ome areas near rivers are often flooded during spring snowmelt and high water, while other regions are rarely flooded except in catastrophic events like unusually high rainfall or major hurricanes that come inland. In late August of this year, the Texas coast got hammered by Hurricane Harvey, leaving horrendous damage in its wake. Aftermath in rural areas included flooded pastures and fields, drowned and injured cattle, and many hazards for the livestock that survived.
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Some cattle were immediately in danger. For instance, more than 25 inches of rain fell at Wendt Ranches near Bay City, Texas, with floodwaters rising quickly. Water was waist- deep in some areas, and the rancher used a tractor to drive through flooded areas on his property to move 600 head of cattle to higher ground.
Flooding had a significant impact on ranchers in rural areas around Corpus Christi and Houston. For several days, it was difficult for ranchers in the area to get onto their pastures and assess damage because some roads were impassable and the rain kept coming.
After three days of rain, there was at least a foot of standing water on pastures owned by one rancher who has 100 head of cattle on his farm 20 miles east of Houston. Some of his cows were stranded without feed. The pasture ground was high enough that they were not going to drown, but some of
the cows were in water up to their knees. Unconfined animals usually are able to fend for themselves and go to higher ground unless they get trapped in a low area. In some areas, cattle were no longer in their own pastures, since they had to be let out to get to higher ground. Cattle are fairly good swimmers; if they can get to high ground, they will, but if they get caught in the water for too long, they become fatigued and may drown.
In earlier disasters (like Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana) there were problems with cattle theft. Some people showed up with trailers saying they had come to help rescue stranded cattle, and hauled them away— cutting out the ear tags. Cattle theft, cattle being displaced, and especially health concerns, are all things to take note of after the storm.
HEALTH CONCERNS
Serious flooding can have adverse impacts on cattle health even if they survive the initial high water. Health issues are a concern for many animals that were stranded on small areas of higher ground with only brackish saltwater to drink and no food. Pregnant cows may abort after exposure to infectious diseases like IBR (infectious bovine rhinotracheitis), respiratory diseases, and Leptospirosis. Many diseases can be spread from commingling cattle. Lepto can also be spread by wildlife, so making sure cattle are kept in a safe environment while
other stranded wildlife try to find a new home is important. Lactating cows may develop mastitis just from their udders being immersed in dirty water. If cows have been wading in muddy water, pathogens may enter the teats. Mastitis can also occur if cows are lying in dirty mud following a flood. Often the cause of mastitis in these instances will be coliform-type pathogens, which can cause serious infection and should be taken care of right away.
Examine cattle closely, and have your vet come take a look at them, if possible, to see if there is anything needing to be addressed or any animals needing to be treated. They should be closely monitored for several days. If any have cuts or puncture wounds, it is beneficial to go ahead and give them a tetanus vaccination. Poisonous snakes are displaced after a flood, floating or swimming along with the debris and looking for a dry location. They may be seeking high ground along with cattle, so watching closely for snake bites is another issue.
There is always risk for potential diseases in the surviving cattle, such as foot rot/ hairy heel warts (after standing in mud and moisture) and clostridial diseases. Cattle that are well-vaccinated for common diseases are less at risk. Also remember the cattle have been through a stressful situation as well - even if they were simply moved to a new pasture in a big hurry. The stress by itself makes them more vulnerable to getting sick because it hinders the immune
2017 OCTOBER i TEXAS LONGHORN JOURNAL 33
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