There's been a noticeable bite in the air the last few evenings, with parts of the country experiencing light snow.

Keeping calves warm

A newborn calf has a critical lower temperature of 10°C, meaning if the temperature drops below this they use up energy to stay warm. Prolonged cold leads to excess energy being burned and can be a significant stressor. This makes them more prone to infections.

Simple steps such adding more straw to allow for better nesting and giving them calf jackets allow calves stay warm and focus on growing.

Jackets need to be breathable, washable and put on to a dry calf – a good calf jacket can cost between €25-€30.

Placing a heat lamp in a corner of a shed is another good option.

Colostrum

A warm feed of colostrum will also help a newborn fight the chill. If feeding cold colostrum, the calf must warm this up – a needless use of energy. This holds through for milk feeding as well, warm milk in cold weather makes sense.

Milk replacer

For older dairy calves it is important to have the option of feeding more milk or greater concentrations of milk replacer when the weather is cold.

For every degree below 10°C the temperature drops, 2% more milk replacer should be given to the animal.

Therefore , at 0°C the claf should be receiving an extra 20% worth of milk replacer.

Lambs

Hypothermia continues to be a big issue when it comes to lambs, with twins and triplets especially vulnerable.

Healthy lambs are born with a godd amount of brown fat around their kidneys which is used as a short-term energy store. Smaller, weaker lambs from ewes who have been in poor body condition often have poor amounts of this fat, making them particularly prone to the cold.

When dealing with triplets, fostering is one way to give them the best chance to thrive.

Any lamb that has had a difficult birth should be warmed up to fire up its metabolism.

Warming box

One of the best investments any sheep farmer can make is in a warming box with a thermostat. Aim to keep the box at 40°C and no hotter than 45°C.

So, as we enter the forecasted cold snap, spend some time planning how to avoid cold newborns and focus on growing healthy ones instead.