Hail and Bruising in Cattle

Sep 26, 2025

By Addie Stamps

This year many areas in South Dakota are becoming acquainted with heavy rains and severe weather after years of drought. While we cannot put up a protective bubble for severe weather over our operations (no matter how badly we wish that technology existed sometimes), there are some things to keep in mind when severe weather strikes.

Mud

Cattle producers are no strangers to dealing with mud in pastures, dry lots, and around the operation. It is not only a headache to deal with but also can affect cattle performance. For our cattle in the feedlot, muddy and wet pen conditions can affect cattle performance and health. Hoof health comes of great concern as increased levels of moisture can impact hoof integrity. Bacteria and other infectious microorganisms can take hold and cause illnesses like foot rot or digital dermatitis. When mud depth reaches above 4 inches, we may see decrease performance in our herds as animal’s feed intake dips and energy maintenance costs rise. When we see decreased feed efficiency, we increase our cost of gain for that particular pen of cattle.

You may be asking yourself, I know muddy pen conditions are not good for my cattle but what can we do about muddy conditions in our pens? Providing bedding within the pen will give cattle a place to rest that is dry and comfortable. It is critical to place these in high places, or in areas where there is less mud to prevent making more of a mess within the pen. Additionally, placing these away from concrete aprons edges will be helpful in pen maintenance once things dry up. If you cannot spread the bedding out, placing the whole bales on the ground will be sufficient as cattle will be able to tear apart the bales. If you have concrete aprons in your pens near feed and water sources, keeping those clean and clear will give cattle another opportunity to get out of wet and muddy areas.

Source : sdstate.edu

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