Texas ranchers are scrambling to keep livestock alive during the historic winter storm — with the frigid conditions already killing some cows and other animals.
Ranchers said they are forced to spend long, cold hours breaking up ice in water tanks and on frozen ponds in order to give the animals something to drink.
In Whitesboro, Texas, rancher Austin Miles said he is filling a 300-gallon tank with water from a hose two to three times a day at his parents’ home, then hauling it to the cattle.
“This is extreme for us,” Miles said. “Our infrastructure was just not quite set up for these prolonged cold periods.”
Kaylin Isbell, a rancher in Florence, said a few newborn cows and sheep have already died since they’re vulnerable to the shock of cold upon leaving their mothers’ wombs.
She said her mother-in-law has resorted to taking the newly born sheep into a spare bedroom in her home to keep them
