Quality nutrition is always essential for backyard animals, no matter the season. When winter’s cold weather sets in, what you feed – and how much you feed – becomes more crucial so your animals can be better prepared to keep warm all winter long.
 
Once the temperature drops, animals eat more feed to help them generate body heat and stay warm. As an animal caretaker, you’ll want to be proactive about cold weather by ensuring your backyard animals are well-fed and have a clean, dry shelter.
 
Here are some tips to help keep your beloved animals warm so your backyard is their winter wonderland:

Freeze-free flock 

Poultry need consistent access to high-quality feed. Chickens, turkeys, ducks and other poultry don’t overeat like other animals, so you can always keep feed available. Birds will naturally eat more feed as it gets colder because poultry require more energy to stay warm.
 
Chickens won’t put on body fat like other animal species because they have feathers. That’s why it is crucial they have unlimited access to feed. Providing around 4 inches per bird of feeder space allows all the chickens to get the nutrition they need.
 
Housing requirements vary by region, but the focus should be on keeping birds dry, out of the wind and with access to clean, unfrozen water at all times. Providing a heat source is generally unnecessary since the litter at the bottom of the coop will put off heat.
 
Egg-laying birds may need additional lighting during winter to maintain egg production, as decreasing daylight can signal hens to reduce egg-laying. If egg production declines, transitioning to a lower-calcium feed is appropriate.

Snug sheep and goats 

Providing a mineral block is an easy way to ensure sheep and goats get the essential vitamins and minerals they need to stay healthy during the winter.
 
Feeding hay will also help keep sheep and goats warm and help prevent them from losing weight. As sheep and goats digest hay, the process creates heat that can help keep them warm in the winter months. Aim to keep your sheep and goats in a body condition score of 3 or 3.5 out of a 5-point scale, especially if you are preparing to lamb or kid, so they’ll have enough fat cover to keep them warm.

Cozy cattle 

Baby calves can be popular backyard animals and are often cared for by bottle feeding early in life. As newborns, temperatures below 60 degrees F can increase the risk of sickness. Feeding calves three times per day with a balanced milk replacer increases their nutrition, which helps give calves the energy they need to stay warm and healthy.¹   
 
Once calves are weaned the bulk of their diet can come from forage. Hay is commonly fed to cattle during the winter but isn’t enough for a complete diet. Providing extra protein and fat with tubs, blocks or by hand feeding, along with a quality mineral, can help fill the gaps.

Hearty horses

Quality hay is a great way to keep horses fed during the winter. Horses need nearly 2% of their body weight per day in roughage when the weather is cold to maintain a healthy digestive system.
 
Feed efficiency for horses declines as the temperature drops, so you’ll want to ensure your horses get enough calories. Look for a supplement with added fat to provide more calories per pound of feed during the winter so horses can better maintain condition.

Pleasant pigs

If you are raising pigs, you’ll need shelter to keep them warm and out of the elements. The shelter should have at least three sides and be large enough to house all the pigs. As the temperature drops, the pigs will curl up to sleep with one another to share body heat.
 
Pigs need a balanced diet to stay warm and healthy. Sows especially need extra calories to help maintain body heat when temperatures drop.²
 
The above steps will ensure your backyard farm stays a winter wonderland for your animals when the temperature drops.
 
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