As Florida anticipates another hurricane approaching, it is recommended to be prepped, including your livestock. It is important to recognize different livestock have different requirements and needs during storm season.
What Identification is Needed?
One accessory all livestock should have is a visible form of ID with the owner’s contact information. For cattle, pigs, and small ruminants like goats and sheep ear tags are a great way to identify animals, while including contact information on the tag. Horse owners can also use ear tags to tie the ID into the horse’s mane or tail. If owners cannot access tags, using animal approved oil paint sticks work great for writing phone numbers on the animals hide.
Where do I Keep my Animals?
The larger livestock (horses, cattle, sheep, goats) do well turned out in a field with high ground, they will use their survival instincts if the storm hits. Smaller livestock (sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, rabbits) do well in pens/structures to keep them safe. These are best recommendations; however, owners know their animals better than anyone, and should use their judgement on a case-by-case basis.
What Paperwork do I Need to Have?
Records for your animals are vital in storm situations. Owners should have updated health records on hand containing vaccination logs for all animals and Coggins papers for horses. Including breeding and expense reports for all livestock is important for insurance purposes. It is best to keep records in a waterproof bag or storage box where they are easy to locate. If your animals require specific medications, it is important that they are easy to access, stay dry, and stay at the appropriate temperate range per the label.
How do I Prep Food and Water?
Have feed and water accessible during and after a large storm or hurricane. Feed and supply stores might not be open for days following a storm. The best way to prepare is to purchase feed and supplies you might need for a week for all livestock. Another aspect to think about is having no electricity to power wells for water. There are multiple ways to prep for this including filling water tanks and extra tubs/buckets you might have; another option is designate one generator powerful enough to power one well for water distribution.
As they say, “you can never be too prepared”. Usage of check lists and guidelines aid producers to ensure they have thought of all supplies and needs for their livestock. UF/IFAS has provided links to farm + livestock preparedness and checklists owners can access below. If you need assistance please contact micah.gallagher@ufl.edu.
Disaster Preparation & Recovery:
https://disaster.ifas.ufl.edu/agriculture–livestock/
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