How do farmers keep their livestock and all other animals (chickens, pigs, sheep, etc) from freezing to death in the harsh cold winter months, like in regions up north? Especially if they have dozens upon dozens of animals? I’d imagine if they group them all in an extremely large barn or something, they’d have to keep it extremely insulated?
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You are sort of right. You keep them mostly indoor. The animals do make a lot of heat themselves. So unless the barn is too big you do not even need much insulation. Most livestock are however quite well suited for winter environments. Both cows and sheep grow thick fur or wool in the winter. And they keep close to each other for warmth. It is not uncommon to have open doors in the barn for the animals to walk outside and they often do go outside in very cold weather to get some fresh air for an our a day or so. They do not feel the cold as much as we humans do.
The reason you might want to insulate the barn, or even actively heat it, is to reduce the amount of feed you need. The livestock do eat more when they are cold. Not only do they use a lot of energy shivering and staying warm but they also build more fat when cold. And it is the type of fat that often gets cut off during butchering and cooking so it does not add much value. In addition most winter livestock is for the offspring so they are all pregnant, building fat takes away from the baby. So keeping the barn warm is often more economical for the farmer as it reduces the amount of feed the livestock eat, improved the quality of the meat and ensures bigger offspring.
At least cows tend to generate enough heat that north of the alps (Austria, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Scandinavia) the Housebarn/Byre-dwelling was a very common design up until the 20th century.
A Byre-dwelling is a combined house and barn, where the heat from the animals is used to help heating the house. While the master bedroom was typically located away from the barn-part in wealthier households (where the master bedroom could have a personal fireplace and enjoy a room that’s both warm and quiet) the servant quarters (those that weren’t located near the kitchen) were often located over the barn to maximize the use of the waste heat.
Big animals generate a lot of heat and all animals (except domesticated pigs really) tend to have warm fur/feathers (and pigs have plenty of fat to keep them warm). They only need minimum shelter to survive the cold (compared to hairless apes hailing from the equator), although a more insulated barn leads to lower feed costs.
These animals are largely adapted to cold weather and actually prefer when it’s colder. They can huddle together for warmth, and have extra fur in the winter. A main thing is to just keep them and their bedding dry.
Barns don’t have to be super insulated, the number of animals in them help keep them decently warm. It’s uncomfortably cold for humans, but for most animals it’s perfectly cozy if they have dry bedding. Some animals, like horses, can get blankets strapped onto them if they have shorter fur and it’s particularly cold out. But horses are kept in individual stalls and don’t get grouped together, which is helpful for other animals to keep warm.
At a college I worked at in kentucky (not that cold) we had free range pigs. Each group was rotated through pasture paddocks regularly and had a Quonset hut structure that we would pack full of straw when temperatures were going to dip. The pigs would pile in the hut in a big cuddle fest under the straw for the night. In the mornings when we would check their water and bring them some mixed feed all you could see was steam coming out of the straw and no visible pigs. Once the mixed feed was dumped on their feeding pad it was funny watching them climbing out of the hut, it was like a geyser of steaming pigs pouring out of the hut snorting with both excitement and amusement.
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