Winter Care for Cows: Feed, Water, Shelter and Newborn Calf Protection

In late January 2024, as cold and fog settled over Lalmonirhat and Kurigram in northern Bangladesh, a farmer told The Daily Star's Bangla edition that his three milking cows, which used to give nine litres of milk a day, were giving only five and a half to six. Cows in the area were coming down with winter fever and colds, animals that could not get enough feed were starting to suffer from malnutrition, and farmers feared foot-and-mouth disease would follow. The paper reported that the two districts held about 27 lakh cattle, goats and buffalo, and that about three lakh families earned an income from them.

This guide, first published by The Agro News in April 2025, explains how to look after cows through the cold months. Its advice came from a community organisation, Bangladesh Gobadi Pashu O Pakhi Khamari Unnayan Sangathan, and has been checked against advisories of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), figures from the Department of Livestock Services (DLS), Banglapedia and livestock research. It covers cold stress, the cows most at risk, feed, water, the shed, dry floors, winter diseases and newborn calves. It is a general guide: a sick animal needs a registered veterinarian.

The original article began with a simple observation: when the weather changes, an animal's metabolism and habits change with it. Scientists describe this through the lower critical temperature (LCT). Canada's Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) explains that cattle feel an effective temperature, combining air temperature and wind chill, and that cold stress begins when it falls below the LCT. A cow then raises her metabolism to keep warm.

The LCT is not fixed. It depends on the animal's age, body condition, the wind, moisture and, above all, the coat. The BCRC's table, adapted from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, gives these estimates for beef cows in good condition with no wind chill:

• Summer coat: 15°C
• Wet coat: 15°C
• Dry autumn coat: 7°C
• Dry winter coat: 0°C
• Dry, heavy winter coat: -8°C

The BCRC adds that if a cow's winter coat is wet or matted with manure, it loses its insulation, her LCT rises to 15°C and she feels cold stress much sooner. Wind makes it worse, because moving cold air draws heat away faster than still air at the same temperature.

Bangladesh has no frozen winters, but it has cold waves. The Bangladesh Meteorological Department, as reported by The Daily Star in January 2023, counts 8 to 10 degrees Celsius as a mild cold wave, 6 to 8 degrees as moderate and below 6 degrees as severe. All are below the 15°C at which, by the BCRC's table, a cow with a wet coat starts to feel cold stress. In foggy, damp weather a cow in a draughty shed can be cold even when the thermometer does not look alarming.

Cold stress costs energy. The BCRC states that energy requirements are generally accepted to rise by 2 per cent for every degree below the LCT, and that cattle can raise feed intake by 2 to 25 per cent depending on weather and feed. Its table, adapted from a 1981 National Research Council report, shows no effect on intake between 15 and 25°C, a rise of 2 to 5 per cent between 5 and 15°C, and 3 to 8 per cent between -5 and 5°C. Without the extra feed, cows burn body reserves and lose weight, and thinner cows suffer more. Cows calving in winter in poor condition are at greater risk.

The original article warned that the crossbred cattle developed in Bangladesh do not cope well with the cold. Banglapedia, the national encyclopaedia, gives the wider picture. Since the 1960s farmers have kept pure exotic breeds, crossbreds and local cattle. Pure breeds and crossbreds, it says, have a high nutritional requirement and less adaptability, and are more susceptible to parasites and disease. Local cattle are less prone to disease, heat tolerant, efficient at using low-quality roughage and well adapted to harsh conditions.

The best local cattle are found in a few areas. Banglapedia describes Pabna cattle, from Pabna and Sirajganj, which can give 3 to 5 litres of milk a day; the Red Chittagong, which may give about 2 litres; White Munshiganj cattle; and North Bengal Grey cattle. To raise milk yields, exotic breeds such as Holstein-Friesian, Jersey, Sahiwal, Haryana and Sindhi were brought in. Banglapedia gives the milk of the resulting crossbreds as 1,240 litres per lactation for the Sahiwal-Pabna cross, 1,460 for the Friesian-Pabna cross, 728 for the Sahiwal-local cross and 1,800 for the Friesian cross.

Exotic breeds and crossbreds, Banglapedia notes, are kept on government and commercial dairy farms and in milk-pocket areas. A study of 16 years of records (1992 to 2007) at the DLS Central Cattle Breeding and Dairy Farm at Savar, published in the Eurasian Journal of Veterinary Sciences in 2013, found calf mortality significantly higher in exotic and crossbred animals than in local calves.

The stakes are national. According to the DLS publication Livestock Economy at a Glance 2023-24, Bangladesh had 250.13 lakh cattle and 15.24 lakh buffalo in 2023-24. Milk production was 150.44 lakh metric tons against a demand of 158.78 lakh metric tons, and availability stood at 234.45 ml per person per day. Livestock made up 16.33 per cent of agricultural GDP. In a country that still produces less milk than it needs, the litres lost on a cold morning matter.

The original article's feeding advice was that cows need more feed in winter, because staying warm takes extra energy, and plenty of fibrous feed such as grass and straw. The BCRC supports both points: more feed can usually meet the extra energy needed during cold stress, and part of a cow's body heat comes from the normal digestion of her feed.

High-quality forage, the BCRC says, can be enough for cows in good condition; in extreme cold, or for thin cows, it recommends adding a concentrate. Change the diet gradually, because a sudden switch can upset the rumen. Energy is usually the limiting nutrient in a winter ration, followed by protein, and adequate protein helps the rumen's fibre-digesting bacteria, making forage more digestible and raising intake.

Banglapedia lists the feeds Bangladeshi farmers have. Most roughage comes from crop residues such as rice, wheat and pulse straw and sugarcane tops; mills supply brans and oil cakes; green roughage includes roadside grasses, jackfruit and mango leaves and water hyacinth; cultivated fodders include Napier, Para and German grasses and seasonal crops such as maize, khesari and oats. Pastures give little or no yield in the dry period from December to April, so winter feeding depends on stored feed.

The DAE's agro-meteorological service, in livestock advisories it issued during the winter of 2018-19 with the livestock ministry, told farmers to give each animal 50 grams of iodised salt and 50 to 100 grams of mineral mixture daily with its feed, fodder or berseem to keep it healthy, and to feed cattle dry food in cold weather.

The original article also said digestion and milk output rise in winter. That claim has been left out: the reports from the northern districts in January 2024 described milk yields falling in the cold, and the research cited here says the extra feed goes first to keeping the animal warm.

The original article noted that animals drink less in winter, because the body needs less water and the water is cold. It advised against giving cows stale, cold water from a tank, and for clean, fresh water instead.

Drinking is tied to eating. The BCRC warns that inadequate access to water in cold weather limits feed intake and a cow's ability to meet her energy needs, just when she needs more feed to stay warm.

For calves, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension advises winter water near the calf's body temperature, so the calf does not burn energy warming it. The University of Delaware's animal science extension recommends offering warm water several times a day in cold weather, alongside milk, and notes that drinking water encourages calves to eat starter feed.

The original article advised stopping cold wind from blowing straight onto the cows by closing the openings with jute sacks, polythene or similar. Cold wind, it warned, can give cattle pneumonia and other cold-related illness. If needed, cows can be covered at night with old blankets or jute sacks.

Government advice says the same. In the advisories it issued during the 2018-19 winter, the DAE's agro-meteorological service told farmers in Moulvibazar, Panchagarh, Nilphamari, Kurigram and Chuadanga to keep animals under shelter at night, to cover the openings of sheds with jute bags, and to cover young animals with jute bags. In January 2024 the Lalmonirhat district livestock officer advised farmers, as The Daily Star's Bangla edition reported, to cover cows with jute sacks and to wrap the sides of the cowshed in polythene to protect the animals from the cold.

Blocking draughts is not sealing a shed. The Wisconsin extension says indoor housing should have some ventilation while being draught-free, and that respiratory problems often increase in winter where air exchange is inadequate. Northern Ireland's Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) describes good calf sheds as ventilated but draught-free: stop the wind across the animals, but leave stale, damp air a way out.

The original article stressed cleanliness: water and urine must not be allowed to collect in the shed in cold weather, the floor should be kept as dry as possible, and floor mats can be used where needed. The DAE's winter advisory likewise told farmers to keep the cowshed clean and dry.

A dry floor protects the coat. The BCRC explains that bedding insulates the animal from the cold ground and keeps cattle dry and free of mud. Mud and wet both reduce the coat's insulation and raise feed requirements; a wet coat lifts a cow's LCT to 15°C.

For calves, the Wisconsin extension says bedding separates the calf from the cold ground and from urine, water and milk that has seeped through, and recommends straw in winter because it reduces heat loss by conduction compared with sand. A test from both the Wisconsin and Delaware services: when a calf lies down, its legs should be completely covered.

The original article warned that cows are more likely to catch pneumonia, coughs and other cold-related illness in winter, and that farmers should watch for the signs and act quickly. The northern districts showed what that looks like: in January 2024 The Daily Star's Bangla edition reported cows suffering from winter fever and colds in Lalmonirhat and Kurigram, and farmers fearing foot-and-mouth disease.

Research shows where the losses fall. The Central Cattle Breeding and Dairy Farm study (Hossain, Kamal and Rahman, 2013) found that the main causes of calf death over 16 years were respiratory tract disease (38.75 per cent), tuberculosis (20.02 per cent) and alimentary tract infections (16.73 per cent). It recorded calf mortality figures of 37.98 per cent in winter, 33.03 per cent in summer and 28.99 per cent in the rainy season, and concluded that calves in their first month of life may face the highest risk.

The Delaware extension notes that cold-stressed calves have compromised immune systems and are more susceptible to disease, and the Wisconsin extension links poor winter ventilation to more respiratory problems. Good housing, dry bedding and enough feed are the first line of protection.

The original article suggested keeping pure honey and a tulsi (holy basil) plant at hand as first aid. That advice has been left out, because no livestock or veterinary authority consulted for this guide recommends it as treatment. A cow that is coughing, breathing fast, running a fever, refusing feed or producing much less milk should be seen by a registered veterinarian. Farmers can contact the DLS upazila livestock office for treatment and for advice on vaccination against diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease. Do not give antibiotics or other medicines without a veterinarian's prescription.

The original article said newborn calves suffer most from the cold, because their immunity is low, and that in winter they must be wrapped in warm cloth, kept in a warm, dry place, and seen by a doctor quickly if any cold-related problem appears. The DAE's winter advisory similarly asked farmers to take special care of cows that have just given birth and to keep the newborn calf, and its shed, clean and dry.

Calves lose heat faster than adults. The AFBI explains that for their first few weeks calves cannot properly regulate their body temperature, and estimates their LCT at 13°C at birth, falling to 8°C at three weeks. The Wisconsin extension adds that a calf is born with only two to four per cent of its body weight as fat, and that younger calves have more surface area for their weight, so they lose heat quickly. Wet newborns should be dried off fast and then warmed.

The AFBI calls deep, dry bedding the simplest way to keep calves warmer. In two studies its researchers found that calf jackets raised skin temperature by 6.4°C and 4.3°C respectively, yet made no difference to growth or health, because the calves were already in ventilated, draught-free sheds on deep, dry straw. The institute concluded that jackets may be expected to help where calves face wind, draughts or wet bedding, which is the situation the original article's advice to wrap calves in warm cloth addresses.

A cold calf also needs more food. The University of Delaware extension suggests three ways to feed more milk or milk replacer in cold weather: add a third meal, increase the volume fed by a third, or increase the total solids fed. It advises offering small amounts of starter feed from the first week, because the sooner calves eat grain the more heat they generate, and delaying weaning during extreme cold.

Farmers should know the signs of a dangerously cold calf. The BCRC gives a normal calf body temperature of 38°C. Between 35 and 38°C a calf is mildly hypothermic and may shiver, suckle weakly and have cold extremities; below 35°C shivering stops and the calf becomes lethargic, breathes slowly, has a very cold mouth, ears and feet, and may lie on its side unable to rise. The BCRC says warming starts with colostrum fed at body temperature, that a calf must never be left unattended near a direct heat source, and that severe cases need veterinary care. A calf that is weak, cold or not suckling should be taken to the upazila livestock office or a registered veterinarian without delay.

Photo: Kritzolina / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sources: The Agro News (Staff Correspondent; information from Bangladesh Gobadi Pashu O Pakhi Khamari Unnayan Sangathan), Department of Agricultural Extension (Bangladesh Agro-Meteorological Information System livestock advisories), The Daily Star Bangla (31 January 2024), The Daily Star (16 January 2023), Department of Livestock Services (Livestock Economy at a Glance 2023-24), Banglapedia, Beef Cattle Research Council, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (5 November 2019), University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, University of Delaware, Eurasian Journal of Veterinary Sciences (2013)