Death from (REALLY) cold?

[mitchwi]

Husband got to the farm last night, and there was a steer laying spread out....and was not with his peers.... he walked down as he thought for sure it was dead. About 1/2 way over to the steer (8 weight) he picked up his head and look at hubby. Hubby said by the time he got to the steer it struggled a bit with it's footing to get traction to get up, but did and was up and outta there. Hubby did not notice any ill symptoms, nice and fat, didn't look dehydrated, or bloated, walking/running seemed fine.

But he called and was a bit nervous.... it is DANG cold here these days. Bitter cold is supposed to last til Tuesday. I told him to keep an eye on him... especially check today in daylight and see if anything amiss.

Sometimes cold is TOO DANG COLD! UGH!

Michele

 

[bigbull338]

Husband got to the farm last night, and there was a steer laying spread out....and was not with his peers.... he walked down as he thought for sure it was dead. About 1/2 way over to the steer (8 weight) he picked up his head and look at hubby. Hubby said by the time he got to the steer it struggled a bit with it's footing to get traction to get up, but did and was up and outta there. Hubby did not notice any ill symptoms, nice and fat, didn't look dehydrated, or bloated, walking/running seemed fine.

But he called and was a bit nervous.... it is DANG cold here these days. Bitter cold is supposed to last til Tuesday. I told him to keep an eye on him... especially check today in daylight and see if anything amiss.

Sometimes cold is TOO DANG COLD! UGH!

Michele

sounds to me like the steer layed down an got to cold by hisself.id pen him up.where i could watch him.an give him extra feed an hay for a few days.an let him gain his strength back.

 

[Cheyenne]

I don't want to hijack the thread but on the subject of cold and extra hay and feed, how much IS extra? I know depends on the conditions and cattle, but have been wondering how everyone determines what to put out.

We won't even see zero today and windchills are in the -20's to -30's. Mine are penned with 3 sided, covered protection with straw for bedding. Been putting out double the hay and upped their feed and they seem to be doing ok. Recently changed the ration to up the energy level so they don't seem to be losing any condition. I'm sure they will come through this cold period ok.

Do you just adjust feeding to how they look and act during these cold spells?

 

[bigbull338]

I don't want to hijack the thread but on the subject of cold and extra hay and feed, how much IS extra? I know depends on the conditions and cattle, but have been wondering how everyone determines what to put out.

We won't even see zero today and windchills are in the -20's to -30's. Mine are penned with 3 sided, covered protection with straw for bedding. Been putting out double the hay and upped their feed and they seem to be doing ok. Recently changed the ration to up the energy level so they don't seem to be losing any condition. I'm sure they will come through this cold period ok.

Do you just adjust feeding to how they look and act during these cold spells?

yes you adjust your hay an feed up or down according to the weather.if i had plenty of hay.an wasnt going to run out.id keep their hay bunks full.

 

[AngusLimoX]

Sometimes cold is TOO DANG COLD! UGH!

Michele

Cattle don' feel cold like we do. As long as they can get out of wind and are reasonably dry, they thrive.
Only had one calf lose an ear end here, other than that I like the cold for cattle, as opposed to mud and semi spring dampness.

 

[BlackBaldyMan]

Its better to be cold and dry then cold and wet, they seem to do fine when its cold and dry and they eat like crazy!

 

[movin' on]

In the mornings when I first go outside it is anywhere from 0 to 25 degrees Farenheit. The cattle are a little slow moving sometimes because of the frozen ridges in the pens and maybe from being still all night. I agree with AngusLimoX....cattle thrive in cold weather. If they are dry, not directly in the wind and healthy there is just about no way it can get cold enough to hurt one.

Mitchwi....Some mornings I'll have cattle laying on their side, too. I don't quite understand it. It's like they are laying in the sun only the sun is giving off very little warmth! Never had one that turned into a problem, though. I don't think you have anything to worry about.

 

[donnaIL]

Mud to ice mud is our problem here. they are really walking slow and sure footed. Been bedding them down good with straw but still the ground is icy and a challenge to walk on. We are keeping them full on hay, in other words not making them totally clean it up and be hungry. Mostly because of convience and not knowing if skid steer or tractor will start because of thie cold. It is always good to have an emergency plan if that happens, and we have one.

I just cant stand to see hungry cattle in freezing weather with nothing to eat. JMO donna

 

[Stocker Steve]

I drove across #10 in central Wisconsin last night coming back from the Grassworks Conference. I passed a guy going down the shoulder in the dark on an open tractor pulling a load of firewood! Wind chills had to be -30 to -40 F. His cattle looked cold but he looked alot colder

 

[mitchwi]

I drove across #10 in central Wisconsin last night coming back from the Grassworks Conference. I passed a guy going down the shoulder in the dark on an open tractor pulling a load of firewood! Wind chills had to be -30 to -40 F. His cattle looked cold but he looked alot colder

Our farm is just a few miles south of 10! We have no cab tractors either... luckily we don't burn wood!

So far so good on the steer... all are still upright!

 

[Oldtimer]

When its extremely cold 10-40 Below or real bad wind chills I try to feed in windbreak areas--In our area if they have feed and can get out of the wind they do fine... And I'll roll out an extra bale or bales of hay for the day...Let them eat as much as they want which sometimes will be 40+ lbs of hay...Lot of time the extra hay will be lower quality or 2-3 year old grass hay- they can eat what they want and bed on whats not edible....When the weather is warmer- and they can graze some I feed 20-25 lbs per cow...

We've been lucky this year and had very few cold spells- but this one is supposed to be with us another week- altho today isn't too bad...It was 0 at 6AM and is now up to 8 with little wind...

 

[Cheyenne]

Mitchwi glad to hear your steer and herd are doing fine.

Thanks to everyone who answered my question. Mine seem to be thriving on this weather. Steer has steam coming off him and a bit of frost on his back in the a.m. guess he is staying warm. Supposed to finally get to double digits above zero by Tuesday, but then get up to 3 inches of snow. Man I cannot wait for spring.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[MoGal]

It's been cold here this past week (nothing like many of you have) and am temps have been 0 to 10 and I lost a heifer and her calf. She had the calf, cleaned it and looks like she just laid down beside it and died. Since this was her first calf who knows if there were other complications not visible to the eye.

Another fella in Fredericktown lost one and he had the vet out and the vet told him that his had died of hypothermia and that he needed to make sure they didn't lay down for a length of time after calving.

Glad to hear your steer is doing okay.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

sounds like it did the splits . had one do that a few years ago i even seen her do it .and wouldnt get up without some coax'in think she may have fractured her pelvis she wasnt right after that

 

[mnmtranching]

I Winter my cattle, cows and young stock outside with wind brakes. We haven't gotten above zero 114 hrs. It was 35 below this morning when I checked cattle. All are fine. I'll feed later 1-2 pm for my sake. It's supposed to get to about -10. We have these cold spells every year, never lost a critter because of cold. So I don't think the cold got to your steer. If it's fat and healthy cold shouldn't be a problem.

 

[AngusLimoX]

It was 35 below this morning when I checked cattle. All are fine. I'll feed later 1-2 pm for my sake. It's supposed to get to about -10. We have these cold spells every year, never lost a critter because of cold. So I don't think the cold got to your steer. If it's fat and healthy cold shouldn't be a problem.

Minus 40 here with the wind chill - a straight minus 25. Don't ask celsius or Farenheit, at these temps they are almost the same! Cattle love it. Should start dropping calves next week, I'd like it to go up to 15 F or so.

I thought I was gonna lose everything around Christmas, just above freezing with wind and rain for weeks. Snots everywhere, coughing, wheezing - nightmare. Different herd now, they act like it is spring!

 

[GMN]

sounds like it did the splits . had one do that a few years ago i even seen her do it .and wouldnt get up without some coax'in think she may have fractured her pelvis she wasnt right after that

The splits can happen on slippery concrete, not a good thing for cattle to do, as you say fractured pelvis, or broken bones, the longer they are like that the more damage that can be done.

GMN

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Give me cold & dry anyday compared to cold & wet & MUD! Much better for the cattle.
We feed large bales, generally enough for 3 - 4 days. Under normal weather conditions, I let the mature cows run out for at least 1/2 day for them to clean up good. But, when the weather is severe, I try not to let them run out at all. They definately eat MORE!!
A good way to tell if your cattle are in good condition, is when it snows, they stay snow covered on their backs. This means they have enough insulation and they are keeping their body heat IN - not losing it thru their hide. If the snow is melting on them, they may be too thin.