As winter approaches, ensuring the health, productivity, and profitability of dairy and beef herds becomes a top priority for Irish farmers. Proper winter management—focused on nutrition, shelter, and consistent monitoring—can mitigate these challenges, ensuring the health and productivity of dairy and beef animals throughout the season. This guide highlights key strategies to help you optimise your winter housing and feeding practices.
Optimise Housing Conditions
Ventilation
Good ventilation is vital to maintaining a healthy housing environment. It reduces moisture and ammonia levels while maintaining warmth, preventing respiratory issues such as pneumonia. Ensure adequate airflow without creating draughts, particularly for younger animals, who are more vulnerable to respiratory diseases.
Bedding Management
Clean, dry bedding is essential for animal comfort and health. Use absorbent materials like straw or wood shavings and replace bedding regularly. This helps prevent infections like mastitis and reduces the risk of lameness.
Space Allocation
Provide adequate space for each animal to reduce stress and the risk of disease transmission. Overcrowding can lead to competition for resources and increased aggression. Adequate space ensures animals can exhibit natural behaviours, improving their overall welfare.
Nutritional Management for Winter
Balanced Diets
During winter a balanced diet is crucial. Supplement forages with high-energy concentrates to meet the animals’ increased nutritional needs. For dairy cows, sufficient protein and energy intake are essential to maintain milk production. For beef cattle, the focus is on weight gain and muscle development.
Forage Quality
Test your forage to ensure it meets the required nutritional standards. High-quality silage or hay supports digestion and provides essential nutrients. Adjust rations based on forage analysis to ensure animals receive consistent energy and protein supplies. This approach minimises feed waste and optimises feed efficiency.
Body Condition Monitoring
Regularly assess your animals’ body condition score (BCS) throughout winter. For dairy cows, aim for a BCS of 2.5–3.0, while beef cows should maintain a BCS of 3.0–3.5. Adjust feed intake to prevent weight loss or excessive gain, both of which can impact fertility and productivity in the next season.
Health Management Considerations
Parasite Control
Internal parasites can thrive in winter housing conditions. Implement a strategic deworming programme to protect your herd. Consult your veterinarian to develop a plan tailored to your farm’s specific needs.
Respiratory Health
Monitor your herd closely for signs of respiratory diseases, particularly pneumonia. Good ventilation and appropriate vaccinations reduce the risk of outbreaks. Early detection and treatment are key to preventing severe health issues.
Foot Care
Prolonged time on concrete floors increases the risk of lameness. Regular hoof inspections and maintenance are crucial. Ensure floors are clean and dry, and consider providing footbaths to prevent bacterial infections like digital dermatitis.
Water Management
Access to clean, unfrozen water is critical during winter. Hydration supports digestion and overall health, especially when feeding dry forages. Check water troughs regularly for ice and, if necessary, use insulation to prevent freezing.
Maximise Feed Intake
To optimise performance during the winter feeding period, it’s essential to create the right conditions for maximum feed intake. This reduces stress and digestive upsets while improving feed conversion efficiency and growth rates. Maximising intake shortens the days to slaughter and boosts overall farm profitability.
Focus on Dry Matter Intake
Ensuring animals consume enough dry matter is critical. For example, a 300kg weanling needs a minimum of 6–7kg of dry matter per day. If silage has only 20% dry matter, this means they would need to eat 30–35kg of fresh silage daily if no concentrates are supplemented. Poor-quality or low dry matter silage can lead to poor growth rates and reduced performance.
Reduce Stress
Minimise environmental and social stress by providing consistent feeding routines and avoiding overcrowding. Ensure easy access to feed and water to encourage steady intake.
Monitor Performance Regularly
The winter housing period in Ireland can account for 25–40% of the annual production cycle, depending on location. Achieving strong performance during this time is crucial for maintaining high average daily gains, increasing farm output, and reducing the days to slaughter.
Regular Weighing
Monitor your herd’s performance through regular weighing. Ideally, weigh animals:
- At or just before housing
- Two months into winter
- Before turnout to pasture
Consistent weight monitoring helps identify underperforming animals early, allowing for timely adjustments in feeding or management. This approach ensures animals meet growth targets, optimises feed use, and maintains a high stocking rate.
Poor performance during winter can extend an animal’s time on the farm, increasing feed costs and reducing overall profitability. Accurate monitoring helps keep your herd on track and maximises returns.
Conclusion
Effective winter housing and feed management are essential for maintaining the health and productivity of dairy and beef herds. Specialist Nutrition offers a range of products and advisory services tailored to the Irish climate and farming conditions. Our expertise supports farmers in maintaining healthy, productive herds throughout the winter season.
For expert advice tailored to your specific needs and conditions, contact Specialist Nutrition today. Our team of specialists is dedicated to helping you optimise forage management practices and ensure the health and productivity of your livestock.
