7 Simple Things To Remember For Winter

Here are 7 simple things I do around the farm to keep livestock happy and healthy in these frigid temps. As I’m writing this our temps have not been above 10 degrees in at least a week and I’m within a week of calving. We have had over 3 feet of snow so far just since New Year’s and it’s all still on the ground. I am not saying these are the only way to do things for winterizing but, it’s a few things I do around my tiny ranch. With small acreage and just a few head I am able to do some things that would not be worthwhile for a larger operation. Coincidentally, being a tiny ranch has it’s restrictions when compared to a larger outfit. So here are just a few things I do to keep livestock happy and healthy in the frigid temps.

Bedding

Straw, shavings, wood chips, all kinds of things can be used for bedding. Cattle just need somewhere dry to bed down on the sub-zero nights. If you’re like me and start calving in February, you may need to take a few more steps but we’ll cover that in another post.

Plastic

I use heavy plastic like Visqueen to cover windows in the chicken coop. The rest of the coop is fully insulated. The windows are just storm windows so I cover them with the heavy plastic to help keep drafts out.

Heat Lamps

This is somewhat of a no-brainer but, they are necessary up here. I use a heat lamp in the chicken coop when the temps stay in the single digits or lower. They keep eggs from freezing. They’re also handy for keeping calves warm and thawing water pipes.

Tank Heaters

We go through way too much water to try to put out water daily. With the frigid temps of winter the water freezes too fast. I have tried every “hack” I’ve found but, good old floating tank heaters seem to work the best for me. So the solution for me is to keep the stock tanks near outlets and use tank heaters.

Battery Chargers & Extension Cords

The last few mornings it has been around 10 below zero, so keeping equipment batteries charged is a challenge. Extension cords are used for everything around here!!! Diesel engines definitely rely on block heaters. And all those tank heaters and heat lamps need plugged in also.

Calving Supplies

I keep a cabinet in the barn full of anything I think I might ever need to cover any issues at calving time. I’ll go into detail on what I keep around in a blog coming soon.

Plenty of Hay & Feed

I normally feed small squares but I had some hay get a little rained on so the neighbor round baled it for me. These rounds make good feed and bedding. My cattle prefer to stay outside in the hay most nights. Starchy feeds like corn or oats are used by cattle to make body heat. My brood cows only get grain in the bitter cold and for a few months after calving, until the pasture is able to handle their feed requirements.

Well there are 7 of the things I do to help get us through winter. Although it seems like Northern IL is colder than Alaska all winter, there are a few advantages of raising cattle here. All this snow covers some of the most nutrient rich soil in the country. Pasture is so hard to come by here because it is swallowed up quickly by corn farmers. But, when I can come by some of this land I can raise some phenomenal hay and pasture grass! Hopefully this has helped another tiny rancher so stay tuned in for more. Don’t forget to follow and buy SK Leather and eat beef!