How Do Newborn Baby Animals Stay Warm?

— Written By Glenn Detweiler and last updated by
en Español / em Português
Español

El inglés es el idioma de control de esta página. En la medida en que haya algún conflicto entre la traducción al inglés y la traducción, el inglés prevalece.

Al hacer clic en el enlace de traducción se activa un servicio de traducción gratuito para convertir la página al español. Al igual que con cualquier traducción por Internet, la conversión no es sensible al contexto y puede que no traduzca el texto en su significado original. NC State Extension no garantiza la exactitud del texto traducido. Por favor, tenga en cuenta que algunas aplicaciones y/o servicios pueden no funcionar como se espera cuando se traducen.


Português

Inglês é o idioma de controle desta página. Na medida que haja algum conflito entre o texto original em Inglês e a tradução, o Inglês prevalece.

Ao clicar no link de tradução, um serviço gratuito de tradução será ativado para converter a página para o Português. Como em qualquer tradução pela internet, a conversão não é sensivel ao contexto e pode não ocorrer a tradução para o significado orginal. O serviço de Extensão da Carolina do Norte (NC State Extension) não garante a exatidão do texto traduzido. Por favor, observe que algumas funções ou serviços podem não funcionar como esperado após a tradução.


English

English is the controlling language of this page. To the extent there is any conflict between the English text and the translation, English controls.

Clicking on the translation link activates a free translation service to convert the page to Spanish. As with any Internet translation, the conversion is not context-sensitive and may not translate the text to its original meaning. NC State Extension does not guarantee the accuracy of the translated text. Please note that some applications and/or services may not function as expected when translated.

Collapse ▲

My family enjoys the holiday season. My wife loves looking at all the lights and decorations that are put up in the yards each winter during Christmas and the New Year. I always take an interest in the livestock arrangements placed around baby Jesus in the manger at the local churches and homes. As I drive around, I think about baby Jesus being born in a barn and how cold it might have been that night. Then I think about all the animals that are born in barns all the time.

Have you ever wondered about the ability of baby calves, lambs, kids, or deer to stay warm when born in the winter months? They come into the world wet and lay on cold, sometimes wet, grassy fields. Some lay in damp hay or sawdust on the floor of a barn. They get up, fall down, get up again, and stumble around with no hands to guide them to their mother’s milk. Their mother has only her tongue to lick them dry. She has no “swaddling” clothes in which to wrap her baby. So why don’t these babies get sick and die? What are the mechanisms that keep these little ones warm in the first hours and days of life?

Scientists have noted that the calf, lamb, kid, and deer tend not to shiver at all the first days after birth. Based on research, scientists have found that these young ones have large amounts of “brown fat” rather than “white fat.” Brown fat is uniquely able to rapidly produce large amounts of heat through the activation of proteins in the fat. These proteins are stimulated by the nervous system, which is affected by the cold around the animal. This heat is produced by a chemical reaction and has been measured at 300 watts/kg compared to white fat producing only 1 watt/kg. The white fat can be compared to a light bulb in our house which produces light and a small amount of heat. Brown fat is like a heat lamp used in the bathroom to keep us warm when stepping out of the shower. Both of these are lights, but one produces much more heat than the other. The question is, “How does brown fat get into the baby?” The mama, of course!

The farmer needs to provide the right nutrients for the mama cow to be able to provide good amounts of fat in her baby calf. Proper cow nutritional management means monitoring the cow during pregnancy. A farmer does this by looking at the cow’s ribs and other places where fat is stored during pregnancy. If a cow has 3 or fewer ribs showing, he or she can assume the pregnant cow will have the nutrients necessary to produce a healthy calf.

In order for scientists and farmers to communicate this, a scoring system has been developed. A cow with 3 ribs showing would score a 5 on a scale of 1-9. Any cow that has more ribs showing is scored lower. Cows scoring less than 5 will produce less colostrum and less milk. Calves born to thin cows will be slower to stand and slower to nurse which causes lower antibody protection (which is another story). The calves of thin cows will tend to have diarrhea and have lower brown fat reserves in their bodies.

So as you sit by your fire in your warm house and think about the babies born in the barn, remember baby animals have a wonderful mechanism to stay warm at birth. Good cattlemen watch their animals closely all year around to provide correct nutrition and care. N.C. Cooperative Extension Livestock Agent in Catawba County, Glenn Detweiler, hopes you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. If you have any questions or need information on gardening, yards, crops or livestock give us a call at 828-465-8240.