Bathing Bottle Calf

[Cheyenne]

Hi all,

We have a one month old bottle calf that is my son's 4-H project. I was wondering what he should use to wash this little guy. I have some baby shampoo, but I am afraid it will strip too much oil out even though it is supposed to be gentle.

Should he wash him and then use a conditioner? He obviously won't be washing him everyday, but he will atleast be rinsing him once a week or so, so he gets used to being washed and he will be brushed everyday.

Also in the bottle calf class the conformation of the calf is not judged. The child is judged based on their knowledge of the calf, health and cleanliness of the calf and also the interaction between the child and calf. My son's calf is 1/4 Hereford and 3/4 Angus (all black, not a baldie) and will most likely be shown against holstein calves. My other questions would be as this calf won't be clipped, there is no need to, should I have my son brush him to train the hair to lay down or should we blow him out and fluff him up?

Thanks for your help.

 

[*Cowgirl*]

Baby shampoo should be fine; just make sure it all gets rinsed out.

 

[klintdog]

We use Johnson's Baby Shampoo quite often on our animals and have never had much of a problem.

 

[jaydill]

As far as show hair preparation goes, I'd say whichever looks better. How long will your son be showing the calf and how old will it be when he's done? I'd also say that choosing to train the hair and blow the calf out will make it look larger than if you were to just brush it down. I guess my preference would be for training the hair and blowing and fluffing the calf out.

 

[Cheyenne]

Thanks everyone for the quick replies.

This will be the only time this calf is shown. He is sickle hocked pretty good so I don't think he is a good market steer prospect. He is a sweet calf and will do for a bottle calf project.

Our local farm store carries Sullivan's Kleen Sheen, should I get some of that and use it once in a while just to make sure we don't dry his skin out too much and to help train his hair?

This is our first year taking a calf to fair to show. He did the project last year but could only take a report, so we didn't get too in depth with fitting.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[cattleluvr18]

last year for my bucket calf i used the main and tail shampoo without conditioner and boy did that shine him up! to train his hair i just brushed him everyday and when he was wet that helped too. as for showing. DONT BE TOO RELAXED WITH HIM!! thats why i had to settle for reserve unstead of grand dang it he told me that i was too relaxed with him b/c i let his head drop and watever. so be strict with him and good luck!!

 

[Cheyenne]

Thanks, but my son didn't get to show him as a bottle calf. Son broke his foot the Monday before the show. Showing him as a market steer this year. He isn't sickle hocked like I thought. (Newbie mistake). So we are working on him for market steer and son will also take another bottle calf.

 

[*Cowgirl*]

Good Luck. Hope your son's foot heals quickly.

 

[showkid1200]

Joy dishsoap its the cheapest and best thing to use doesn't strip the oils as bad as other things and as fair as Kleen Sheen you need to spray and blow it in everyday after he gets rinsed off.