By: Lynn Bliven, Issue Leader, CCE Allegany County
With winter weather conditions comes calls from residents
expressing concerns about livestock care. Specifically, an increasing number of
people concerned that the cattle, horses and sheep out on pasture are not well
cared. An assumption often based on the fact that they are standing outside or
with visible snow accumulated on their backs.
Livestock are very well adapted to handle cold weather;
assuming that they have adequate water, appropriate type and amounts of feed,
and some form of protection from the elements. There is no laws requiring
enclosed shelters for livestock. Protection from wind, cold rains and wet snow
conditions may be provided by buildings or by natural barriers and windbreaks.
In some cases, placing animals into enclosed shelters can be detrimental, as
barns that have been designed for human comfort are not necessarily suited for
animal comfort.
Access to the outdoors is desirable as livestock will choose
to be outside during all but the most inclement weather. Animals housed
outdoors from fall into early winter become acclimated to the temperatures;
their coats provide adequate protection from the elements. Forcing animals into
an enclosed shelter may cause overheating. Resulting in the production of
moisture in the form of sweat, in addition to respiration. Without adequate
ventilation to remove moisture, livestock can potentially generate an
environment that’s ideal in creating respiratory infections.
The increased focus on animal health and comfort has led to
the building of cold housing, promoting the construction of free stall barns
and the practice of placing calves in individual calf hutches on today’s dairy
operations. These facilities address the importance of fresh, moisture-free air
in livestock housing structures; as animals would have received when roaming on
range.
Beyond a well-ventilated building: woods, stacked hay bales,
fences or evergreen hedgerows, and natural hollows may serve well as protection
from winter weather. Even with their backs covered with snow, the dry air
trapped in their long-haired coats insulate them from the cold. Much like the
snow on your house’s well-insulated rooftop, the snow on their backs is an
indication that the cow, sheep or horse is warm inside.
Livestock’s hairy-coat needs to stay clean and dry to
provide the best insulated protection. This is where a 2 or 3 sided shed may
come in handy. Providing deep, clean, dry bedding will help keep animals
warm. However, bedding can be provided
outdoors to serve the same purpose. This can be prepared through the feeding of
large hay bales; what’s not eaten becomes adequate bedding.
Traveling around the county, it’s not uncommon to see horses
in multicolored blankets from early September through April or May of the
following year. Sometimes the same blanket; whether rain or shine, at 20
degrees or 50. So, are coats a good thing for livestock housed outdoors?
Unfortunately, once an owner decides to blanket an animal, their natural
hairy-coat will no longer keep them warm. It's now their responsibility to keep
up with a daily blanketing routine to ensure health and comfort. In doing so,
they’ve removed that animal’s ability to regulate its own body temperature and
clean its own coat. So while it may seem humane, that’s not necessarily the
case and certainly isn’t required for the health of animals housed indoors, or
out.
