Effects of Housing and Type of Forage on the Response of Pregnant Beef Cows to Dietary Energy Intake in Winter

Abstract

Pregnant hay-fed beef cows confined in an insulated, forced-air ventilated barn (In)

Effects of outdoor winter housing and feeding level on performance and blood metabolites of suckler cows fed whole-crop barley silage

“…Earlier studies in Canada (e.g. Jordan et al, 1968;Hironaka and Peters, 1969;Lister et al, 1972) have reported that the maintenance energy requirements for over-wintering beef cows increase by 30 to 70% due to adverse climatic conditions. The cow performance results observed in our study do not support this statement, probably mainly due to the differences in climatic conditions between Canada and Finland where, in spite of the cold days, the winter conditions are milder without harsh winds.…”

Albedo and Thermal Ecology of White, Red, and Black Cows (Bos taurus) in a Cold Rangeland Environment

“…The variable winter albedo and ΔT values relative to different cow hide color groups may also have implications for cold stress which can have negative consequences for animal production [ 6 ]. As temperatures drop and cold stress escalates, animals move out of the zone of thermoneutrality as they pass lower critical temperature and enter a cold thermogenesis stage where cold stress manifests and animals alter metabolic rate to generate heat and cope with the cold [ 5 ].…”

“…Animals 2021, 11, 1186 2 of 15 When external temperatures reach a critically low threshold for livestock, animals move out of the zone of thermoneutrality and into a cold thermogenesis stage where metabolism adapts to generate body heat as a coping mechanism (i.e., elevated basal metabolic intensity) [5]. The consequence of this metabolic cold adaptation is an increase in feed requirements ranging from 30 to 70% in beef cattle [6]. Given the seasonal variation of hot and cold conditions, maintenance energy requirements of cattle also fluctuate drastically in northern latitudes and/or high altitudes during periods of forage deficiencies with realized reductions in animal performance as determined by feed-to-gain ratios [4].…”

Climatic physiology of cattle

“…Young & Berg (1970) measured the energy requirement for maintenance of pregnant beef cows weighing about 470 kg during cold weather in range conditions in Alberta, and found values averaging 69-5 MJ metabolizable energy/d. Lister et al (1972) estimated the energy requirement for maintenance of pregnant beef cows during the winter in an outdoor pen with mean mid-winter daily temperatures approaching -20 °C and obtained a value of 17-2 MJ digestible energy/100 kg d for animals varying in age from 3 to 10 years.…”