In some parts of the country, it’s really starting to heat up and there are cattle shows to attend…thank goodness. Do you know how to grow hair without a cooler?
So, if you don’t have a cooler, are you completely out of luck?
No! This is not an article advocating against coolers. However, we’ve had plenty of success over the years without one. Please don’t misunderstand, in most cases, you won’t grow as much hair as those in a cooler…but you absolutely can grow hair.
Either way, you’ll have plenty of elbow grease ahead of you. Sometimes people assume if they simply put cattle in a cooler, their work is done…not the case at all.
We would not recommend a cooler with heifers or bulls that you are trying to take to multiple shows throughout the summer. You can’t expect to take one from a cooler set at 50 degrees to a show for several days in the heat and put her back in there without shucking hair.
So, if a cooler is not in your budget or future, how do you grow hair? As with so many of these articles, the solution is normally simple…just not easy! I really need that on a sign.
Genetics
In the event you are not already aware of this, hair has a huge genetic component. In the summer, we often hit temperatures of 105-110 degrees. Terrible, right? The cattle in the pasture who are not as good haired will slick off. The good haired cattle stay fairly hairy in spite of the weather.
Given that, you need to be realistic. If you have a steer that was just not genetically destined to be great haired, he’s certainly not going to shag up in the summer.
Well then, you must be a lost cause, right?
NO, NO, NO! Why? Fresh cattle always look good. He may not be shaggy but if he’s shiny and his hair is broke and fresh, you are on your way to success.
I need to take this time to say that with fresh hair goes sparkly whites. They are like peanut butter and jelly. If you are not capable of keeping his whites sparkling…don’t choose that one in the beginning. I HATE to see cattle with stained whites. It’s like a sign that says:
“I just didn’t care enough.”
Rinse…Brush…Repeat
If I were told I could have only four tools for growing hair in the summer, they would be a hose, a rice root brush, a comb and a fan with a mister. Okay, that’s technically 5 but you get the point. This, of course, assumes I don’t have a cooler. Afterall, in this post, we are talking about how to grow hair without a cooler.
At an absolute minimum, if you are trying to grow hair in the summer, you need to rinse and brush twice a day. We rinse in the early morning, brush…and I mean long enough and with enough elbow grease to break the hair to lay in the direction you want…from their tail to poll and top to toes. The old timers used to throw wheat bran or some other substance in the hair. When you’d brushed it all out, you’d brushed long enough.
We rinse, brush and put them under the fan in the barn while they are still wet in the morning to get them to grow hair. We brush until they are dry.
In the evenings, we will rinse them long enough to actually cool them down. If you put your hand on your calf and he still feels warm or hot, keep rinsing him. Pay particular attention to the bottom ⅓ of his body. Squat down and really cool his belly, between his front legs and his chest.
Once they are cool, we dip them, brush them and turn them out when it’s dark. Do not expect them to grow hair if you turn them back out into the sun. They need to be as cool as you can possibly get them, not to mention the sun will bleach their hair. If you’d like to see any of these steps in a video, please comment on the post.
Products for Growing Hair
When we get done rinsing and before we brush…we have a dip bucket that we put some Mane ‘n Tail conditioner in with a cap full of concentrated fly repellent. We fill the dip bucket with water.
First, we dip their tail, splash some on each hind leg (without startling them and getting kicked) and dump the rest from their tail head to their neck. We don’t put it on their heads. Then we spray Kleen Sheen on them and get to brushing.
We really don’t use any heavy oils in the summer like we would in the winter. They get too hot.
There are many newer products on the market, and we’ve tried or are trying some of them, but we really only want to share the things with which we’ve had proven success.
So there you have it, a proven method for keeping cattle fresh and growing hair without a cooler. For more tips on hair care, Click Here.
If you like this or any of our other posts, please subscribe to our email list so you never miss a post!
Head up to the menu bar for our videos and free tools to support you in your show cattle journey.
