Cattle may weather storms, but the aftermath can be fraught with hidden dangers.
Bits of debris caught up in heavy weather can land in grazing pastures where cattle are may eat them along with forage. This can lead to hardware disease, which refers to the internal damage inflicted by swallowed nails, wire and other metal items. Sometimes overlooked bits of metal are even swept up during the baling process and cattle eat them accidentally. Ingested insultation and plastic debris can also cause problems, such as bloat, gastrointestinal blockage and internal bleeding.
Even when they’re not eaten, nails and other sharp pieces of metal can lacerate skin and cause infections.
Searching fields for post-storm dangers can be tedious, but it’s well worth a cattle producer’s efforts in order to save a visit from the veterinarian.