It may not seem like it now, but winter is coming. The change in seasons also brings new problems to deal with to keep your cattle performing at their best. Keeping your cattle healthy during the stress of colder winter temperatures can be a pain in the neck. It is also doable.
Many different factors influence cattle health. One of these factors is nutrition. Cattle need to be in a sound body condition score, which is a numerical scale used to assess the amount of fat and muscle on a cow’s body 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 robust immune system. Thin cattle are more vulnerable to the cold and possibly have weaker immune systems. Here are a few ideas 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 only eat enough if they have enough water available. The quality of the water is also critical.
A problem you will come across this year is that the drought affecting most of the western U.S. can affect your water quality. 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. This device measures the concentration of dissolved solids in a solution for about $15 online (non-affiliated link).
You can install tank heaters in their water sources to ensure a steady supply and prevent icing up. There are solar ones available if you need 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 four 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 keep heat in while allowing your animals access to the water. Troughs generally have a large surface area, so reducing the amount in contact with cold air will help reduce freezing. You do not have to do anything fancy; simply using c-clamps, plywood, or foam insulation will do the trick.
- Get bigger troughs: This is a relatively simple concept—the bigger the trough, the longer it will take to freeze. A bigger trough will also help because it will give more area for more cattle 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 placing it in it. Then, you will place the dirt you moved around the sides of the trough to provide more insulation. If you cannot 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 from the same concept as a double-walled tumbler, which keeps drinks hot or cold. Place one trough inside another to slow the heat escape 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. Cattle will require more calories to maintain their body condition and stay warm in extreme cold. 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 required. In a previous post, “Hay sampling: What to know,” I discuss how to test your hay.
The temperature outside can also affect their nutritional needs. Cold stress increases the maintenance energy requirement 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, which is 59 degrees in wet weather and 18 degrees under dry conditions.
When you feed, it is just as critical as what you provide. It takes a couple of hours for the feed to be broken down by the animal’s rumen. So, a good idea is to feed in the evening in winter. This will allow the body to reach 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 also a production one. It can cause cows to spend more energy than they need to.
The amount of mud the cows will have to walk through determines how much energy is expended. According to South Dakota State, 4-8 inches of mud reduces intake by 15% compared to dry ground. If the mud increases by 50%, feed intake will nearly double to 30%. The mud 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 to reduce the amount of mud is to practice rotational grazing, a method of grazing where cattle are moved between different pastures or paddocks. Rotational grazing reduces 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.
If rotational grazing is not an option, you can use wood chips or gravel. One downside to using wood chips is that since they are organic, they will break down and probably create more mud. That means you will have to remove and replace the old regularly.
If you want to use gravel
If you have an area that gets mud really bad, then you should use gravel instead. Using gravel 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 combination will be forgiving enough on your cattle’s feet but compact enough to keep mud from accumulating.
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