'Although the recent mild weather is good for sheep grazing outside, it's been a curse for recently housed cattle'

Good nutrition for ewes at this time of year encourages them to produce more ova, which hopefully will result in more twin lambs next spring.

The more observant will have noticed that with the exception of Black and White dairy heifer replacements, most cattle have been brought indoors for the winter. Delicate milking dairy cows have already been inside for some weeks, and more recently it's been the turn of beef cattle to be housed.

it's not that they aren't hardy enough to spend the winter out-of-doors. Most cattle naturally grow a hairy winter coat and could happily winter out if they are properly fed and had access to some shelter.

The snag with leaving cattle outside during the winter on good pasture, as opposed to rough hill grazing, is that they can make an awful mess of the fields in a wet spell. Their hooves soon trample sodden land into a quagmire of mud, or poach it, as farmers say.

Badly poached fields then either have to be ploughed in the spring, or harrowed before reseeding with expensive grass seeds.

Some hardy breeds of beef cattle like the Highland, Galloway, Luing and Blue-Greys are well-suited to being out-wintered, but most prefer to bring their beasts indoors. It's easier on the cattle and saves the farmer the misery of feeding them in torrential rain or inclement weather. Indeed, I often think the real reason farmers go to the expense of building cattle sheds is more for their own comfort.

Although the recent mild weather is good for sheep grazing outside, it's been a curse for recently housed cattle. Misty, humid weather and a lack of wind can lead to poor ventilation in the cattle sheds. Hot stuffy sheds causes respiratory problems as germs build up, leading to an outbreak of pneumonia. Making matters worse is the fact that recently housed cattle are under a lot of stress as they adjust to their new environment and winter rations.

Good stockmen take every precaution to minimise stress by gradually introducing them to their winter rations while they are still outside. At housing, beef cattle often have a strip of hair, about six inches wide along the length of their backs, shaved off with cattle clippers, as well as their heads shaved. That helps control lice and more importantly keeps them cool and stops them from sweating.

Most modern cattle sheds are ventilated by the "stack effect". That's where air is warmed by the cattle and rises through an open ridge in the roof, drawing in fresh air through the sides of the shed that are clad with spaced boards, or netting. Such cladding protects the cattle from the worst winds, but allows plenty of fresh air into the building. Unfortunately, when it's mild outside the system doesn't work properly. Even leaving doors open can have little effect in such conditions with the end result that cattle are left breathing stale air.

Pneumonia accounts for over 30 per cent of death in calves and is the most common cause of deaths in those under five months old. Not only do calves die but many do not fully recover from the infection resulting in poor growth performance and increased susceptibility to other diseases. The cost of this disease to the farmer includes treatment costs, mortality costs and extra labour costs.

The onset of pneumonia in cattle can be sudden. The first sign is often an animal off its feed. Next symptoms may be rapid breathing accompanied by a "snottery" nose. Untreated they can die within a few days.

Even curing such animals is difficult. Antibiotics aren't effective in controlling viruses and really only prevent secondary infections developing.

Due to the complex nature of respiratory disease in calves, complete protection is rarely achievable. There are vaccines available for Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR), Respiratory Syncytial Virius (RSV), Parainfluenza virus (P13) and Pastuerella, but veterinary advice is needed and, as they all take time to boost the immunity of calves, they are best inoculated several weeks before housing.

Even when settled into their sheds, cattle don't really start to thrive properly until the turn of the year. That's partly due to the days beginning to lengthen - as the amount of daylight increases, so does their appetite.