Prepare cattle to handle cold stress during winter months

CAMBRIDGE, Ill. — Cattle are quite hardy and can handle a lot of adverse weather conditions when they have a heavy winter hair coat.

“Cattle are the most stressed when there is a cold rain followed by cold temperatures,” said Travis Meteer, University of Illinois Extension beef educator.

“When cattle are outside, unprotected and get rained on, that flattens their thick, dense winter hair coat and their critical temperature goes from 18 to 59 degrees,” said Meteer during a presentation at the Cattlemen Connect Education Series, hosted by the Illinois Beef Association.

The nutrient requirements for cattle also increase when they have cold stress.

“The nutrient requirements increase for every two degrees below the critical temperature,” the beef educator said.

“A beef cow is an amazing animal and she is really good at mobilizing fat and taking care of herself, but if we get repeated periods of cold stress, that’s when it becomes a problem.”

Intake by cattle will increase in colder weather, Meteer said, but as the animal gets really stressed intake will decrease.

“In an extreme situation where animals are really stressed and maintenance exceeds intake, then animals will lose weight,” he said.

Cattlemen can increase the amount of feed in the ration to compensate for the added energy that cattle need during a cold stress period.

“When it gets under 10 degrees, the energy requirement goes up 20%, which can be met by 2.5 pounds of extra corn or 5 pounds of extra corn at minus 10 degrees,” he said.

However, Meteer warned, cattlemen should not adjust the ration amounts every day.

“During cold stress it is not uncommon for cattle to bump their intake 5% to 10%, but be careful with this,” he said. “If you bump the ration another 5% to 10% on the second day, there may be a lot of feed in the bunk because cattle don’t move that fast.”

The bulk density of the ration is also a factor in feed consumption.

“A cow’s rumen is about the size of a 55-gallon drum, so if the diet is bulky with a lot of corn stalks, the cow will stop eating when she gets full,” Meteer said.

“If you’re feeding an energy-dense, feedlot-type ration, there’s more room for the animal to over consume than if it’s a really high-fiber diet.”

Providing consistent, clean, fresh feed is important for cattle.

“If we oversupply feed in the bunk, there could be some spoilage and that could work against us from an intake standpoint,” Meteer said.

“A good bunk management principle is to never increase more than three-quarters of a pound of dry matter per head per day,” he said. “Moving more than that could cause more problems than you’re going to solve.”

Since most winter stress on beef cows occurs when cattle get wet, Meteer said, any windbreak or shelter will help cows a lot.

“These windbreaks don’t have to be fancy,” he said.

However, if a windbreak is provided, it must be adequate size for all the animals to use.

“Size it appropriately because if you only provide shelter or a windbreak for half the herd, you’ll find animals will get aggressive,” Meteer said.

“Don’t introduce more variation by not accommodating the full number of cattle because cattle will bunch more and you’ll have more calves get stepped on.”

Water availability is important for livestock.

“Cows will drink one gallon of water per 100 pounds of bodyweight, and when they get really stressed, they’ll drink a little more than that,” Meteer said.

Adjusting the feeding time can help cattle deal with cold stress.

“The metabolic heat can generate enough heat to help keep an animal warm,” Meteer said.

“The highest level of cold stress for cows is usually in the early morning from 4 to 6 a.m.,” he said. “If you deliver feed in the early evening, then the cows are creating more metabolic heat during the period of time when it’s the coldest.”

Cattle will have increased maintenance requirements when they have to deal with muddy conditions.

“If there is mud dewclaw deep, you will see 7% less average daily gain and if the mud is shin or hock deep it will be substantially more,” Meteer said.

Many factors influence the nutrient demand for cows beyond the environment. Some of the factors include the weight of the cows, whether they are older or younger cows and their level of milk production.

“The highest nutrient requirement for cows is peak lactation at 30 days post calving,” Meteer said. “If cows are not consuming enough to meet their nutrient demand, they won’t breed back.”

Therefore, it is important to align the highest nutrient demand of the cows with the best forage.

“You may need to look at supplementing the diet or testing your hay to make sure you’re supplying the right energy density,” Meteer said.

“We need to do what we can to minimize the effects of the environment to allow cattle to perform at their peak and be a profit center for your operation,” he said.