WITH MORE sub-zero temperatures forecast, farmers have been warned not to give too much water to cattle which have been deprived of it for a time as it can kill them.
A number of farmers lost cattle in the freeze of 2009-2010 when they did not prevent cattle drinking too much water when supplies came on stream again.
One Co Tipperary farmer lost 20 animals this way. There was also an unconfirmed report that a farmer lost more than a dozen cattle when they fell through ice when he opened a drinking place for them at a local lake.
Prof Patrick Wall, a veterinary surgeon and a medical doctor, said allowing cattle to drink too much water after a time without it is very dangerous.
“Cattle, especially milking cows, need enormous amounts of water daily and they have to have access to it at all times,” he said.
This was not possible when pipes and water supplies froze on farms and sometimes animals were left without.
“Allowing them to drink too much after being without can kill them or make them seriously ill with digestive problems. This has to be carefully monitored,” Prof Wall said.
The associate professor of public health in the UCD school of public health and population said the weather had also created difficulties in the hygiene area.
“Huge amounts of clean water are required to keep transport and bulk tankers clean and there have been difficulties there. Fortunately, the low temperatures meant it was very difficult for the bug to multiply but it does impact on the quality of the milk.”
Jackie Cahill, president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, said dairy farmers in particular had just come through what could only be described as “solid hardship”.
“The problems with having no water when pipes froze and with continuing restrictions, made life very difficult indeed,” he said.
Co Offaly farmer Aidan Larkin said the lack of water had been the most difficult obstacle for farmers.
“A lot of farmers stopped feeding concentrate feed to their animals to lower their demand for water and fed only silage and hay if they had it,” he said.
Both Mr Larkin, the Irish Farmers’ Association former chairman in Co Offaly, and Mr Cahill said another major problem had emerged in recent weeks when diesel began to freeze. “Every second tractor in the country seemed to get hit with fuel freezing. That meant double trouble for the farmer who really needed the tractor at that time,” said Mr Cahill.
He said farmers who had ordered stocks of fuel from suppliers before October had been badly hit. “Some of the suppliers do not put anti-freeze into summer supplies and farmers who stocked up for the winter early, got caught,” he said.
Cattle farmers were also warned to exercise vigilance where their cattle had access to lakes and ponds which had frozen during the cold spell.
It follows the case in late December of several farm animals drowning after straying on to a frozen lake in Killykeen Forest Park in Cavan. It is understood up to six cattle perished when the lake’s ice broke under them.
A spokesperson for Cavan County Council said the recovery operation could not take place until it was safe.