....they did it themselves. It brings joy to my heart to see my children out at the show with clippers in hand working on their projects. Not too many families would even dear to let their child touch there project let alone clip on them.
When my oldest daughter was nine and showing her first steer, she got board one day and pulled her steer out, washed and blow dried him and pulled out the clippers. My husband and I had ventured out into the midway while she decided to do this. When we got back her steer was tied back in the fan cage and she was sitting in a chair crying. My first thought was she got hurt and then the barn superintendent came over as she was telling us her story.
The people in the barn thought she was doing something that we would not allow her to do, clip on the animal :shock: . I was in shock that they stopped her; this is her animal...why can't she clip on it. The man said, she will ruin it and that is a good looking animal. My reply....yep and she got him this far without messing him up so why would I stop her now. I reassured the man that she is well aware of her job and has good control over the clippers and if she makes a mistake I will clean up the mess. Since that day more and more parents are letting their children clip on the cattle, if that little girl can do it then why can't I. Our buyers walk around the barns to see which kids acutely work on the animals and those kids are rewarded through the auction.
Having to spend all kinds of money on a barn just for the coat is a bunch of crap; I will be the first to burn the barn down when we go to shaved animals. But until that time we will play the hair game and be darn good at it. I think it's cool that my eight year olds know how to build a French drain, how to build an air tight cooler room and they understand the concept of how the system works. I put it in the same category as the little kid going to the store to buy meat with their parents. They have no idea that the product was a living, breathing animal. Most kids go into their air-conditioned house and just know its cold because you turned the thing on. My kids know exactly how it works and can fix problems as they arise ;-)
So I guess coats aren't all that bad, there is a lot more hard work that goes into their project. There animals have to be attended to and not just put out in the pen. They have to monitor not only feed and nutrients for meat but for their coats, and when was the last time any slick steer owner had to worry about body temp. Depending on the day my kids may be putting their cattle out very early in the a.m. just because they don't want their animal to loose their hair.
If you can learn anything from this thread I hope it would be this.
Just because a steer has a coat doesn't mean its crap.
It takes a whole heck of a lot a work, money and patience to grow these coats: just to shave half of it off in the end.
We not only have to worry about feeding out and finishing the animal but making sure their skin and hair is in top condition so we can get the coats in the first place.
and we do all this extra work and in the end you can't even eat the coat. But they sure do look
:nod: pretty :nod: But pretty comes at a big cost and "thousands" of extra hours of work.
So the next time you see a steer with that fluffy coat... maybe you don't agree with showing that style of animal and could never bring yourself down to that horrible level. Just remember there are kids that are working extremely hard so they have a chance to prove to the judge that their animal is worth putting into the winners circle, or in our case auction.
Not every show around the world can be a slick steer show and unfortunately we live in an area where coats are everything. Please don't make my kids feel inferior because they have to spend all this time on their animals maybe look at their animals and judge my kids on all their hard work. You know they don't get those coats by sitting on their butts so give them the credit they deserve. Encourage them; they have to do this just to get their money back. Without the coat they can't make auction and then there is no money. Last but not least, my kids have spent their own time and money, mommy and daddy didn't hand them everything so they could win a pretty little ribbon. My children finance everything, do everything or go without.
So the barn may be overkill to some and rubbish to others, but it's a way of life out here. If you want to show and win........and I think that's everyone's goal who shows, at least I haven't met a person yet who raises an animal to loose. You have to go with the trend in your area and in our area a slick steer wouldn't even get a second glance. So until we all can shave we will keep on growing and I'm sorry that I had to waste your thread space on something as foolish as asking for help with our barn.
We are proud of our barn and maybe there is another kid who needs to build a barn like we had too. I posted the pic's so people could learn from our mistakes and improve on them. In turn this would help us out a great deal. In the long run remember my children read all your posts; please don't tell them they are foolish for all their hard work. You may not agree with a coat fair but give credit where credit is due and remember not every child is blessed with a slick steer show :wave: .
I brought them back to reality and let them know that any show steer takes extra time, care and nutrition, even without a coat.
Just for the record....we don't chase the ribbon we chase the pay check, the ribbon is icing on the cake. We don't worry about grand we worry about making auction, it just so happens in the process we are always in grand drive. It's a win, win situation ;-)
It sucks that we have to go the extra mile and worry about one more thing. But lucky for me, my kids don't know how nice it is on the other side of the slick steer fence. My hope is that some day it will be mandatory that everyone shave the coats off :clap: it would be wonderful to get to bed before 2:00a.m. and sleep in past 6a.m.
I think it's great that my children can see through this cattle forum that there are all different kinds of shows. Most kids around here have no idea that cattle can be shown without all this hard work (coats).
Our cattle are also clipped by us, my feeling on hiring professionals to fit out your project :secret: I have to many bad words that would come out of my mouth.........so all I can say about that is CHEATING.
Maybe if it wasn't a 4H project and we were in it to sell cattle and that was our sole income then it would be a different story. But a 4H project is just that, Mom, Dad and the kids. It's about teaching the kids how to be responsible and with good hard work, there are rewards at the end of the trail. Buying a fitter to make their cattle better than what they could personally do for themselves would bring us down the wrong path and against what we stand for.
Most fitters out here charge $150.00 and can fit the animal out in two hours. My kids start clipping three weeks before the shows and work up till they are in the ring. It may take them three weeks to do the same job, but some day they will be able to fit out as good as the professionals: and best of all....they did it themselves. It brings joy to my heart to see my children out at the show with clippers in hand working on their projects. Not too many families would even dear to let their child touch there project let alone clip on them.
When my oldest daughter was nine and showing her first steer, she got board one day and pulled her steer out, washed and blow dried him and pulled out the clippers. My husband and I had ventured out into the midway while she decided to do this. When we got back her steer was tied back in the fan cage and she was sitting in a chair crying. My first thought was she got hurt and then the barn superintendent came over as she was telling us her story.
The people in the barn thought she was doing something that we would not allow her to do, clip on the animal :shock: . I was in shock that they stopped her; this is her animal...why can't she clip on it. The man said, she will ruin it and that is a good looking animal. My reply....yep and she got him this far without messing him up so why would I stop her now. I reassured the man that she is well aware of her job and has good control over the clippers and if she makes a mistake I will clean up the mess. Since that day more and more parents are letting their children clip on the cattle, if that little girl can do it then why can't I. Our buyers walk around the barns to see which kids acutely work on the animals and those kids are rewarded through the auction.
Having to spend all kinds of money on a barn just for the coat is a bunch of crap; I will be the first to burn the barn down when we go to shaved animals. But until that time we will play the hair game and be darn good at it. I think it's cool that my eight year olds know how to build a French drain, how to build an air tight cooler room and they understand the concept of how the system works. I put it in the same category as the little kid going to the store to buy meat with their parents. They have no idea that the product was a living, breathing animal. Most kids go into their air-conditioned house and just know its cold because you turned the thing on. My kids know exactly how it works and can fix problems as they arise ;-)
So I guess coats aren't all that bad, there is a lot more hard work that goes into their project. There animals have to be attended to and not just put out in the pen. They have to monitor not only feed and nutrients for meat but for their coats, and when was the last time any slick steer owner had to worry about body temp. Depending on the day my kids may be putting their cattle out very early in the a.m. just because they don't want their animal to loose their hair.
If you can learn anything from this thread I hope it would be this.
Just because a steer has a coat doesn't mean its crap.
It takes a whole heck of a lot a work, money and patience to grow these coats: just to shave half of it off in the end.
We not only have to worry about feeding out and finishing the animal but making sure their skin and hair is in top condition so we can get the coats in the first place.
and we do all this extra work and in the end you can't even eat the coat. But they sure do look
:nod: pretty :nod: But pretty comes at a big cost and "thousands" of extra hours of work.
So the next time you see a steer with that fluffy coat... maybe you don't agree with showing that style of animal and could never bring yourself down to that horrible level. Just remember there are kids that are working extremely hard so they have a chance to prove to the judge that their animal is worth putting into the winners circle, or in our case auction.
Not every show around the world can be a slick steer show and unfortunately we live in an area where coats are everything. Please don't make my kids feel inferior because they have to spend all this time on their animals maybe look at their animals and judge my kids on all their hard work. You know they don't get those coats by sitting on their butts so give them the credit they deserve. Encourage them; they have to do this just to get their money back. Without the coat they can't make auction and then there is no money. Last but not least, my kids have spent their own time and money, mommy and daddy didn't hand them everything so they could win a pretty little ribbon. My children finance everything, do everything or go without.
So the barn may be overkill to some and rubbish to others, but it's a way of life out here. If you want to show and win........and I think that's everyone's goal who shows, at least I haven't met a person yet who raises an animal to loose. You have to go with the trend in your area and in our area a slick steer wouldn't even get a second glance. So until we all can shave we will keep on growing and I'm sorry that I had to waste your thread space on something as foolish as asking for help with our barn.
We are proud of our barn and maybe there is another kid who needs to build a barn like we had too. I posted the pic's so people could learn from our mistakes and improve on them. In turn this would help us out a great deal. In the long run remember my children read all your posts; please don't tell them they are foolish for all their hard work. You may not agree with a coat fair but give credit where credit is due and remember not every child is blessed with a slick steer show :wave: .
A
Anonymous
If the steer is good enough, it shouldn't need all that hair to make the winner's circle or auction.
We don't slick shear - I'd love too - BUT at the end of the day, the steers that make the money (and ribbons) are generally the ones that have a good carcase - not a heap of hair that makes them look pretty.
Out judges aren't afraid to go up and FEEL an animal to see just how much cover/muscle/etc it has - whereas across the ocean a judge wouldn't dare put a hand on the animal, I mean, imagine the outcry! I'm thankful most of our judges here look (and feel) beyond the hair, for animals which actually have commercial value.
When my old boss judged at Calgary and a number of state fairs some years ago, he sure caused a stir by feeling the animals - but hey, one white bull he put up (which didn't have as much hair as the rest, but which he had felt) over this other bull that had been winning everywhere under US judges, was fitted out to the nines but when you put your hand on him had nothing - well, he was not popular with the owners of the bull that had won everywhere. But, several years and a few calves later, the white bull had done his job and done it darn good, whereas the bull that was winning everywhere? Well, no one ever heard much of him after his show career finished....
We don't slick shear - I'd love too - BUT at the end of the day, the steers that make the money (and ribbons) are generally the ones that have a good carcase - not a heap of hair that makes them look pretty.
Out judges aren't afraid to go up and FEEL an animal to see just how much cover/muscle/etc it has - whereas across the ocean a judge wouldn't dare put a hand on the animal, I mean, imagine the outcry! I'm thankful most of our judges here look (and feel) beyond the hair, for animals which actually have commercial value.
When my old boss judged at Calgary and a number of state fairs some years ago, he sure caused a stir by feeling the animals - but hey, one white bull he put up (which didn't have as much hair as the rest, but which he had felt) over this other bull that had been winning everywhere under US judges, was fitted out to the nines but when you put your hand on him had nothing - well, he was not popular with the owners of the bull that had won everywhere. But, several years and a few calves later, the white bull had done his job and done it darn good, whereas the bull that was winning everywhere? Well, no one ever heard much of him after his show career finished....
show steer up
Well-known member
I'm sorry but you totally missed my point. I in no way want to or am willing to get into a our judges are better than your judges, that's pointless.
What I was trying to get across to people who don't have to grow coats is how much effort and time is spent and the knowledge it takes to pick out, feed and raise a champion (with a coat). Shave that same animal down and you still have the same animal.
What I would like to see on CT is for people to support each other. Whether you show slick hair or coated animals we all love raising cattle. When someone wants to know how to grow better coats and need help in doing so, don't put that person down, it's not our fault that you have had, seen or heard of these bad experiences. All of us here have won show's we shouldn't have and lost show in the same manner. It's that person's opinion on that special day at that point and time. We don't all have the same type, breed or opinions on what a champion should look like and don't place all judges in this horrible bracket.
My point is and will still be, even if you have seen or heard first hand these outlandish asks; remember there are children working their little tails off to improve their animal. Please don't stereotype every snowperson just because of the coat. I feel your being the "judge that has put every coated animal into a category that will never ever be good enough no matter what, because it has a coat".
Correct me if I'm wrong and I apologize upfront if this is not your intent.
I stated in another thread that we just sent a steer to slaughter because it had no coat. Our competition is so tough that it will come down to the overall shower and "animal". My daughter at nine years old lost to a nineteen year old because she showed and presented her animal better. We didn't get angry or have a little pity party that is what that judge wanted. In that judges opion the animals where so close it came down to presentation. In my eyes this was an honor not a slap in the face and my daughter was very happy she came that close to winning her first year out.
So if you can't complement the animals because they have a coat, please understand all the hard work that goes into them and maybe you can give those children a little more respect for trying to improve their animals.
in other words "can't we all just get along"
What I was trying to get across to people who don't have to grow coats is how much effort and time is spent and the knowledge it takes to pick out, feed and raise a champion (with a coat). Shave that same animal down and you still have the same animal.
What I would like to see on CT is for people to support each other. Whether you show slick hair or coated animals we all love raising cattle. When someone wants to know how to grow better coats and need help in doing so, don't put that person down, it's not our fault that you have had, seen or heard of these bad experiences. All of us here have won show's we shouldn't have and lost show in the same manner. It's that person's opinion on that special day at that point and time. We don't all have the same type, breed or opinions on what a champion should look like and don't place all judges in this horrible bracket.
My point is and will still be, even if you have seen or heard first hand these outlandish asks; remember there are children working their little tails off to improve their animal. Please don't stereotype every snowperson just because of the coat. I feel your being the "judge that has put every coated animal into a category that will never ever be good enough no matter what, because it has a coat".
Correct me if I'm wrong and I apologize upfront if this is not your intent.
I stated in another thread that we just sent a steer to slaughter because it had no coat. Our competition is so tough that it will come down to the overall shower and "animal". My daughter at nine years old lost to a nineteen year old because she showed and presented her animal better. We didn't get angry or have a little pity party that is what that judge wanted. In that judges opion the animals where so close it came down to presentation. In my eyes this was an honor not a slap in the face and my daughter was very happy she came that close to winning her first year out.
So if you can't complement the animals because they have a coat, please understand all the hard work that goes into them and maybe you can give those children a little more respect for trying to improve their animals.
in other words "can't we all just get along"
Keren
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SSU ... probably a silly question, but do you have pens in this barn or do you tie the calves?
Are they in there full time, or just during the day? Do they go out at night? Or, how many hrs are they in there?
Do you have trouble with them coping with the temps at the show, since they are accustomed to the cooler? Do they stress at the show, go off their feed, etc?
I dont want to get into the hair vs slick debate. As far as I am concerned, its just so emotive, it puts people on either side of a fence, the debate is always gonna be there and no-one from either side can change anyone's opinions about it. I get that the hair thing is a game, heck I'd play it too if I was in US. I love hair and fitting. But I also get the attraction of slick shows. Cowboy once said to me, and it made perfect sense, he takes his excellent steers to the slick shows, and they win. The not-so-great steers, they'd never win at a slick show, so why take them there, but get a bit of hair on them and fit them out and they might get a place at a hair show. Its a game, and some people can play it well.
For the most part, hair doesnt matter so much here, but then again we still play the fitting game. For the most part, our show ring is a bit more in touch with commercial reality, which I am thankful for.
But I just wanted to point out this, that Colin said:
That is a very good point. The standard here in Aust. is nutrition, regular grooming, keeping the cattle in a shed during the day, turning them out at night, sometimes with a mist of water on them. And yeah, we grow hair just fine. Which does make me stop and wonder, why we can do it with such gentle measures, but US steers need more extreme tactics :???:
Are they in there full time, or just during the day? Do they go out at night? Or, how many hrs are they in there?
Do you have trouble with them coping with the temps at the show, since they are accustomed to the cooler? Do they stress at the show, go off their feed, etc?
I dont want to get into the hair vs slick debate. As far as I am concerned, its just so emotive, it puts people on either side of a fence, the debate is always gonna be there and no-one from either side can change anyone's opinions about it. I get that the hair thing is a game, heck I'd play it too if I was in US. I love hair and fitting. But I also get the attraction of slick shows. Cowboy once said to me, and it made perfect sense, he takes his excellent steers to the slick shows, and they win. The not-so-great steers, they'd never win at a slick show, so why take them there, but get a bit of hair on them and fit them out and they might get a place at a hair show. Its a game, and some people can play it well.
For the most part, hair doesnt matter so much here, but then again we still play the fitting game. For the most part, our show ring is a bit more in touch with commercial reality, which I am thankful for.
But I just wanted to point out this, that Colin said:
Australian":1lwsutg6 said:
That is a very good point. The standard here in Aust. is nutrition, regular grooming, keeping the cattle in a shed during the day, turning them out at night, sometimes with a mist of water on them. And yeah, we grow hair just fine. Which does make me stop and wonder, why we can do it with such gentle measures, but US steers need more extreme tactics :???:
Australian
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Don't know of any one using an air conditioner over here. I know over in the US more emphasis is on show wins. Over here the last in the class can often make a lot more than the winner of the class. Most commercial cattle breeders couldn't care less about a show win.My cattle are all prepared out in the open,no sheds here to house them. If I have to start putting them in sheds thats when I'll give it away. I know that the US/Canada have much more harsher conditions than us mainly in the cold side of things. So I would have them in a shed if that was the case. But if I lived in the hotter parts there would be no way that I would put them in a shed. I've seen it happen as Carla pointed out well known cattle falling by the wayside. Thankfully over here most commercial cattle men/women see through all the glitz and glamour. And I daresay there would be the same type of breeders in the US/Canada. SSU do you think your kids will keep up the rigorous preparation measures after a few years? Full congratulations to you for your encouragement and support to them. We sure need as much encouragement to our young ones. The last time I heard the average age of landholders here in Australia was 58.
show steer up
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Thanks Karen
We start washing cattle between 9:00 - 11:00p.m. (This depends how hot it is.) When the temp. drops below 80 we start. Then we feed, exercise and work on showing. By this time we spend another hour cleaning their cooler room. Our room is very high maintenance but worth while to us. So around 12:00 the animals are free to rome and play for the rest of the night, then we clean up their barn. Depending on the person cleaning and how fast or slow the process is we will pack it up by 1 or 2a.m.
We get up at 6:00a.m. feed, wash, exercise and all the cattle are in the barn by 8 a.m. at the latest. We don't have to lead the animals into the barn, they walk in by themselves and then we tie them up. same thing at night we unclip their chains and they go over to the wash rack and one by one we tie them in their grooming chute.
No we have no problem with the cattle at our fair and the temp. Everyone uses fan cages and our barn has many air conditioners. Our cattle are tied up at the fair just like they are at home; we do the same routine day and night, haul our own water and feed exactly the same way at the fair. Weeks before going to a show we water all our cattle by bucket so there is no problem with them and not drinking. Every once in a great while we will have a steer that just does not take to the public all that well, but it takes a day or so for them to be right back on track. I don't know if we have tamer cattle this year or our cattle are a little mellower because of our new cooler. But this is the best group we have had in a long time. We don't have a kicker or a runner in the group
That's an excellent question.... we have tried for many years and you just can't compete with the cooler barn. What took us three months to grow last year we just did it in 30 days and we have a whole month left. I myself have to admit, I love looking at cattle that are fit out to the " T ". Getting that coat and living that lifestyle is something you have to experience. It doesn't come easy and if you see outrageous coats on animals, those people have worked their butts off. I know everyone does not like coats but don't assume their cattle are crap because they have a coat. I guess it's the same thing going the other way, I don't think slick steers are crap, a good looking animal is and always will be a good looking animal. It's the people who can't look past a coat, in either direction (slick or coated) that are challenged.
Around our area you will only see slick steers at county fairs. If you go to what we call Jackpots, this is the more serious people. They have fitters by the dozen's and pull up in fancy truck and trailer units with all the bells and whistles. When my daughter won Grand Champion in Tucson this year she was the only child fitting her steer by herself. When I say by herself it was from start to finish and clippers in hand. People would walk over to her and introduce themselves, she felt like a million bucks. Then she won the whole thing, there where around 110 entries give or take a few and it was the proudest moment in my/her show career. My daughter is twelve and has been showing since the was eight.
Thanks that was very nice :heart: .
We start our year with high hopes and a lot of energy. I make sure my children are in it for the long hall. We may start off with good strong cattle and through the year have to cut our losses because of some very unfortunate events. Most on this board know one of our steers where poisoned last year and we took a very hard hit, both emotionally and in the pocketbook. My kids started this year off in two different directions. My son decided not to show at all, he was so disgusted with people and did not want to place his college savings in an animal. The risk was too great and the emotional heartbreak to deep, it was a whole year gone in a blink of an eye. I respected his wishes and told him he had up to tag in to change his mind. There was no pressure and I stood behind his decision.
My daughter on the other hand couldn't wait to get back in the ring. Her steer was robed out of his chances and went to slaughter without any recognition. This made one mad little girl out of her, she has since gone to the fair board meeting and pleaded with the board to ban any and all scatter bate. If the fly poison has to be used my daughter was willing to get her 4-H group together and get as many coffee cans they could muster up. Her idea was to put the bate in the coffee cans and hang them high up in the barn away from mean people who wanted to hurt the animals and to keep little kids safe from eating the poison that was on the ground. The fair board granted her wishes and they will no longer spread the fly bate around the fair .
We took my daughters steer and went to three Jackpots. My husband had to work so my four kids and I took her steer "Star" along with all his equipment and had one heck of a time. On our way back form Tucson my son said he wanted a steer, I was shocked. The nice thing about him changing his mind is that he didn't let mean, selfish people take his love for cattle away. My son did not have to go to the shows with us, he chose to help his sister because he new she couldn't carry all that heavy equipment and even though he didn't want animals this year, we where still a team.
So to answer your question, my kids have been showing for six years. They have been running this schedule from day one. Yes we get tired and cranky, it's a long haul; but when one is burnt out the other will cover for them. There are times when only one can get up in the a.m., and then the other will carry the load for two. I also work 12 hour shifts in the ER and can't always be there for them so they have to watch and help each other. We are a team, when one of my kids win's......we all win. ;-)
There is one thing more I wish to say. I am very sorry if I have stepped on any toes, that was not my intent. I don't know why we have so much enfaces on our coats and I don't know why some judges can't see past a coat. Yes you can take an average animal and place two or three steers up the line with that coat. Is this right? no. Does it happen? yes. Does this mean every judge and every person who raises animals with coats don't know what there doing? no.
For a long time now people have been bad mouthing and saying outright mean thing about judges and animals with coats and Vic versa about slick steers. I myself had no idea there where still big shows around the world that people only showed animal's slick. I didn't put these people down and never would, I could only hope that our area would go back to this kind of showing. I felt if I could explain how much work goes into these projects then maybe it would explain why we feel the need for the cooler barn. For us it's a way of life in our little show area, all top winning cattle have coats. As for my family We don't sacrifice quality for the coats, our coats add eye appeal and style. I thought if some of you out there had a little glimpse of what it's like to grow coats then maybe we wouldn't get hit so hard with all the harsh words. We... meaning my family don't like the countless hours these coats take to make them grow but we do it because we love showing. In our area this is the way of life and please don't think our animals are crap because of them. If anything maybe knowing how much work goes into them....now maybe people can appreciate a hard day's work and the dedication it takes to achieve the end results.
That's all :tiphat:
We tie the cattle like they are at the fair.Keren":37k9mrii said:
Keren":37k9mrii said:
We start washing cattle between 9:00 - 11:00p.m. (This depends how hot it is.) When the temp. drops below 80 we start. Then we feed, exercise and work on showing. By this time we spend another hour cleaning their cooler room. Our room is very high maintenance but worth while to us. So around 12:00 the animals are free to rome and play for the rest of the night, then we clean up their barn. Depending on the person cleaning and how fast or slow the process is we will pack it up by 1 or 2a.m.
We get up at 6:00a.m. feed, wash, exercise and all the cattle are in the barn by 8 a.m. at the latest. We don't have to lead the animals into the barn, they walk in by themselves and then we tie them up. same thing at night we unclip their chains and they go over to the wash rack and one by one we tie them in their grooming chute.
Keren":37k9mrii said:
No we have no problem with the cattle at our fair and the temp. Everyone uses fan cages and our barn has many air conditioners. Our cattle are tied up at the fair just like they are at home; we do the same routine day and night, haul our own water and feed exactly the same way at the fair. Weeks before going to a show we water all our cattle by bucket so there is no problem with them and not drinking. Every once in a great while we will have a steer that just does not take to the public all that well, but it takes a day or so for them to be right back on track. I don't know if we have tamer cattle this year or our cattle are a little mellower because of our new cooler. But this is the best group we have had in a long time. We don't have a kicker or a runner in the group
Keren":37k9mrii said:
That's an excellent question.... we have tried for many years and you just can't compete with the cooler barn. What took us three months to grow last year we just did it in 30 days and we have a whole month left. I myself have to admit, I love looking at cattle that are fit out to the " T ". Getting that coat and living that lifestyle is something you have to experience. It doesn't come easy and if you see outrageous coats on animals, those people have worked their butts off. I know everyone does not like coats but don't assume their cattle are crap because they have a coat. I guess it's the same thing going the other way, I don't think slick steers are crap, a good looking animal is and always will be a good looking animal. It's the people who can't look past a coat, in either direction (slick or coated) that are challenged.
Around our area you will only see slick steers at county fairs. If you go to what we call Jackpots, this is the more serious people. They have fitters by the dozen's and pull up in fancy truck and trailer units with all the bells and whistles. When my daughter won Grand Champion in Tucson this year she was the only child fitting her steer by herself. When I say by herself it was from start to finish and clippers in hand. People would walk over to her and introduce themselves, she felt like a million bucks. Then she won the whole thing, there where around 110 entries give or take a few and it was the proudest moment in my/her show career. My daughter is twelve and has been showing since the was eight.
Australian":37k9mrii said:
Thanks that was very nice :heart: .
We start our year with high hopes and a lot of energy. I make sure my children are in it for the long hall. We may start off with good strong cattle and through the year have to cut our losses because of some very unfortunate events. Most on this board know one of our steers where poisoned last year and we took a very hard hit, both emotionally and in the pocketbook. My kids started this year off in two different directions. My son decided not to show at all, he was so disgusted with people and did not want to place his college savings in an animal. The risk was too great and the emotional heartbreak to deep, it was a whole year gone in a blink of an eye. I respected his wishes and told him he had up to tag in to change his mind. There was no pressure and I stood behind his decision.
My daughter on the other hand couldn't wait to get back in the ring. Her steer was robed out of his chances and went to slaughter without any recognition. This made one mad little girl out of her, she has since gone to the fair board meeting and pleaded with the board to ban any and all scatter bate. If the fly poison has to be used my daughter was willing to get her 4-H group together and get as many coffee cans they could muster up. Her idea was to put the bate in the coffee cans and hang them high up in the barn away from mean people who wanted to hurt the animals and to keep little kids safe from eating the poison that was on the ground. The fair board granted her wishes and they will no longer spread the fly bate around the fair
.We took my daughters steer and went to three Jackpots. My husband had to work so my four kids and I took her steer "Star" along with all his equipment and had one heck of a time. On our way back form Tucson my son said he wanted a steer, I was shocked. The nice thing about him changing his mind is that he didn't let mean, selfish people take his love for cattle away. My son did not have to go to the shows with us, he chose to help his sister because he new she couldn't carry all that heavy equipment and even though he didn't want animals this year, we where still a team.
So to answer your question, my kids have been showing for six years. They have been running this schedule from day one. Yes we get tired and cranky, it's a long haul; but when one is burnt out the other will cover for them. There are times when only one can get up in the a.m., and then the other will carry the load for two. I also work 12 hour shifts in the ER and can't always be there for them so they have to watch and help each other. We are a team, when one of my kids win's......we all win. ;-)
There is one thing more I wish to say. I am very sorry if I have stepped on any toes, that was not my intent. I don't know why we have so much enfaces on our coats and I don't know why some judges can't see past a coat. Yes you can take an average animal and place two or three steers up the line with that coat. Is this right? no. Does it happen? yes. Does this mean every judge and every person who raises animals with coats don't know what there doing? no.
For a long time now people have been bad mouthing and saying outright mean thing about judges and animals with coats and Vic versa about slick steers. I myself had no idea there where still big shows around the world that people only showed animal's slick. I didn't put these people down and never would, I could only hope that our area would go back to this kind of showing. I felt if I could explain how much work goes into these projects then maybe it would explain why we feel the need for the cooler barn. For us it's a way of life in our little show area, all top winning cattle have coats. As for my family We don't sacrifice quality for the coats, our coats add eye appeal and style. I thought if some of you out there had a little glimpse of what it's like to grow coats then maybe we wouldn't get hit so hard with all the harsh words. We... meaning my family don't like the countless hours these coats take to make them grow but we do it because we love showing. In our area this is the way of life and please don't think our animals are crap because of them. If anything maybe knowing how much work goes into them....now maybe people can appreciate a hard day's work and the dedication it takes to achieve the end results.
That's all :tiphat:
