How do pasture raised and grass-fed animals survive the winter without grass?

What do our animals eat in the winter? So since colder weather is here and the grass is turning brown and starting to die for the winter you may wonder what our grass-fed cows and lamb will eat...Right?

In the summer we'll cut the grass in the fields and bale it into big round bales while it is still quite moist. Once it is baled we'll put it through what's called a bale wrapper. This is basically a machine that will put layers of wrap around each bale and create a long row of wrapped hay bales. 

By wrapping the bales immediately after they are baled (while still moist) it will preserve the bales and keep them from getting moldy until it is time to feed them to the animals, it will basically ferment the bales so that it is as close to fresh grass as possible to provide good quality feed for the winter.

Here is a picture of a line of wrapped hay bales, also called balage.

Once there is not enough grass available for the animals to keep them satisfied we'll start feeding them this balage by cutting the bales out of the tube one at a time and feed it to the animals. So the simple answer is, our animals eat balage in the winter instead of grass.

Let's break it down by each animal.

Do chickens eat balage? No, we do not feed our laying hens and meat chickens balage. They have access to the pasture as long as there is not too much snow on the ground and the weather isn't too rough. Otherwise they'll be in the barn where it's nice and cozy. The laying hens will eat a ration of corn & soy-free feed and the meat chickens will eat a ration of locally sourced GMO-free feed.

Do hogs eat balage? Yes. Our hogs have access to pasture and a small woodlot at all times except when it's just too cold and shutting the doors to keep the barn warm is a must. So once they don't have any dirt, grass, or roots to dig around in they'll have free choice balage, along with milk and a GMO-free pellet feed.

Do cows eat balage? Yes. In fact, hay is all they eat in the winter, besides minerals to keep their immune system in good condition. Otherwise they'll get free choice balage and occasionally some dry hay to keep their diet balanced. The same diet also applies to our beef cattle.

And what about the sheep/Lamb? Yes, the sheep will eat balage and dry hay as well. In fact, the sheep eat pretty much the same diet as the cows do. In the summer they'll be out on pasture then in the winter they'll either be in the barn or outside (depending on the weather) eating hay and/or balage.

Hopefully this will give you an insight of how our animals survive the cold winter months:)