Protecting livestock?

Question

What could be done to protect livestock during natural disasters.

Answer 1

Disasters have always claimed the lives of many animals yet these animals have imense importance to humans and the general ecosystem

Its important that we design ways of protecting animals against  natural disasters such as strong winds,volcanic erruption;to mention but a few.These protective measures may include provision of early warnings against such disasters and concomitant protective designs such as confining the vulnerable animals in strong protective structures and where this measure may appear to provide little or no protection at all,the animals can be taken to places far away from the prospected areas to be affected by the disaster.This is true for the case of volcanic eruption

Answer 2

My first thought on reading your question was to answer from a basic small smallholders perspective. Then I read the answer from Idaho. Wow do we English have smaller probs. Having lived in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe I was going to expand a little on the Brit aspect and answer pertaining to Foot and Mouth, Anthrax, Tick Bourne disease, Crocs, Lions etc. In fact I was probably going to be a smart ***.

I guess from your name you may be Wiccan therefore you are asking on behalf of livestock and in case of the recent Brit flooding particularly what we can do to prevent loss of life through drowning.

It would be very sad if farmers were not prepared to allow neighbours from lower levels to move livestock to higher ground, after all for the extra expense hay should be available. Regarding Foot and Mouth, I cannot understand, especially when the EEC have such draconian legislation, that the Pom governemnt does not automatically innoculate against F & M and Bird Flu.

I cannot say I am a fan of much in Brit farming....still too many hooray henri's, tally ho, foxes are satan etc, too many 'gentlemen farmers' by far. There are though the honest Yorkshire farmers who are at one with the land.

Going back to natural disasters...the government should have a policy (which they do not) to move livestock from affected areas to safer areas and if needed pay compensation. Come on, let us be totally honest no bull shid substitute t for d. Very few folk are concerned for animal welfare, at the end of the day they worry about a bank balance and want a big black mark rather than red!

Answer 3

In natural disasters such as floods and even when it is known that there is a danger of a hurricane cattle should be moved out of low lying areas to higher areas where they will be safe.  During extreme droughts arrangements must be made for feeding and to be sure they have water available to them.  In large snowfall areas there must be arrangements made to get food to stranded animals.  During the large wild fires animals must be removed from the area to safety.  Disasters like earth quakes and tornadoes which there isn't much if any warning of about all that can be done for the animals is rescue and recovery much the same as for people.

Answer 4

Build an ark! Other than that just using common sense and forward planning and crossing of fingers! No essay required.

Answer 5

don't know about physically protecting them

but i do know how to protect your investment wise - be sure to insure them on your farmowners policy

insureds have lost cattle to lightening strike(statement from the vet)- fallen into manure pits etc (check with your agent for the applicable causes of loss for you company)

Answer 6

Are you talking about livestock you own, or America's livestock in general?

Most natural disasters come with some advanced warning.  

Hurricanes, you may have a week, if not, you have days.  Move the valuable stock FAR inland.  

Volcanos usually rumble and grumble long before they blow.  Again, move valuable stock far from the possible blast zone, or any rivers which may be effected by them.  (I lived in WA state, when St. Helens blew, and remember it clearly)

Forst/range fires.

These are more difficult, since the wind can pick them up unpredictably.  I live in the desert, in Idaho.  There have been more fires in my state than any other this year, and many of them very near my house.  If the fires get too close, I'm prepared to drive my stock of 75 plus goats, nine horses, and 5 farm dogs, right down the middle of the highway, and into town, strait to the fairgrounds, where they would be safe.  Best of all, I'd cross the Snake River in doing so.  

Range fires are taken very serriously around here.  Farmers hook up huge sets of discs to their tractors, when the wheat gets near time to harvest.  Before wheat is harvested, it becomes a very dry, highly flamable crop.  A farmer two miles from me just plowed under 150 acres of his wheat field to save the rest of his crop from going up in flames.  

Our pastures are kept green with iregation, and the way we set up our sprinklers we do the very best we can to provide maximum protection for our stock.

If you're worried about fires I've seen a lot of good pictures of safe barn set up ideas in CA....just try googling it.

Earthquakes.  Totally unpredictable.  Be prepared with emergency fencing, since your fence may go down.  Be prepared that water may become a big issue really fast, since wells may fail, and city water pipes may be damaged.

Severe winter storms.  If you live in an area that could/does have bad winter storms, build your shelters first, and aquire your stock second.  Even for really bad winter storms, their is usually a two day advanced warning.  If you have range cattle, take out two weeks worth of hay to their feeding area.  If your range cattle can get food, they will live.

Floods, again, you usually have advance warning.  Do not keep livestock in areas which are prone to flooding, especially at certain times of the year.  I use to live near a very low lying island that flooded EVERY spring.  There was zero excuse for livestock to drown, yet every year some horses, or some cattle would drown.  Those owners should have been shot.  If you live in an area like that, make prior arangments to move the stock BEFORE the floods come, to higher, safe ground.

Sometimes things are unpreditable.  If you live near the ocean, be aware that big storms can cause flooding a longs ways insland.  I have an Uncle in Oregon, who lost his entire flock of sheep, and one horse, when a major storm rolled in, during high tide.  He was 11 miles island, the storm surge took all the animals out to sea, and they were lost.

Bird flu.  Be prepared to keep all birds housed inside.  Have footbaths of bleach at the entrance of each henhouse.  Practice EXTREME clean messures for all birds.  If bird flu does infect your flock, call your local State Vet.  They will come out and dispose of the bodies, and any birds still living.  Once chickens are infected bird flu has proven to be a 100% killer, and usually all chickens are dead within 24 hours.  Cats can also get bird flu, so keep them locked up to keep them from eating dead birds, and contracting it.  Do NOT indiscriminatly kill cats.  We may need them desperatly, if bird flu is really ugly and begins to kill people as well as poultry.  The rodent population could explode, and plague could immediatly follow in the footsteps of bird flu.  (yes we DO have the black plague here in the United States)

Major rodent or rabbit population booms.  This is a difficult one.  If you own some rare, or truely valuable livestock, move them to an area where the rodents/rabbits are not...this may mean another state.  Almost always the rodent/rabbit population crashes the next year, so if you can weather out one year do so.  Set lots of water traps, so that the mice will drown themselves by the hundreds.  Farm dogs will serriously help with rabbits, especially if you do not let them eat the rabbits and become full.  They need to keep killing them.

Rabbit populations have exploded in Idaho from time to time.  It looks like the entire ground is moving, there are so many rabbits.  You will need to fence winter hay off with rabbit proof fencing.

Locust or Mormon Cricket invasions.  It is unbelievably gross to drive on a road which is solid insects.  Very fortunatly  Mormon Crickets do not fly.  Insectisides work.  Certain birds like guinea hens really help, but it takes a lot of birds to make a dent.  Locust...sorry, your S.O.L.  Not much you can do about locusts.  Some locusts come out in predictable cycles.    Store fodder for the livestock in well covered areas.  Cut down on the amount of livestock you are trying to support the year before the locusts are supose to hatch.  Weather the storm best you can.

~Garnet

Homesteading/Farming over 20 years