Can livestock handle cold weather?
The snow is falling and the windows are frosty. Most of us are bundled by the fire to keep warm, but what about our outdoor livestock? Aren’t they freezing outside? Not really. Read on to learn how to keep livestock happy and healthy outdoors in cold weather.
Think those cows are cold? Think again.
As we enter some of the coldest days of the year, livestock farmers are gearing up to make sure that their animals have everything they need to endure. But in truth, livestock are already well-equipped to tolerate seriously low temperatures, ice, snow, and wind.
“Cows are not people! The ambient ‘room temperature’ equivalent for cows is about 40 degrees. So, at the point that many of us are piling on scarves and jackets they are just starting to feel most comfortable,” Beth Robinette of Lazy R Ranch told Sacred Cow. “They have incredibly tough skin and grow a fluffy, insulating hair coat in the winter. Often in winter, you can see frost or snow on the cows’ backs that doesn’t even melt because they are so well insulated.”
Lazy R Ranch raises and direct markets grass fed beef and lamb on her family’s fourth-generation ranch in Spokane, Washington where temperatures can dip as low as -10°F during extreme periods. The Lazy R herd grazes on pasture 365 days out of the year, demonstrating just how cold hearty livestock are.
When temperatures start to drop in Fall, livestock begin growing a thicker coat to keep them warm and insulated against the changing climate. With a heavy winter coat of hair, cattle can comfortably thrive in temperatures as low as 18 degrees, according to the University of Minnesota Extension.
One of the reasons that ruminant animals like cattle, sheep, and goats are well-suited to cold climates is due to their rumen. The digestive process that takes place in the four-chambered stomach generates quite a bit of heat. As the rumen breaks down the cellulose material in forage, the tiny microbes anaerobically digest it releasing gas that keeps the animal warm.
Many livestock farmers in cold weather climates intentionally feed hay in the afternoon or early evening to help time the rumination process for the evening and early morning hours when temps are at their lowest.
“We also make sure the cows are going into winter in good body condition. And, of course, we make sure the barn is full of hay and we typically like to carry about 10% to 20% extra feed in case we get unexpected bad weather and need to feed more than expected,” Robinette explains. “They have natural shelter in the form of trees and coulees and if the weather gets bad they will hunker down together and wait it out.”
Other strategies that livestock farmers use to help livestock be even more comfortable when winter storms descend include providing shelter or a windbreak, supplying bedding to insulate them from the cold ground, and ensuring that water is available and free of ice that would prevent drinking.
Even goats, which have garnered a reputation for being especially picky about the forecast, can thrive in some of the coldest climates around.
“I think this is a misconception about goats. Just like us, we are a product of our environment. Our bodies adapt to the weather and learn how to work in this type of environment,” Leslie Svacina, owner of Cylon Rolling Acres goat farm in Deer Park, Wisconsin, told Sacred Cow. “Goats originated in the wild as mountain animals. They were designed to live in a rugged environment with a range of temperatures including cold weather.”
Wisconsin residents face consistent single-digit temperatures during the winter but that doesn’t stop Cylon Rolling Acres goats from spending ample time outside to make sure they get enough exercise. Moving around has the added benefit of helping the goats stay warm. To encourage these behaviors, Svacina feeds hay out in the pasture, plowing paths to help the goats access each bale while also plowing snow strategically into windbreaks.
“I keep them outside on pasture as long as possible as the weather transitions from Fall to Winter. This helps their bodies adjust to the temperatures and grow a thick coat to help keep them warm throughout winter. At first, they won’t like the temperature change and they’ll bleat at me, but after a few weeks later they have adjusted and don’t make much of a fuss.”
On top of the exercise-related benefits, encouraging livestock to still venture outside in the wintertime is a smart strategy for mitigating some of the problems that can happen when animals are confined. Without proper ventilation, animals become susceptible to respiratory issues like pneumonia and sanitation can become a concern if manure is not removed regularly.
“As a side benefit of feeding outside the leftover hay and goat fertilizer helps our pasture thrive the next season by adding to the seedbed and providing more nutrients,” she adds. “When temperatures fall below zero or serious wind chills pick up, goats are fed hay inside the barn.”
Although winter gets most of the attention when it comes to keeping livestock outdoors, summer months pose equally if not greater stresses in some parts of the world. High humidity, heat, and rainfall can stress animals while creating a perfect climate for parasites and pathogens to thrive.
“We actually see fewer health issues with our goats in the wintertime than in the summer,” Svacina says.
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Lauren Manning, Esq., LL.M., is a cattle farmer, agricultural law professor at the University of Arkansas School of Law, food journalist, and contributor to the forthcoming documentary and book project Sacred Cow: The environmental, nutritional, and ethical case for better meat.
