Summer temperatures are heating up, and the stakes are higher than ever. As the sun stays out longer, your days and hours in the barn get longer, but your time to prepare for the next big show gets shorter. Yet, no matter how many hours you put in or how much effort you make to […]
Tag: VC Climate Control Gel
Going the Distance: How to Haul Long Distances and Keep your Show Cattle Healthy
When you have a passion for your industry, you’ll go to great lengths to make sure you are an active participant. Even if that means driving 20 to 30 hours across the country with a load of animals to show livestock. With a vast number of major stock shows and junior nationals in the Midwest, […]
Tips to Control Body Temps in Adverse Weather
From an outsider looking in, the life of a show animal might seem pretty pampered. Two healthy meals per day, unlimited fresh water, a nice bed to lay on that is generally cleaned up on a regular basis, typically in a temperature-controlled environment. Combine those comforts with regular skin and hair treatments by way of […]
Walking a Fine Line: How to Feed for Early Jackpots and Later Shows
There’s something about the spirit of competition that drives livestock exhibitors. Even in the dead of winter, cattle enthusiasts will bundle up, run bucket heaters to keep their aerosol cans working and pull to a jackpot show for consecutive weekends to get their fresh calves out to compete. All of this knowing that their final […]
Tips to Get Show Goats Started on Feed
Trends have changed over time in the competitive livestock arena. Frame size, muscling requirements, feeding and fitting techniques have evolved over the years, and perhaps one of the hottest trends to hit the show ring in the past few decades is the Boer goat. Showing market goats is relatively new, as in your grandpa probably […]
How to Handle Your Show Stock in Summer Heat
Summer heat can be tough on show livestock – or any livestock for that matter. Heat stress causes increased respiration rate, suppressed appetite, fatigue and dehydration, all signs of a lowered immune response. When we think about these traits and the way they impact production, it becomes very evident that the strenuous expectations we put […]