Help!! Clipped steer too short!

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Alonsosteer

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Hey there,

One of my students clipped our steer too short and uneven (it looks horrible- chunks of hair are missing everywhere).... what could we do to help its hair grow back?! It's a Angus x Mane Anjou cross. It was extremely hairy (thus why she decided to shave it -- to help with the FL heat) but it turned out just awful. Please help! Any supplements that y'all suggest??? Thanks
 
I doubt that you can accelerate hair growth despite products that say they do. The question is how long before you need to show him. The hair does come back fairly fast. When it does, find someone who is skilled. They have a lot of tricks to camouflage the flaws.
 
Bright Raven":14uq1svl said:
When it does, find someone who is skilled. They have a lot of tricks to camouflage the flaws.
Nah... give the kid another whack at it.
Any cattle judge worth their salt shouldn't let a hair cut, good or bad, influence their placings.
 
Not sure, but I thought your part of the country shaved instead of promoting long hair? A red solo cup of black oil sunflower seeds per feeding will promote a healthy looking coat. Not sure if it'll help your problem.
 
Bigfoot":gx7mn4qu said:
Not sure, but I thought your part of the country shaved instead of promoting long hair? A red solo cup of black oil sunflower seeds per feeding will promote a healthy looking coat. Not sure if it'll help your problem.
IF nothing else in that hot Florida sun an oiled up steer might start to simmer from within and smell delicious causing the judge to subconsciously move it up a place or two. :)
 
This time of year, your best bet may be to just go ahead and shear him off, especially if he hasn't shed his winter coat yet. Even if you're going to show him before long, it'll probably look better smooth and short than chopped up. Shag has helped us, if you want to try a supplement, but this time of year they're naturally shedding hair, not so much growing it, so I'd just roll with it unless your target shows are going to be within the next 60-90 days, maybe even then unless he shed out early and you're already working with fresh growth.

We'll be shearing some in the next couple of weeks. I use my old big sheep heads with P2712 blades and go down - I leave from the knee down on the front legs, hock down on the back legs, the belly behind the sheath and the tail head, that way you have a little hair there to work with if you do decide to show before it grows back good.
 
Bright Raven":ao46z7qd said:
I doubt that you can accelerate hair growth despite products that say they do. The question is how long before you need to show him. The hair does come back fairly fast. When it does, find someone who is skilled. They have a lot of tricks to camouflage the flaws.

The good thing is that the show isn't for quite a bit of time...next few months. The steer just looked sooo bad though that even I started to panic. Thanks for responding!
 
DLD":20z0cwmj said:
This time of year, your best bet may be to just go ahead and shear him off, especially if he hasn't shed his winter coat yet. Even if you're going to show him before long, it'll probably look better smooth and short than chopped up. Shag has helped us, if you want to try a supplement, but this time of year they're naturally shedding hair, not so much growing it, so I'd just roll with it unless your target shows are going to be within the next 60-90 days, maybe even then unless he shed out early and you're already working with fresh growth.

We'll be shearing some in the next couple of weeks. I use my old big sheep heads with P2712 blades and go down - I leave from the knee down on the front legs, hock down on the back legs, the belly behind the sheath and the tail head, that way you have a little hair there to work with if you do decide to show before it grows back good.


I was reading about Shag last night.... we may try that. This might sound a little crazy but do you think rubbing some coconut oil into his skin would help his coat/skin at all??
 
Alonsosteer":eynp225r said:
DLD":eynp225r said:
This time of year, your best bet may be to just go ahead and shear him off, especially if he hasn't shed his winter coat yet. Even if you're going to show him before long, it'll probably look better smooth and short than chopped up. Shag has helped us, if you want to try a supplement, but this time of year they're naturally shedding hair, not so much growing it, so I'd just roll with it unless your target shows are going to be within the next 60-90 days, maybe even then unless he shed out early and you're already working with fresh growth.

We'll be shearing some in the next couple of weeks. I use my old big sheep heads with P2712 blades and go down - I leave from the knee down on the front legs, hock down on the back legs, the belly behind the sheath and the tail head, that way you have a little hair there to work with if you do decide to show before it grows back good.


I was reading about Shag last night.... we may try that. This might sound a little crazy but do you think rubbing some coconut oil into his skin would help his coat/skin at all??

You addressed that to DLD, but I would just provide good nutrition and minerals. Treat for parasites. Some say parasite infestations affect the coat. Also control flies.
 
Alonsosteer":qicednbl said:
Hey there,

One of my students clipped our steer too short and uneven (it looks horrible- chunks of hair are missing everywhere).... what could we do to help its hair grow back?! It's a Angus x Mane Anjou cross. It was extremely hairy (thus why she decided to shave it -- to help with the FL heat) but it turned out just awful. Please help! Any supplements that y'all suggest??? Thanks
Was once told that the only difference in a good haircut and a bad haircut was about 10 days. :nod:
 
Alonsosteer":mwty1rpr said:
DLD":mwty1rpr said:
This time of year, your best bet may be to just go ahead and shear him off, especially if he hasn't shed his winter coat yet. Even if you're going to show him before long, it'll probably look better smooth and short than chopped up. Shag has helped us, if you want to try a supplement, but this time of year they're naturally shedding hair, not so much growing it, so I'd just roll with it unless your target shows are going to be within the next 60-90 days, maybe even then unless he shed out early and you're already working with fresh growth.

We'll be shearing some in the next couple of weeks. I use my old big sheep heads with P2712 blades and go down - I leave from the knee down on the front legs, hock down on the back legs, the belly behind the sheath and the tail head, that way you have a little hair there to work with if you do decide to show before it grows back good.


I was reading about Shag last night.... we may try that. This might sound a little crazy but do you think rubbing some coconut oil into his skin would help his coat/skin at all??

I don't think a little bit would hurt anything, and I'm sure it would condition the hair and skin, but you have to be careful - too much oil of any kind weighs down hair and clogs pores, which will end up doing more harm than good. From now til about September the only daily products we'll use on hair is a little bit of sheen (usually mixed 50/50 with white vinegar). All of our shows 'til then are blow and show, where we'll use a light coat of revive - that's about it. And even with those products, we rinse at least daily. We don't wash unless they just need it, or to clip or show - then we may use a conditioner, but be sure and rinse it out. Shade, fans, rinsing and brushing is what we count on to grow hair - it's worked for us for a long time.

There are some spray on products available now that claim to aid in hair growth - both Weaver and Sullivan have products, and there are others available too. They're not cheap, and they require daily use with lots of rinsing, brushing and blowing. Personally, I suspect the routine has as much to do with results as the product, but that's not to say that we might not give it a try - every little bit helps.
 
Lots of water, and shade. Shade is the number one thing to get cattle to grow hair, keeping them wet in the shade is even better. Maybe some melatonin, and a fan and a rice root brush definitely wouldn't hurt either. Conditioners will make better hair, but wont make it grow faster.

So pretty much what DLD said above, he hit the nail right on the head.
 
Bright Raven":31pe3vpv said:
I doubt that you can accelerate hair growth despite products that say they do. The question is how long before you need to show him. The hair does come back fairly fast. When it does, find someone who is skilled. They have a lot of tricks to camouflage the flaws.
Says he who clips his cattle to look like a lawn mower with dull blades ran over them!!!! :lol2: :nod: sorry, could not help it.....had to jab you just a little...
 
Fire Sweep Ranch":2q6ocyct said:
Bright Raven":2q6ocyct said:
I doubt that you can accelerate hair growth despite products that say they do. The question is how long before you need to show him. The hair does come back fairly fast. When it does, find someone who is skilled. They have a lot of tricks to camouflage the flaws.
Says he who clips his cattle to look like a lawn mower with dull blades ran over them!!!! :lol2: :nod: sorry, could not help it.....had to jab you just a little...

Ha ha. :D
 
Clip him down, but do not clip the leg hair or the belly hair ( that hair does not grow back as fast). Keep him out of the sun, rinse twice a day, and put him in front of fans during the day. As far as keeping wet, that actually is not a good thing, you can rinse and let the fans blow on them for a while (30 minutes) to dry out some, you want to be brushing while this is going on. Shagg or something like it will help but the biggest help will be BRUSHING, BRUSHING,BRUSHING, shade (dark is better), fans and time. We put or calves in the barn during the day, with fans on them from dawn to dusk, rinse when we put them in, brush and blow them and work a little sheen into the hair. Then rinse in the evening, brush and blow out, and add any hair product you are using. We add the hair product in the evening so they do not get any sun on them while it is in the hair. Wash once a week, (we used of market Head and shoulders) we also put main and tail cream rinse on them twice a week. After rinsing we put a quarter sized dollop in a 5 gallon bucket fill the bucket, then we dip the tail in the bucket first ( makes it easy to comb out any Knots) then pour the bucket down their back from tail head to poll. Leave it in and just brush and blow them dry.

A wet steer will actually get hotter if it is warm out. The body heats the water in the hair and actually it is hot to the touch after a while. That why we will leave them wet for a little while behind the fans because the evaporation will help cool them, if left wet without the fans they will get hot. With the humidity in Florida it would only be worse.
 

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