A Successful Week at the Knox County Fair

Last week we attended the Knox County Fair.  Isaac and Walker each took a market beef feeder and a Miniature Hereford heifer.

Fair week is always super busy and extremely hot, but we come home with great memories and experiences.  

We moved in to the fair last Saturday.  The temperature was supposed to be 96 degrees with a heat index on 107 degrees.  I just know that it was hot!  

As usual, the beef barn was the hottest place to be on the fairgrounds.  Our barn is very old with a low roof and virtually no ventillation.  We knew going into the week that we would have to go to great lengths to keep the cows cool.  

Since we are going to State Fair this week, we really debated about bringing the heifers out in the extreme heat.  In the end, we decided that if they were at the fair with us, they would get more  baths and pampering than if they were at home whithout us.  

The feeder calves got washed or rinsed one to two times per day.  The heifers got rinsed 3 times per day.  The boys didn't complain too much because it was a whole lot cooler to be in the wash stall than most other parts of the fairgrounds.  
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Each cow had their own fan and we set up a mister system with frozen water jugs for the heifers.  We watered the cows frequently and made sure to work them in the early morning or late evening to avoid the worst of the heat.  

It was a lot of work, but the cows must be pampered!

This is Daniel getting off his feet for a few minutes and trying to find a cool spot to refresh.

Each day began with feeding, stall clean-up and morning baths.

Then they went down to the other end of the barn to the grooming chutes for a partial blow-dry.

Then it was back to the stall to finish drying under the fans.  

​Traffic Jam!

Walker is cleaning out the dirty feed pans.

Early mornings or late at night were the few times that the show ring was not in use and available for practice.  

The feeder calves were experiencing lots of new things, so the more practice we could get in, the better.  

Daniel supervising ring practice.  

The middle of the day was prime time to gather around for a game of Uno.

The feeders resting after a busy morning. 

Checking the show bill in the final minutes before the show.  

Tuesday night was the big night.  It was the beef feeder show followed by the steer show.  The boys had  a support team of family and friends there to chear them on.  

Ready and waiting.

He's got  his game face on.

Isaac and Snicker ended up 2nd place in their class.  This calf had fought Isaac all summer and no matter how much he worked him, the calf just wouldn't come around.  He made huge improvement at the fair and behaved very well in the ring.

Walker and Piston were in a heavier weight class.  Walker won his class.  

He then went on to win Grand Champion Beef Feeder.  

To be continued....

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