Calves’ ears falling off due to frostbite amid freezing temperatures in US

Calves are particularly vulnerable to the cold weather (file picture)
Getty Images
April Roach @aprilroach2819 February 2021

Ranchers in the US are having to put tights over the heads of calves and use duct tape to prevent the animals’ ears from falling off from frostbite.

A brutal winter storm across the central and southern US has seen at least 24 people lose their lives. Officials say they suspect many more people have died, but their bodies have not yet been discovered.

Farmers have had to use unprecedented measures to protect their cattle from the extreme weather.

In Montana ranchers are “duct-taping calves’ ears” to their necks to stop them from falling off and in Arkansas, ranchers are fitting tights over the heads of their animals, reports Bloomberg news.

A winter weather advisory was in affect in both areas last week, with temperatures currently at -10C in Montana and -11C in Arkansas.

Tyler Beaver, a founder of brokerage Beaf Cattle Co in Arkansas, told the financial news agency: “It’s survival of the fittest right now.

“Lot of hay having to be put out on a daily basis just to keep the cows warm enough to not freeze to death.”

The ranchers told the outlet they have taken to keeping their most vulnerable animals in their cars and homes to shelter them from the freezing temperatures.

Broiler houses, where chickens are raised, have also reported issues. Four broiler homes in Mississippi, where it is currently around -4C, were destroyed from collapsed roofs when they were overwhelmed by snow and ice.

On Tuesday, the National Weather Service reported that more than 73 per cent of the US is currently covered by snow.

More than 4 million homes were left without power in Texas, more than 250,000 people also lost power across parts of Appalachia, and another quarter-million were without electricity following an ice storm in north-west Oregon.

Texas reported experiencing some of the coldest temperatures it had seen in more than 30 years, after hitting -18C earlier this week.

All power plants in Texas are said to now be functioning, but nearly 280,000 homes were still without power on Friday morning.

Hospitals in some hard-hit areas ran out of water and transferred patients elsewhere, while millions of people were ordered to boil water to make it safe for drinking.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott confirmed that all power-generating plants in the state were online as of Thursday afternoon. He urged lawmakers to pass legislation to ensure the energy grid was prepared for cold weather in the future.

"What happened this week to our fellow Texans is absolutely unacceptable and can never be replicated again," Governor Abbott told a news conference.

Additional reporting by Associated Press.

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