Cattle health is influenced by many different factors. One of these factors is nutrition. Cattle need to be in a good body condition score in order to produce enough body heat and lessen the effects of cold stress. The environment itself, stress, and exposure to pathogens are also factors.
Health depends on providing proper nutrition to promote a strong immune system. Thin cattle are more vulnerable to the cold and will possibly have weaker immune systems. Here are a few ideas you can think about to give your cattle the best chance to make it through winter.
Water
It is always important to have water available to your cattle. It is the essential element of life after all. The challenge during winter is how much time you will want to spend breaking ice. Cattle will not eat enough if they do not have enough water available. The quality of the water is also very important.
A problem that you will come across this year is because of the drought that is affecting most of the western U.S. can possibly affect your water quality. It is ideal that you should check your water just as often as you check your feed. You can either take a sample to your local Extension office or they may come to you to test your water. If you are so inclined you can even purchase a total dissolved solids (TDS) meter for about $15 online (non-affiliated link).
To ensure a steady supply you can install tank heaters in their water sources to prevent icing up. There are solar ones available if you do not have an electric source nearby. Be sure to follow the instructions to prevent fires or them from getting shocked.
Some other options to prevent freezing
If you do not want to go with a tank heater there are 4 other options that you can go with:
- Partially cover the water’s surface: In order to prevent water in the trough from freezing, you should cover as much of the surface as you can. Doing this will help to keep heat in while also allowing your animals access to the water. Troughs generally have a large surface area so reducing the amount that is in contact with cold air will help reduce freezing. You do not have to do anything fancy simply using c-clamps and plywood or foam insulation will do the trick.
- Get bigger troughs: It is a fairly simple concept- the bigger the trough the longer it will take to freeze. This will also help because it will give more area for more cattle to be able to get a drink.
- Partially bury your stock tank: You can slow or even prevent a trough from freezing by digging a shallow hole and then placing the trough in it. What you will do then is place the dirt you moved around the sides of the trough to provide more insulation. If you are not able to do this you can stack a few bales of straw or waste hay around 2 or 3 sides of the trough.
- Build a double-walled stock tank: This works off of the same concept as a double-walled tumbler keeps drinks hot or cold. Place one trough inside of another to slow the escape of heat through the sides of the tank.
Using supplements during winter
Cattle use the feed they consume to be broken down in the rumen to keep warm. in more extreme cold cattle will require more calories to maintain their body condition and stay warm. In order to give them the best chance, you need to provide good quality forages. Knowing the nutritional quality of your hay will let you know if any other supplements will be needed. I talk about how to test your hay in a previous post “Hay sampling: What to know”.
The temperature outside can affect their nutritional needs as well. Cold stress increases the maintenance energy requirement in order to keep warm. The general rule of thumb is to increase the energy density of the ration given by 1% for each degree below the critical temperature. The critical temperature is 59 degrees in wet weather and 18 degrees under dry conditions.
When you feed is just as critical as what you feed. It takes a couple of hours for the feed to be broken down by the animal’s rumen. So a good idea is that during winter you should feed in the evening. What this will do is that the body will be reaching its warmest during the coldest parts of the night.
Winter mud control
Mud can be a common problem for people throughout the country. An abundance of mud is not just a visual problem but a production one as well. It can make cows spend more energy than they need to.
The amount of mud that the cows will have to walk through will determine how much energy is expended. According to South Dakota State 4-8 inches of mud reduces intake by 15% when compared to dry ground. If the mud increase by 50% feed intake will nearly double to 30%. This can be a problem especially if you have fall calves because while this is happening she will also have a calf that is nursing.
One way that you can reduce the amount of mud is to practice rotational grazing. This will reduce the amount of traffic in an area so there will be less trampling. Also, if there is no snow on the ground you will give the ground time to dry up as well.
If rotational grazing is not really an option then you can use wood chips or gravel. One downside to using wood chips is that since it is organic that means they will break down and probably create more mud. That means that you will have to regularly remove the old and replace it.
If you are wanting to use gravel
If you have an area that gets mud really bad then you may need to use gravel instead. This is also a good idea to do around the water troughs. The first thing that you will need to do is to dig out all of the mud. Then place a layer of landscaping fabric to keep the gravel in place. Next, add a foot or more of 3/4-minus gravel and pack it down. Then you will add half of a foot of 1/4-minus gravel on top of the 3/4-minus gravel and pack it down. This will be forgiving enough on your cattle’s feet but will be compact enough to keep mud from accumulating.