Caring for Livestock During Cold(er) Weather

By Meg Brew

Baby, It’s Cold Outside!
As Floridians we are generally not used to colder temperatures. Anything below a balmy 70 degrees sends me rifling through my closet looking for scarves and a heavy coat. I’ve even been known to don long johns when the mercury reaches 50.

Fortunately, our livestock are much better equipped to weather the weather than we humans are! Livestock begin to put on a winter coat in response to a decrease in day length in the late summer and early fall.  When temperatures drop, the individual hairs of their coat will stand up and create an insulating air pocket around them, trapping body heat. Ruminant animals like cattle, sheep, and goats also produce additional body heat through the process of digesting forage. So long as the animal is dry (a wet coat has a harder time fluffing up) and has access to plenty of forage, they can comfortably withstand far colder temperatures than we typically experience in Florida.

The Comfort Zone
All animals have a temperature range that is best for their overall performance, comfort, and health. This ideal temperature range is called the thermo neutral zone. The lower range of the zone is referred to as the lower critical temperature or LCT. Animals will experience signs of cold stress when temperatures fall below the LCT. At this point their metabolic rate must increase in order to regulate their body temperature.

For beef cattle or goats in a moderate winter coat, the LCT is 32 degrees Fahrenheit. With a heavy winter coat, the LCT drops to 18 degrees. Horses have an LCT of 18 degrees with a winter coat and 41 degrees with a summer coat.  No matter how thick the coat, if it gets wet, the LCT increases to 59 degrees Fahrenheit for all species except for sheep. Once the hair becomes wet the capacity of that coat to provide warmth through insulation is significantly diminished.  Wool reacts differently to water which is one of the reasons that wool socks do such a great job of keeping our feet toasty and dry and explains why the LCT of sheep is less influenced by moisture. Does the LCT that mean livestock can’t thrive outdoors in below freezing temperatures? Of course not! They just need extra nutrition to help them along on really, really cold days. In general, livestock will need to increase their energy intake by 1% for each degree that the mercury drops below their LCT.

Keeping Warm
Of course, not all animals can be kept warm enough with extra groceries alone. What about those who have had their winter coats shaved down, very young or very old animals, or animals like pigs who don’t have much coat to begin with?

To keep them comfortable in warmer winter weather, many horses have had their coats removed through body clipping or grooming. In these cases, it may be necessary to use a blanket or turnout rug to help them conserve body heat. Always use a blanket that fits well and check for rubs and sores if it is going to be worn for multiple days in a row. Never blanket a wet horse and always remove blankets once temperatures rise.