Animal Husbandry

While one can say animals evolved to stay outside, you have to keep in mind what the area was the breed originated from.

People started in the mesopotomian Valley - most of us could survive quite fine outside in a tropical area - people were NOT decsigned to live in cold temps, but with our brains we were able to adapt.

Domestic rabbits are from Europe, and most have more problems in summer heat than winter cold. A domestic rabbit sitting in the summer sun for a few hours can easily lead to death.

If you get Mediterainan bred chickiens (usually white egg layers) they won't handle the cold, but the European (usually brown egg layers) are much more cold tollerant.
At the big Zoo in MN they specialize in Artic bred animals - they have to be careful about summer heat but most of the animals have no problems with winter cold.

My horses have shelter if they want it, but unless unless it is really nasty they are out and about. It's normal to see them with a coating of snow on their backs - shows how much insulation thier coats provide. They use the shelter much more in the summer to provide shade and bug relief (I have a timed sprayer in the shed in the summer).

Once it snows my chickens stay cooped up until there is bare ground, but they free range all summer long.

But the only time you will see dead animals around my place is if you find it before I do, or if it is butchering day. We cleaned up a lot of evidence of dead animals when we bought this place - cow/calf bones in the pasture by the barn, sheep/lamb bones inside the pens in the barn, cat bones in some of the buidlings - I never understand people who just leave animals lay where they die - for the smell if nothing else. Took us three days of searching the tall grass after we moved in before we found the almost done rotting cow carcuss the PO had left. At least everything else was already decomposed enough not to smell.

Cathy

I think about this sort of thing when people ask me how I can raise an animal from a baby, then butcher it and eat it. My responsibility as a lifestock owner is to give my animals as comfortable a life and as compassionate a death as possible. I would feel far more guilty eating an animal not knowing what kind of life it led.

Exactly! You took the words right out of my mouth!

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S-J Farms
http://s-jfarms.com

At 53 years old and having lived all my life in South Texas, I still often times wish I was further North so we could get some snow.

But, I also realize how good we have it along with our animals and livestock. Shelter here can be a good thicket for the cows, or sheep, or goats or even horses to get in just to break up the wind.

In the more " prairie" type country, a tin wall they can put their butts to is common place. No roof, just a wind break.

As far as dead animals, it happens, but I cannot imagine just leaving them laying around. Not for me to have to look at or people that may come over for something or other.

Occasionally we will see some stock of one type or another that is not in the best of shape. But we just endured 2 years of drought conditions and thin stock happens as well. There is a difference between thin and poor.

To feed the masses we have today, the factory feedlots are almost a necessity . It is the handling from on the hoof to in the package that worries me.