Dirty Phillip... Can I brush him?

[porkchop48]

Phillip my 3 month old hereford/angus mix is dirty.

I spent a good part of the morning washing his butt for lack of a better word. His tail was stuck and he looked might uncomfortable.

Can I brush the poor thing to get some of the stuff out of his coat? Is so what should I use?

 

[herfrds]

I used a curry comb on one of my milk cows. She loved it. I brushed both with the hair and on really dirty spots against the hair.

 

[goodhors]

Cattle LOVE grooming. The metal currycomb is a favorite, especially if they have longer
hair at the time. The stiffest bristle brushes at your TSC farm store are also
quite popular with cattle.

I hate when my animals get the big nasty messes on their rumps, so I also
would be trying to get it groomed off. Especially if his tail is sticking to him, that
is nasty, hair can't get fluffy to keep him warm if weather really drops down.
I WOULD tie him up for the grooming sessions, good practice for him standing still
when handled. SAFER for you, he can't spin and kick or run off while he learns to
enjoy the feeling of the brushing and being rubbed. Cattle seem to ALWAYS be
itchy, lick each other and themselves to fluff the hair.

The more you work with the calf, the better he will be to handle later on. Leading
and brushing, being tied, with maybe a few alfalfa pellets or handful of grain for
reward, will help him be willing to work with you.

 

[porkchop48]

Thank you guys.

Phillips got a semi bath to his rump and looks alot better. Warm soapy water and a rag took a long time. I hope to pick him up a brush this week to keep it down to a minimum. Which I am sure it is going to make it tougher when the "time" comes but I will be happy knowing he was well fed and cared for.

He gets grained daily and I try to spend as much time in the pen with him as possible to get him use to me.

he seems to really like his neck and cheek areas rubbed....

 

[Cricket]

I wash my calves butts if they've had scours--it just looks like it feels worse than death by pneumonia! Once you get him cleaned up he'll probably stay pretty clean if he has good poop and you clean him out regularly. Try scratching at the base of his tail, too--they love that. Rubbing their dew lap can be a bit of a turn on for them, so just make sure he keeps all four feet on the floor!

Glad to hear you are enjoying him! I think they are a whole lot easier to keep than many of the smaller animals.
Cricket

 

[Dreaming Of Goats]

When I leased a cow, he LOVED being brushed. I would go out to the pasture while he was lying down, lie down with him and brush and scratch away. I agree, curry combs work great for getting dirt/mud/dust out, and if you want him to be extra smooth and clean, you can use an average brush (The finer bristle the better) to get the finest dust out. And make sure that when washing your cow he/she doesn't lie down. It took me an hour to clean him up for a show, all that went down the drain in seconds when he layed down in the mud