Management Tips; Winter Care

The cooler days and nights are here, and a good reminder of taking steps to winterize the things in our lives: vehicles, homes, and wardrobes. Winterizing is a proactive solution that helps us avoid problems associated with dropping temperatures and is a tactic that can also be applied to your calves.

When the temperature is low, a calf’s body responds by producing heat (thermogenesis), which for a newborn calf is often produced one of two ways—The breakdown of brown fat (BF), which is readily available energy.  Or by shivering, which produces heat in a similar way to exercising or moving around. The latter can and should be avoided as it takes energy from the calf that could be used for growth and health.

Several factors can affect teat skin condition. These include weather, housing conditions, teat disinfectant chemistry, milking system settings and micro-organisms. Adverse weather conditions (cold, wind, humidity, direct sun, etc.) can negatively affect teat-end and skin integrity.

Weather this time of year can change in a hurry. Are dairy producers ready for winter?

Knowledge and prevention are keyCold and snow create challenges for everyone, especially for immigrant workers who may not be familiar with extreme cold.

Caring for the lactating dairy herd in extreme cold conditions also has its challenges. If not properly cared for producers may see a decline in performance including total milk production, increasing somatic cell counts due to mastitis, losses in reproductive efficiency and even decreased growth in young first calf heifers if the extreme cold continues for extended periods of time.