Caring for animals when the lights go out

 By Russ Daly
 Special to the Farm Forum
 The power outages experienced lately by many throughout South Dakota were just the latest events making me wonder, “How did we ever raise livestock in the days before electricity?”  Electric lights, hot water heaters, and mechanical ventilation are all items we take for granted, except when weather events interrupt their supply of “juice.”
    To be sure, for a great number of operations, electricity is essential.  Modern milking parlors with vacuum pumps and refrigerated bulk tanks can't do without a generator when the power goes out.  The inability to milk cows, even on an intermittent basis, results not only in production losses, but also in an increased incidence of mastitis in those cows.  Mechanical ventilation systems aren't just useful to make modern hog barns comfortable for pigs, they're essential in regulating gases and temperatures that, allowed to rise, could become a life-or-death proposition for the animal.  Generators are standard equipment in those operations as well, but aren't always fail-safe and need to be continually monitored. 
   Perhaps the most common use for electricity on our farms and ranches during the winter months is for supplying water to our animals.  Automatic waterers allow us to provide a consistent, frost-free supply of water to cattle, horses, pigs, and sheep no matter what the weather.  When they fail, oftentimes there are no other sources for animals to turn to for water, the most important nutrient.  Exceptions are the highly-insulated “Energy-free” waterers that use ground temperature of the incoming water to keep the water thawed. 
   Most experts agree that for short-term purposes, beef cows can utilize snow as a water source.  Of course, this is only possible when snow is present.  Another complicating factor is that the ice that succeeds in bringing down power lines sometimes creates a coating over the snow that cattle have a hard time breaking through.   Yes, it takes energy away from the cow to melt the snow into water, but cows tend to “graze” on snow throughout the day, rather than take it all in at once.  This effectively spreads out their use of calories so that it doesn't seem to be a significant issue.   Sheep seem to be able to utilize snow to a certain degree also, but it's not enough to meet requirements for ewes in late gestation or ones that have lambed. 
   Horses drastically decrease their water intake during cold weather, while increasing their intake of forages.  This creates the unfortunate possibility of colic.  While case reports indicate that, on an emergency basis, horses can use snow as a water source, I would recommend taking whatever steps are necessary to supply them with a source of fresh water during power outages. 
   An issue with hogs and water outages is that of “salt poisoning.” This is a shift in metabolism due to inadequate water intake.  An excessive concentration of sodium builds up in their body fluids, resulting in central nervous system signs such as muscle spasms, seizures, coma and death.  The tricky thing is that these signs become worse when the water supply is turned back on and the pigs take in a lot of water rapidly.  Following a water outage, water should be supplied gradually back to the group of pigs as they rehydrate themselves.  All animals are susceptible to salt poisoning but pigs are the most sensitive. 
   This last storm was made somewhat more livable for the state's cattle producers by the fact that there aren't a lot of beef cows calving just yet.  But for the babies that were born during the storm, another aspect of water becomes important for them — the temperature.  In a perfect world, a calf's meal would be coming from the calf's mother.  But ranchers run into situations in which a calf needs to be fed powdered colostrum or milk replacer.  The water used for mixing such products should be as close to body temperature (102 degrees F) as possible.  A cold dose of milk or colostrum means further chilling of the calf, along with decreased absorption of antibodies from colostrum.  For feeding those guys — and any calf on milk replacer — steps should be taken to obtain warm water for their meals, especially in these times of cold outside temperatures.

Russ Daly, DVM, is the Extension Veterinarian at South Dakota State University.  He can be reached via e-mail at russell.daly@sdstate.edu or at 605-688-5171.