Getting Good Hair - HELP

Help Support CattleToday:

KaitlinLego

Well-known member
Joined
May 31, 2009
Messages
51
Reaction score
0
Location
Texas
I have a black angus heifer, and her hair is much less than satisfactory,
and summer is not helping.

I have her on beetpulp
I blow her out and at least rinse everyday
she is under a fan at all times with a mister

any tips or anything?

I spend as much time as i can blowing washing drying,
and yet my heifers hair looks less than average next to some
of the heifers i've seen. Doesnt mean i dont beat them, i just wished she looked
as spiffy as them you know??

Helppp.
 
If you come to the State Junior Angus show in Brenham next week, You will note that most of the healthy heifers have been slicked off for the summer. About the only way to keep good hair on them during the summer in Texas is to keep them in a cooler. If you do that you are taking a chance on your heifers health everytime that you take her to a weekend show. If she's good enough, I'd keep her slicked off all summer then concentrate on hair this fall. We used to run fans and misters all summer but that did not help them grow thick hair. It just doesnt get cool enough at night. About all it did for us is to help our cattle grow better through the summer. Oh I almost forgot something. Cooler temps help grow hair but it also takes shorter exposure to sunlight. Like the short days of winter :tiphat:
 
About the only way to keep good hair on them during the summer in Texas is to keep them in a cooler. If you do that you are taking a chance on your heifers health everytime that you take her to a weekend show.

Yeahh, there was a heifer i used to show against who was in a cooler, and she almost died of heat stroke every time she was outside.

Slick her, you mean like shave her all off? will it grow back in time for the next show year?
 
The angus that I see (GEORGIA) are usually slick sheared this time of year. Rinse your calf twice a day (AM and PM) :D . Rinse for at least 10 minutes. This should cool the hide and help her eat more. Brush the hair forward and put her under a fan. Don't worry about blow drying everyday. HOPE THIS HELPS!!
 
Avalon":se6rg3jb said:
Cooler temps help grow hair but it also takes shorter exposure to sunlight. Like the short days of winter :tiphat:

You post gave me a bit of a lightbulb moment :idea:

I realized that the people who keep their cattle in coolers also control the amount of light the cattle receive thus controlling the body's clock. They limit the amount of light so that the animal's clock thinks that it is winter.

I bought a filly in who was kept in a climate controlled barn. The lights were bright and on for about 14 hours (like summer) year 'round. She had a really short fine hair coat. It didn't take long for her to grow her winter coat in early March, even though we had mild to warm temps. She is finally shedding now in June.

I can't help with the hair except to follow the advice about brushing forwards daily, Use a rice root brush. When you wear it out, buy another.
 
brushing forwards daily, Use a rice root brush. When you wear it out, buy another.

I do that as well, oh well maybe her problem is in her genes.

Thanks everyone for your advice. :)
 
You got it right chippie. And yes Kaitlin, slick her one time then keep it trimmed up all summer. You will have thicker, richer and fuller hair next year. And most likley a healthier calf to boot. But dont let off the rinsing, brushing, fans or misters. :hat:
 
hmm, okay, the only thing im afraid of is her hair not being grown back by heart of texas.
 
All I can say is that we did it that way for 10 years. Every year at the end of school we slicked them off (shaved with the hair not against). Actually when it was time (fall). I felt that the hair grew back better. When it came time for HOT fair we always had enough or more hair than all of the others who did not use coolers. Other wise you're just fighting dead hair that will come out before the end of summer anyway.
 
KaitlinLego":6r2rpdsq said:
brushing forwards daily, Use a rice root brush. When you wear it out, buy another.

I do that as well, oh well maybe her problem is in her genes.

Thanks everyone for your advice. :)
Angus have really goofy hair anyways so if its not one hair problem its 2 more. Also, Angus are not known to be the hairy ones in the ring. Most big Angus heifers here in oklahoma show slicked anyways.
 
Well, most the heifers i show against look like stuffed animals.
hair sticking straight up and fluffy. Mine doesnt look bad, just not like velvet like some.
OH! Thats my last question, my heifers gets faded hair, are all these angus that are pitch black died for appearance?
I know dies are illegal but if its a black cow and your retouching hair....you get what i mean?
 
With the Angus heifers I show, I rinse them in the am, blow them dry, and add conditioners. They are under fans and a mister all day. At night I rinse again, blow dry, spray in conditioner and brush them a ton, with the Sullivan fluffer comb and rice brushes. They may not have as much hair as people with coolers, but by doing that I can at least get the hair they have to pop and the hair has a nice shine. Anything that I show that is black never sees sunlight, and that usually helps with fading.
 
Went to Texas Junior Angus State show in Brenham over the weekend. I think out of 130 head or so there may have been 4 that had hair. As far as I can remember, none of the champions were hairy.
 
Really? That is so weird. I went to a weekend show about a week ago and everyone had hair.
I can't make a decision on it. It's so hott her hair is basically gone anyways, so i think i might just rinse her down 3 timeas a day, and continue with all the other stuff. Does anyone use Linament and clean sheen ferom sullivans? I heard linament is supposed to help...
 
Alright, so no linament? What if rinse her down first, that's what i had been doing.
Rinse her off for 15 minutes to cool her hide, then spray and brush in the linament.
 
How old is your heifer and how long have you owned her?

It take months to get a good hair coat. She needs to stay under cover - a stall with good ventilation or a loafing shed, with good fans 24/7. Do not turn her out during the daylight hours.

When you rinse her, blow her dry in the shade, never in the sun.

The hair that she has now probably will not grow any longer. As that hair sheds, you want to encourage the new hair to grow lush and longer by keeping her cool and stimulation the hair follicles by brushing.
 
Oh gosh, she's about a year and....7 months. I have had her for about a year. She is bred to DAJS All Star m243. Not that it matters, just thought I'd say. This is apicture of her.... today. I tied her up for just a minute in the sun to get a good picture.
untitled.bmp

Not a flattering picture of her at all, this is our houston picture, much better.
(She is wet BTW. I had just rinsed her.)
Image4.jpg

She is always in the shade and under fans, circulation i can't fix, I have to keep her at the AG barn, part of my school districts rules
to make sure people arent cheating with their animals. I almost always use linament, but i will stop since it gets hot. I didn't know that.
 

Latest posts

Top