Beef cows live outside all year long, even when the temperatures drop. They actually like the cold weather better than the hot summer!
Are Your Cows Cold in the Winter?
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We raise beef cows. They live outside all year long. There is lots of talk about why it might be better to keep dairy cows, pigs, turkeys, and chickens inside; so why is it okay to keep beef cattle outside? Don’t they get cold in the winter and hot in the summer?
Why Are Beef Cows Kept Outside?
Beef cattle are different from dairy cattle. The biggest difference is how they grow. Beef cattle are very good at making muscle and fat, and just okay at making milk. They can (usually) make enough milk to feed one calf for 6-8 months, but that’s it. Dairy cattle, on the other hand, are great at making milk but not as good at making muscle and fat. Because of this, they look very different. Beef cows tend to be a little shorter, and very stocky (some might say “thick”). Dairy cows tend to be taller (depending on the breed), and can look skinny.
This extra layer of muscle and fat works as great insulation for beef cows. And because they live outside all the time, they have a chance to adapt a little bit. Through the fall and early winter they grow a thick winter coat. (They aren’t “fluffy” all the time, but they can sure grow some great hair when it gets cold!)
If you were to take a dairy cow (who spent all summer and fall inside her temperature-controlled barn) and put her outside in 10 degree weather, she would have a very hard time. First because she doesn’t have that layer of “insulation”, and second because she probably didn’t grow a very thick hair coat.
We do need to take some special precautions for our calves. We have calves once a year. For our farm, we decided that it was easier to calve in the late-winter months. Yes, it’s cold, but it isn’t very muddy. And it is the slower time of year at John’s main job (a mixed-animal veterinarian), so he has a little more time to dedicate to taking care of new mommas and new babies.
If we can spot a cow the day that it looks like she will have her baby (we know her approximate due date, but it’s just an estimate), then we will bring her into the barn so she can have her baby inside. We don’t always catch them early, so sometimes the cows will have their calves outside. Once a new baby is born, we move both momma and baby into the barn for a couple of days.
They get a place to stay out of the wind, snow, and rain, and a soft warm bed of straw to lay on. Once we know that the calf has nursed, and after 1-2 days (depending on the weather), we’ll let them back outside with the rest of the herd. Calves do really well outside, as long as it doesn’t get too muddy for them. (Which is why we like it when the weather stays cold… freezing and thawing all winter long can be really hard on our cows and our calves!)
I do love calving season. It’s fun to see the new baby calves learning how to walk and nurse for the first time. After they are a couple of days old, they have such a good time playing together out in the pasture!
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I just witnessed baby cows in veal pens in Northern California. I know California “cold” isn’t like Midwest cold (I am from the Midwest) but the cold at night still chills the bones. Especially when you add moisture and wind.
I camped near the veal pens and was shivering inside my shelter while covered in blankets and couldn’t help but think of those babies in complete isolation with no hay, blankets, or body heat from others enduring the long night. These pens were just plastic domes with openings on both ends. Nothing more. No real protection from the elements.
As a cattle farmer does this seem unkind to you? After reading your description of beef and dairy cow physical differences it seems that my concerns for the comfort of these calves’ comfort is warranted. Yes or no?
I posted a comment before and see that it hasn’t posted. Now I’m noticing that no comments have posted. I’d really like to ask more about this topic if anyone is listening.
I’m happy to talk to you more about this! It’s just me back here, and sometimes I get a bit behind on the comments. Ask away, and I’ll do my best to answer!
I can’t speak to how comfortable those calves were, since I wasn’t there and I didn’t see the farm. I can say that most of those hutches do have straw or other bedding inside for the calves to lay in. And the plastic hutches do a much better job than you would think of keeping the heat inside! Our cows love to run and play in the 40-degree and lower weather, while I’m bundled up in a heavy jacket shivering, so we really can’t make a direct comparison of how we feel the temperature and how they feel the temperature.