To clip a calf: Techniques highlighted during demonstration

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The first step to clip a calf for the show ring is to make sure it is clean.

“If you want to be a good clipper, that means being a good wash rack person,” said Tracy Coffland, master professor for Sullivan Supply Stock Show University. “The cleaner you get them, the better it will be to clip the calves.”

Use a blower on calves before adding water, Coffland explained during a demonstration at the Illinois Beef Expo. “A blower gets a lot more loose dirt and dust out than a hose,” he added.

“If they’re dusty and you pour water on them, you have mud,” Coffland said. “A blower gets a lot of loose dirt out and makes washing easier.”

Clean bedding also is important, especially for light colored cattle. “Really focus on bedding because it’s a lot easier if we can avoid getting them stained,” he said.

Exhibitors can select from a variety of shampoos for their cattle, however, Coffland encourages the use of a shampoo that is formulated for cattle. “Cheap shampoo will dry out the calf’s skin,” he said. “But if you get the calves clean and conditioned we can eliminate some of the rubbing.”

Coffland cautions exhibitors about washing their calves too frequently during cold months, “If you wash them too often in the winter, you’ll dry them out,” he added. “But in the summer we rinse our calves one to two times every day.”

The final step before rinsing the cattle off is to take a comb or brush and starting at the center of the back, comb the hair straight down. “Comb all the way to the feet and when we rinse that gives an avenue for the dirt to rinse out better,” he said. “If you have swirls in the hair the soap will hide in that spot and it is harder to rinse out.”

It is important to get the soap out, Coffland said, because if there is shampoo left in the hair, it will dry the calf’s skin and it will end up with dandruff. “An extra couple minutes on the wash rack to make sure all the soap is out will save you days of conditioning to fix the problem,” he said.

“Dry your calves until they are dry and then dry them another 10 to 15 minutes,” he advised. “And don’t add conditioning products prior to clipping because you want the calves as dry and clean as you can get them.”

“For clipping, I like to use a steel comb because I think it does a better job of separating the hair,” he said.

“To be very good at clipping, you’re going to need three blades – a medium blending blade, a super blocking blade and a 5/8 blade,” Coffland said.

“Use the medium blending blade where you’re touching their skin,” he said. “It is really good for their face and front of the neck and it will leave about one-quarter of an inch of hair.”

The super blocking blade can be used in places where it is not touching the skin, because it cuts everything it touches. “It does a crisp, sharp job of cutting the hair,” he said.

“Use the 5/8 blade from the point of the shoulder up towards the face,” Coffland said. “It leaves hair about 5/8 of an inch long and it is a nice transition blade.”

Coffland also likes using guards on his clippers. “These guards snap on the blades and the hair feeds through the stainless steel fins,” he explained. “There are eight lengths in this case from 1 inch to 1/8 of an inch and they will make everybody a better clipper.”

It takes an imagination to become a good calf clipper. “You have to be able to look at a hairy calf as a canvas you’re about to perform art on so you can enhance the good parts of your calf,” Coffland said. “But if you don’t know what they’re supposed to look like, you will struggle.”

The area to start clipping a calf can vary from person to person. “The order of where you clip is up to you but don’t ever start at the low spot on a calf,” he stressed.

“I start at the tail area,” Coffland said. “When you clip on the backside of the tail, go straight up and don’t follow the tail around because you make them look rounded.”

Clipping the belly shape is an important part of the process. “You want a nice swoop to it, we don’t want it to be straight,” he said. “Especially on heifers, you want the deepest part of the belly to be at the center.”

For more information about Sullivan Supply go to: www.sullivansupply.com.