SASKATOON – Prairie livestock are surviving the cold snap well, but the long-term costs to cattle may not appear for some time.
“Cows can take a tremendous amount of cold as long as they have shelter and nutrition,” said Manitoba agriculture department beef specialist Brent Belluk.
“There are probably more problems with farmers getting cold and water lines freezing” than cattle suffering from the many days of -30 C weather that has descended across the Prairies, Belluk said.
If shelter and nutrition are inadequate, the results will show up in calving, said Manitoba Agriculture nutritionist Karen Dupchak.
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Cattle producers should be looking at boosting energy levels in feed, she said. For every 10 degree drop in temperature, cattle need an extra 10 percent of energy in their feed. That might equal four or five pounds of extra grain per animal.
Between -10 C and -15 C, producers might not notice a difference in their cattle’s dietary needs, but for temperatures below -15 C producers should add grain to ensure they get enough energy, she said.
If they don’t, they use up energy stored in their bodies.
Consider wind chill
Dupchak said producers should be careful to not just look at temperature, but be aware of the wind’s affect.
“They’ve got to be feeding for -50, not -20” if the wind chill is strong, she said.
Belluk said cattle well-sheltered and fed should survive this and other cold snaps without any problems.
“I’ve never known a cow to freeze to death” that has been well taken care of, he said.
Transporting animals in frigid weather can be dangerous, but in Saskatchewan at least, no incidents of cattle or hogs being shipped unsafely have been seen yet this year, said Doug Hewitt, the manager of inspection for the Saskatchewan agriculture department.
“Producers are taking care to transport (animals) in a humane way,” said Hewitt. In previous years there were far more reports of animals not protected from the cold.
The reason producers are being so careful now could be because “they are well aware of the animal rightists waiting to pounce on them,” said Hewitt. “They’re looking for a news story.”
Hogs transported in cold conditions must be shipped in wood-lined containers so their flesh does not freeze to metal. Cattle producers should ensure their animals are shipped with proper ventilation but also enough protection from the wind.
Hewitt said many producers use horse trailers to ship cattle when the temperature drops too low.
“It’s a breath of fresh air” how well animals are now being transported, Hewitt said.
