Anyone who runs a farm or livestock operation in Poland knows one thing – winter can be a difficult time of year. Temperatures several degrees below zero for days on end, snow lying for weeks, frozen pipes, and huge energy consumption. In such conditions, it is not just about working comfort or heating bills. The most important thing is how the animals react.
The owner of a medium-sized farm admitted that the biggest problem was not the cold itself, but its duration. The buildings were insulated, the heating system was working properly, and the ventilation had been serviced. And yet, after three weeks of persistent sub-zero temperatures, something began to change.
The herd was consuming more feed, but weight gains were not increasing proportionally. In some parts of the building, the animals began to experience respiratory problems more frequently. Humidity seemed normal, at least according to occasional manual measurements. However, production results began to deviate from the norm. It wasn’t a breakdown. It was the result of small, daily deviations which, during prolonged cold spells, began to compound.
Ventilate or heat? Every farmer’s winter dilemma
During severe frosts, every farmer faces the same dilemma: how much to ventilate so as not to cool the building,
while at the same time preventing an increase in humidity and gas concentrations?
The natural reaction is to limit air exchange to retain heat. The problem is that water vapour, ammonia and moisture then begin to accumulate. Excessive ventilation, on the other hand, causes rapid cooling and huge energy consumption. The animals begin to expend more energy on maintaining their body temperature.
On the farm in question, decisions were made ‘by trial and error’ and this worked for years. The problem only arose when the frost persisted almost continuously for several weeks. At night, the outside temperature dropped sharply, and in some parts of the building – despite the heating being on – there were brief drops in temperature below the set parameters.
These drops occurred between three and four in the morning – when the temperature difference was greatest.
Data instead of guesswork – what was really happening in the building
After implementing the CoolSens® temperature and humidity monitoring system at several points in the building, the situation became clear. Data collected over several days revealed a recurring pattern:
- night-time temperature drops in selected zones,
- periodic increases in humidity with limited ventilation,
- greater fluctuations in parameters in corner sectors and near the gates.
These were temperature differences of a few degrees or a few-percentage-point increase in humidity, but during prolonged cold spells such deviations matter.
Based on the data, it was possible to adjust the fan operating schedule at specific times, change the heating settings in selected sectors and stabilise humidity without excessively cooling the building.
The effect wasn’t spectacular overnight. However, in the next production cycle, the difference was clear – more uniform groups of birds, fewer respiratory problems and better feed utilisation.
Peace in the middle of the night is valuable – an alarm instead of a surprise
The greatest drops in temperature most often occur between 2 and 5 am. This is when the heating and ventilation systems are under the greatest strain. A small draught, momentary ventilation or a delayed heating response is enough to cause a short-term drop in temperature in selected zones.
A one-off difference of 2–3°C may seem insignificant. What matters is whether the temperature in the area where the animals are kept falls below the Lower Critical Temperature (LCT), i.e. the boundary of the thermoneutral zone.
Continuous monitoring with an alarm system reduces response times from several hours to a matter of minutes. It allows settings to be adjusted before parameters remain below critical levels and begin to have a real impact on herd performance.
During weeks of continuous frost, microclimate stability ceases to be merely a matter of comfort. It becomes a key element of production risk management.
Animals won’t say they’re too cold – costs not visible in the table
An animal won’t signal that the temperature in its living area regularly drops below the comfort level. The body’s response, however, is clear: greater energy expenditure to maintain body heat and less energy available for growth.
Systematic cooling can:
- cause animals to eat more but gain weight more slowly,
- lead to greater weight variations between individuals,
- make the batch less uniform,
- increase the risk of respiratory problems.
At the same time, restricted ventilation promotes increased humidity. Night-time temperature drops raise relative humidity and can lead to condensation, which worsens the quality of environmental conditions in the building.
These are not costs visible as a single item on a financial statement. More often, they manifest as higher feed consumption, less predictable growth rates and more difficult control of efficiency.
A stable microclimate means stable results
Monitoring does not eliminate winter nor does it replace the farmer’s experience. However, it allows deviations to be identified more quickly, before they turn into permanent production losses. In the long term, it is the stability of the microclimate that determines the stability of livestock farms’ results.
Because when the frost lingers, every degree counts.
And stable conditions mean calmer animals and a calmer owner
