Killer Chill: Meeting Your Hobby Farm Livestock's Cold Weather Needs

Hobby farmers in cold winter regions need to prepare their livestock to survive snowstorms and fierce wind chills. Cold weather can cause the death of an animal, particularly those that are small, old, very young or weak. There is nothing sadder than going out after a snowstorm to find one of your favorite sheep or goats has died. But simple measures can often prevent winter tragedy.

During a cold spell, your animals will need more feed, because they are expending more energy to keep warm. Be sure your sheep, goats and similar animals have plenty of clean hay available at all times during winter. Because winter hay feeding can be expensive, you may need to buy or build hay feeders to minimize the amount of hay your animals waste.

Increasing grain feed is also important, but it must be done very gradually to avoid health problems. Also avoid abrupt switches from one kind of grain feed to another.

Your livestock also needs water. Some hobby farmers can afford a heated watering system that supply their animals with unfrozen water during winter with no problems. The rest of us are stuck with the bucket method. If possible, purchase a bucket with a heater which can be plugged into a wall outlet in your barn. There are also heated waterers for poultry.

If you can't get heated buckets or waterers, you will have to have extra buckets and poultry waterers on hand. Swap out the frozen ones and carry in fresh ones. Have a place in your home where you can place the frozen buckets to warm up without getting in your way.

In cold weather, fill your bucket with hot tap water. You might also add a bit of molasses to it. This encourages drinking, and also keeps the water from freezing quite as quickly. Many animals learn to like drinking the hot water. Others will wait a bit until it cools down.

You will have to check on your animals more often in the cold weather. This is especially true if some of your animals are pregnant. Goats commonly can be born in January and February, and it's possible with sheep as well. Many sheep and goat owners put a baby monitor in the barn to try to hear animals in labor or the cries of newborns. Others are very careful to only breed for later spring births.

Check on the quality of your barn or other shelter buildings, if possible before winter begins. Patch up holes and gaps to keep the building from getting too drafty. There should be a deep straw or hay bedding. You should also have repair materials on hand for temporary fixes.

One of the ways that animals keep warn in winter is from body heat from other animals. An animal by itself is more likely to suffer from the cold, especially if it is a smaller animal. Group your animals together as much as you can so they can keep each other warm.

Winter weather can be rough on your animals, but with a little preparation, you can keep your hobby farm's livestock warm and safe in even the worst weather.

References:

Feeding Livestock During Cold Weather http://www.extension.umn.edu/info-u/farming/BC991.html

FEMA: Information for Livestock Owners http://www.fema.gov/plan/prepare/livestock.shtm

Cold Weather for Pets and Livestock http://www.oes.ca.gov/WebPage/oeswebsite.nsf/ClientOESFileLibrary/Public%20Information%20files/$file/cold_weather_tips_pets.pdf