{"id":35222,"date":"2025-11-06T17:12:40","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T01:12:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/lincoln-adams\/?page_id=35222"},"modified":"2025-11-06T18:24:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T02:24:11","slug":"protecting-livestock-during-severe-winter-weather","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/lincoln-adams\/protecting-livestock-during-severe-winter-weather\/","title":{"rendered":"Protecting Livestock During Severe Winter Weather"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div class=\"cpb-row  pad-bottom gutter single\" style=\"\"><div class=\"cpb-row-inner\"><div class=\"cpb-column  one\" style=\"\"><div class=\"cpb-textblock cpb-item \"><p>Information for commercial producers and youth with animal projects to prepare for severe cold and snowy conditions.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"cpb-row  pad-bottom gutter halves\" style=\"\"><div class=\"cpb-row-inner\"><div class=\"cpb-column  one\" style=\"\"><div class=\"cpb-textblock cpb-item \"><p><strong>Environment<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Windbreaks- to help reduce wind chill<\/li>\n<li>Cleanliness-caked mud and dirt reduces the animals ability to insulate their bodies<\/li>\n<li>Acclimation-animals that are acclimated to the winter weather conditions will have sufficient coats to tolerate lower temperatures<\/li>\n<li>Bedding-important that livestock have clean bedding to keep them dry and warm<\/li>\n<li>Foot traction-keep pathways used by you and animals free from ice buildup to prevent injuries<\/li>\n<li>Drifting Snow-avoid creek bottoms, swales and other low areas as the snow accumulates<\/li>\n<li>Handling- avoid moving livestock or any other activity that requires unnecessary use of energy<\/li>\n<li>Barn raised animals-proper heating and ventilation and air flow of barn or shed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"cpb-column  two\" style=\"\"><div class=\"cpb-textblock cpb-item \"><p><strong>Daily Observation<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Look for signs of cold stress (shivering, blue membranes)<\/li>\n<li>Look for signs respiratory and digestive disorders (heavy breathing, diarrhea, nasal discharge)<\/li>\n<li>Have an emergency action plan for severe winter weather<\/li>\n<li>Have a current veterinarian client patient relationship (VCPR) to assist with emergency health problems associated with severe weather<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"cpb-row  pad-bottom gutter halves\" style=\"\"><div class=\"cpb-row-inner\"><div class=\"cpb-column  one\" style=\"\"><div class=\"cpb-textblock cpb-item \"><p><strong>Water<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The most important nutrient<\/li>\n<li>Animals cannot get enough water from eating snow<\/li>\n<li>A continues supply of clean water, free of ice, is essential<\/li>\n<li>Without adequate water, efficient utilization of other nutrients cannot be achieved<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"cpb-column  two\" style=\"\"><div class=\"cpb-textblock cpb-item \"><p><strong>Feed<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In severe winter conditions the nutrient requirements can increase by 40% or more, providing adequate energy and protein is essential to keeping your animals healthy and giving them the ability to tolerate extreme cold<\/li>\n<li>Additional feeding times may be required during extreme cold weather<\/li>\n<li>Separate thin animals from the herd to allow for increased nutrition<br \/>\nIn stressful conditions rapid changes in feeds and diets can cause digestive upsets<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"cpb-row  pad-bottom gutter single\" style=\"\"><div class=\"cpb-row-inner\"><div class=\"cpb-column  one\" style=\"\"><div class=\"cpb-textblock cpb-item \"><p>Become a registered user of the Washington State University <a href=\"https:\/\/weather.wsu.edu\/\">AgWeatherNet<\/a> and have access to the new Cattle Comfort Index to assist in preparation for severe weather events.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Information for commercial producers and youth with animal projects to prepare for severe cold and snowy conditions.Environment Windbreaks- to help reduce wind chill Cleanliness-caked mud and dirt reduces the animals ability to insulate their bodies&amp;hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23456,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"wsuwp_university_location":[],"wsuwp_university_org":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/lincoln-adams\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/35222"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/lincoln-adams\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/lincoln-adams\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/lincoln-adams\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23456"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/lincoln-adams\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35222"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/lincoln-adams\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/35222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35234,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/lincoln-adams\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/35222\/revisions\/35234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/lincoln-adams\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/lincoln-adams\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/lincoln-adams\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35222"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/lincoln-adams\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_location?post=35222"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_org","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/lincoln-adams\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_org?post=35222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}