FEEDING FACTS
Winter Weather Factors There are many factors that determine how much feed an animal will eat each day. We have touched on many of them, from heat stress to feed quality. We have not spent a great deal of time discussing what is more relevant for this time of year. The environmental things that we see playing major roles this time of year are generally temperature, wind, rain and mud. Of course, feed or forage quality will still play a major role. When we talk about winter weather factors that influence nutritional demands, we normally think of energy demands, and rightfully so. That is what changes the most. Typically, the other nutrients do not really change a great deal with the colder weather environmental changes, although you could see the slightest increase in protein needs as hair growth ramps up. We have talked about energy sources before. The bulk of energy nutrition is centered around fat, starches and fiber digestion. Fat is the densest energy
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source and works well to increase the total calories provided, but has limitations for many reasons and can only be used sparingly. Starches are really good sources of energy as well and we find them added usually in the form of normal grains like corn. Fibers are a bit more complex and some are better sources than others. They do generally provide the base of caloric intake in ruminants. Some are easy to digest and some are almost impossible to use. The less digestible fibers also tend to hang around the rumen for longer periods of time and limit total intake. This is where putting up really mature grasses as hay will haunt you the most and probably causes as many problems in our cow herd as any one factor each year. Animals burn calories to maintain body temperature. Animals in good body condition are good at staying warm in cold weather. Hair and fat provide a great deal of insulation. Cattle don’t go into cold stress with normal winter hair until temperatures fall
