Page 31 - MWC 02-25-2021s

The Midwest Cattleman · February 25, 2021 · P31
Protect Your Cow Herd in Cold Weather

Tips to help you manage your cow herd through a winter blast.

By Ryon Walker, Ph.D., Livestock Consultant
Cold weather can be hard on they are wet, and their energy the wind is big enough for the ground is critical for increasing
your cow herd. requirements increase 2% each whole herd. calf survival.
Here are a few tips to help day. Provide Bedding, Other You can protect your cows and
you minimize the risk that cold Protect Cattle from Wind Protection for Calving Herds calves from the cold, wet ground
stress poses to your cattle. Protection from the wind can Many spring-calving herds by providing clean, dry bedding.
For example, you could roll out
Feed Cattle to Meet Higher make a big difference. That can may have started (or are about lower quality hay or calve in
Energy Needs in Cold Weather be in the form of man-made to start) calving, and cold weath- good native grass pastures.
Now is not the time to cut cor- structures, walls (any structure er stress can have negative im-
ners by limiting intake. Make that creates a wall), wooded pacts on labor and calf survival. Noble Research Institute
sure cattle have free-choice good areas or draws in the pasture. Wind protection and protec-
quality hay or good quality na- Make sure the area blocking tion from the cold, wet or frozen
tive grass pastures.
The lower critical tempera-
ture is 32o F when animals have
a dry hair coat. Using the wind
chill temperature each day, for
every 1 degree below the lower
critical temperature, energy re-
quirements increase 1% each
day. So if the wind chill is 0 de-
grees, then energy requirement
is 32% more than average daily
requirement for a cow with dry
hair coat, or 132% of the diet.
When cattle have a wet hair
coat, the lower critical tempera-
ture is 59o F for every hour

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