Cows and cold weahter

[dun]

http://blog.beefmagazine.com/beef_daily ... -and-snow/

 

[RICHARDL]

Maybe i didn't read it well, But what precautions do i need to take when the temp drops below freezing for a few days. I know i need to break the ice for water, and provide plenty of hay, what else can i do ? High protein Feed maybe? :cowboy:

 

[TexasBred]

Maybe i didn't read it well, But what precautions do i need to take when the temp drops below freezing for a few days. I know i need to break the ice for water, and provide plenty of hay, what else can i do ? High protein Feed maybe? :cowboy:

RL I'd think over there in La. all those cattle will need is a belly full of hay all the time and a cold drink of water.

 

[RICHARDL]

Thanks, even if they are predicting 18 degrees for 3 days? We don't see that often but its coming. The weather men are telling us it won't stay above freezing for very long. Wind chill friday morning -1 worst for Sat. 18 degrees with a hard wind. Heck we won't be able to even make a duck hunt everything will be froze solid at those temps. Will have to try to break ice with the boats if we dare .
Thanks :cowboy:

 

[angus9259]

18 degrees for 3 days sounds like March.

 

[dun]

18 degrees for 3 days sounds like March.

Sounds like almost record colds for us. Oh yeh, we're in the same boat. Highs in the 20s for the last week and it looks the same till sometime next week.

 

[Angus Cowman]

18 degrees for 3 days sounds like March.

Sounds like almost record colds for us. Oh yeh, we're in the same boat. Highs in the 20s for the last week and it looks the same till sometime next week.

How do you rate 20 degree highs Dun we haven't been above 15 this week

 

[dun]

18 degrees for 3 days sounds like March.

Sounds like almost record colds for us. Oh yeh, we're in the same boat. Highs in the 20s for the last week and it looks the same till sometime next week.

How do you rate 20 degree highs Dun we haven't been above 15 this week

You only remember the good stuff, those balmy warm days, 22 yesterday and 21 today. We must be in the banana belt!

 

[grubbie]

temp here with wind chill is -35F. I had to chase the replacement heifer calves out of the corral and out to the pasture where I was feeding hay, I was outside for about 15 minutes and thought I was gonna freeze to death. That wind cuts like a knife when it's this cold. The cows do fine, they don't have any shelter except sagebrush. I feel pretty sorry for them though. Gonna get some lean-to's built this summer out in the pastures, of course this is the 4th year I have said that.

 

[Dixieangus]

tomorow we aint even going to get in the teens brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

[Santas and Duhram Reds]

My forecast says -1 for the high on Saturday. We've had neg. temps for in the night for several nights straight. We may have had 1 or 2 days above freezing since Christmas

 

[Oldtimer]

tomorow we aint even going to get in the teens brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Well we'll get to test out the theories tonight- with the weather guessers predicting 30-40 BELOW - and our high tomorrow is supposed to be in the teens too-- teens below zero :shock: ;-)

Temp right now is 15 Below with 35 Below Chill factor...

 

[RICHARDL]

Man, how do yall function when its that cold? Is that something you get use to, or have to get use too. I don't think i could handle that most of the year. Highs in the teens? windchill -30. oh hel$ no. I think its very cold down here if we see ice, once or twice a year. Although we've seen snow 2 years in a row. :cowboy:

 

[dun]

Man, how do yall function when its that cold? Is that something you get use to, or have to get use too. I don't think i could handle that most of the year. Highs in the teens? windchill -30. oh hel$ no. I think its very cold down here if we see ice, once or twice a year. Although we've seen snow 2 years in a row. :cowboy:

I don;t! Fortunately this is far from the norm, at least it was until global warming got started. We'll only get a winter like this every 10-20 years.
For the folks that this is the norm you have my condolences

 

[Brute 23]

You have to take into account what you animals are use to. Just because a cow live in low tems in the north, if I take a cow up there it would probable die. Same thing for a northern cow in the south's heat.

 

[kenojoe]

My 2 hole waterer froze up so I spent all day Tuesday, outside, making a plywood box lined with 2" styrofoam with 2" on top with a plywood lid. I cut 1 10" hole over 1 ball, problem solved. yesterday I went to get some feed and ask the guy at the feed house what the temp. was and he said it was 17 degrees. I told him it felt like it was 30 to me and he said a number of guys said the same thing. So I guess you get use to it. Sure do feel for the folks up in Montana, Wyoming and Canada. I'll count my blessings with 17 degrees. By the way I cleaned out the barn and put some clean hay down, the girls came in looked around and went back out and laid down in the snow!

 

[haase]

Brute 23 not true on the cows, I have three cows that came from sales down south, two from Texas and one from Oklahoma, I think they do better in the cold than I do.

 

[lakeportfarms]

My cows like the cold weather in Michigan !

 

[Jake]

If I can offer some advice on cold weather feeding. If your worried about helping to keep your cows home it is often better to feed some stemmy lower quality hay during the extreme cold as when this feed is being digested it puts off a lot more metabolic heat therefore keeping the cow warmer with a lot less energy. High quality hay or feed does little to keep the cow warm during extreme cold. The HQ feed will provide better nutritional energy for them to burn. It is often cheaper and more metabolicly friendly to the cow to feed the stemmy LQ hay.

 

[RICHARDL]

Thanks i may just do that. i heard once someone say feed them higher protein feed. but right now they are eat hay, and pasture grass thats left and a little rye grass. althought there isn't much left of that. I think they'll be ok :cowboy: