Cold Weather Feedyard Management
Mark J. Venner, Beef Enterprise Consultant
Land O’ Lakes Farmland Feed
The winters of 1998 and 1999 have spoiled us with excellent weather (and performance), however December 2000 has had days that remind us what terms like wind-chill and blizzard are. While we can not change the weather, we can implement some management and production techniques that increase cattle comfort and keep cost of gain figures from increasing.
COLD STRESS
Many environmental factors influence nutrient requirements and the subsequent performance of cattle. The most important variable is temperature, however wind, snow, rain and mud also cause winter stress. Cold is an obvious stress factor that increases an animal’s demand for energy. As this demand for energy (maintenance) increases more feed is used for heat and less is available for gain.
Cattle have a comfort zone of approximately 60o to 75o F where they are content and consume feed at a normal intake. Above this level intake starts to decrease and below this temperature intake starts to increase. It was once thought that, as cold increases the energy requirement, cattle would just consume more feed. This is true to a point, cold weather will increase intakes, however extreme conditions will lower intake, especially over prolonged periods. Performance suffers because energy for maintenance increases at a rate greater than feed intake.
Photoperiod also works against intakes in the wintertime. Research has documented that cattle subject to 16 hours of light and then 8 hours of dark consumed substantially more feed than cattle subject to 8 hours of light and 16 hours of dark.
FACILITIES
For existing facilities site selection is already determined, however it is an important consideration for expansion or new construction. Two structures that can me modified or improved on existing facilities are windbreaks and resting mounds.
Properly placed and constructed windbreaks can reduce wind velocity up to 70%; this greatly decreases the chilling effect of the wind. Place windbreaks in areas that protect cattle in their natural laying area, eating area and drinking area. Natural windbreaks (trees) can also be utilized on the northwest sides of feedyards in the Midwest. Windbreaks should be a minimum of 10 feet high and should be 80% solid and 20% open; this makes them easier to keep upright in strong winds and provides a wider area of calm air in front of the break.
The rule of mounds should be high & dry traffic patterns. Mounds should be tied into concrete aprons and waterers, and provide cattle the opportunity to eat, sleep and drink without walking through mud.
While mounds do provide some protection from the wind in the winter, their payoff is in the late winter/early spring when mud is the profit robber. Remember that cold stress can occur at any time depending on conditions. A feedlot animal can have a higher energy requirement in April, than they do in January, if it is raining and the wind is blowing.CATTLE COMFORT
Hair provides insulation by trapping air close to the hide and creating a "dead air space". This decreases heat loss from the body. Good health and proper nutrition (i.e. copper and zinc) lend themselves to a good natural hair coat. Moisture, mud and fecal material cause matting of the hair coat and destroys the insulation value.
During cold weather it is increasingly important to watch feet and legs. Walking on frozen surfaces is difficult and if it is too much of a struggle, cattle will skip a trip to the feedbunk or water trough. Keep
cattle movement patterns cleared of snow, ice and frozen mud. Footrot, toe abscesses and injuries should be aggressively pulled and treated.Bedding cattle during periods of cold stress has showed profitable results, even with some labor drawbacks. The key to bedding cattle is doing it often and in small amounts. Remember that any organic matter will hold moisture in the spring, which will increase the mud depth of the pen and may cause holes in mounds. Furthermore, the bedding will eventually have to be hauled out in the form of manure. Despite these two drawbacks, Colorado State University documents that bedding an area of the pen returned $8 per head. Cattle fed in pens with a light coating of bedding, by means of a mechanized chopper, incurred significantly higher ADG and dressing percents as well as improved feed efficiencies and feed cost of gain figures.
Timely snow removal is a practice that also increases cattle comfort and decreases the amount of moisture (and therefore mud) during the spring thaw. Along with snow removal the rough areas of the yard should be scraped smooth. This insures ease of cattle movement, cattle comfort by lying down and allows the yards to drain properly. Concrete, such as aprons should be frequently scraped and free of snow, mud and spent bedding. You don’t want anything to deter the cattle from approaching the bunk to eat.
BUNK and RATION MANAGEMENT
The biggest challenge of having cattle on feed during periods of cold stress is determining what ration should be offered and how much of that ration should be delivered. The common practice of increasing the roughage level of the diet (storm rations) has pros and cons. The rate of passage and ruminal motility are both increased during periods of cold weather, this further dilutes the energy level of the ration, by allowing less time for digestion. However, adding the extra fiber to the ration makes bunk management much easier and helps maintain cattle on feed.
Another option for cold weather feeding of cattle on high-energy rations is to drop back one ration step (i.e. from a 61 Mcal to a 58 Mcal). This increases the level of fiber slightly while maintaining an energy level. From a management standpoint the best practice is to keep intakes as consistent as possible. Utilize past intake information you have to determine the amount of the next delivery (a 5-7 day average is a good start). Be disciplined not to get ahead of the cattle on intake, they may act hungry but offering more feed than required will cause a crash in intakes and start the roller coaster pattern. If the weather is still bad (especially extreme wind chills) at feeding it may be necessary to "stir" the cattle. Physically kicking them up from the mounds or loafing area, to encourage them to walk to the bunk. Conversely, if the storm front has passed, and the cattle are very aggressively charging the bunk, it may be wise to split the feed delivery to prevent "tanking" and digestive upsets (feed 50% of the feeding and return in @ 1 hour and feed the remainder). Or feed several pounds of hay per head first to take the edge off and then return within a couple hours and feed the regular ration.
WATER MANAGEMENT
Waterers are usually cursed during winter months because of their tendency to freeze up. However, maintaining proper water intake is extremely important, even in cold weather. Decreased water consumption will in turn reduce feed consumption and water consumption is lower during the winter months. Water is the most important nutrient in any weather. Be sure that tank and pipe heaters are working in a safe and efficient manner. However, be sure to watch for hidden problems such as stray voltage. Nebraska research has indicated that any amount of AC current above 3-4 volts will decrease water intake. Ensure that all waterers are checked for stray voltage on a timely manner, especially when the heaters are running.
December 2000