We are in full swing winter here in the Barn! Now is the time to be sure you know a few things about taking care of your animals during the harsh winter months. I decided to write this piece since we had some super cold days and nights this last week.
Pigs actually do very well during the cold months, much better than our goats do! The main thing to remember about your pig and the snow is to make sure they have a dry spot for bedding - weather they are in a barn or out side. If outside be sure they have a shelter so they can get out of the elements, wind is the worst for them. If your temperatures drop below -45 degrees you may see little to no activity from your pig. They will hold up in their warm spot until the temperatures start to improve. Always make sure you keep them with plenty of food. A sow will need roughly 7500 kcal/day to maintain. They also really enjoy slope so make sure you keep them fed and plenty of water if you don't feed in a slope fashion.
Make sure you keep them with water at all times, they will not break through ice in a bucket so we suggest you use heated buckets. Those have worked the best in our barn. For the kids make sure to have heat lamps going if it drops below 30 degrees. If you are in kidding season as we currently are, you have to keep a close eye on the nannies. Once the kids arrive you will need to get them dried off so they have a good shot a surviving. When using heat lamps make sure you are only using those approved for barns. Heat lamps have been known to cause barn fires. Make sure you keep your nannies supplied with plenty of hay and grain with minerals. During cold weather make sure to increase by 15% to help them maintain. If you have goats that aren't in a barn you may want to increase feed another 5% and always make sure they have a suitable shelter to get out of the elements.
Cows are the easiest of all of them!!!! They are built to withstand the cold. Even when calving they do well in the elements. They really only need a wind break, unless you are experiencing days of snow fall or cold rain they will have very few issues with the cold weather. When dealing with maintaining your cattle during those cold months, remember to help the out with increasing their feed. Ranchers usually recommend for every 10 degrees below 30 degrees you increase feed by 10-13%. You will also want to be sure they have a water source.
We hope all these little tips and tricks help you out with your livestock during our winter months.
We can't wait to show off all our little ones coming due this spring. Make sure to keep checking back for updates and information.
Brad ~
Barn2Fridge
