The Good and Bad of Mud

When we are raising livestock, mud can be both friend and foe. When it has been dry, mud is a sign of some much needed relief. When mud seems to be a constant, it can be a hiding place for a lot of problems. Having the right amount of mud at the right time is what we would like to see. 

Mud is our friend mostly during the dry and hot times of summer. Mud is one of the most basic ways to maintain or treat dried and cracked hooves on your livestock project. Hooves are made of keratin the same protein that is in our fingernails and toenails. In hot and dry conditions, hooves lacking adequate moisture can begin to crack and split. This cracking and splitting can lead to an open invitation to infections in the hoof and foot. It can also create soreness as the hoof becomes tender. You can use hoof conditioners to treat the dry hooves or you can simply create a little mud. I like to overflow stock tanks and create muddy spots animals must stand in to drink. Animals will come to drink several times a day and standing in the mud can act as a natural hoof conditioner and help to maintain moisture in the hoof. The key is to keep the area slightly muddy where it does not dry out, but not so muddy animals sink in above the hoof. Muddy areas should also be areas free of manure. Muddy manure can invite some pretty nasty bacteria, fungi and viruses to hide and wait to attack a healthy foot. 

Veterinarian checking a hoof for infection.

For your swine project, mud is a great skin conditioner, sunscreen and insect repellent. If you have been taught to keep pigs clean and mud will stain white skin, that is correct. But the upside of mud for pigs is it helps lock moisture into their skin. Think about people who go to a spa and get a mud facial. It works the same way for pigs. A layer of mud and the dirt it leaves behind when it dries, is a great sunscreen and insect repellent. It coats the skin and filters sunlight helping prevent sunburns. It also can provide a layer of protection from biting insects like flies.

A pig enjoying a mud wallow.

Mud can be a foe when there is too much. Wet winters can be the worst at making and keeping mud. Low temperatures and a lack of sunlight prevent mud from drying out and it seems like mud never goes away. Even though hooves need moisture, too much can cause hooves to become soft and instead of cracking, they can tear or become sensitive. Softer hooves also allow bacteria, fungi and viruses in the environment to get into the hoof and foot creating infections. 

Excess mud attached to wool and hair adds extra weight on and animal. In the cattle industry, mud attached above the legs on the body is called a tag. Large amounts of tag mud can actually reduce a calf’s rate of gain in a feedlot so think about what it can do to your show project. 

Feeder calves with tag (mud).
Photo Credit: ag.ndsu.edu

Controlling mud is the key to making it your friend and not your foe. Design animal pens where moisture can drain away and allow them to dry out. Provide a dry place for animals to rest out of the mud during wet weather conditions. When it dries out, provide a place for some mud to be created for animals to stand in or for pigs to wallow in. If you can control when and where mud is available, it can be a great help to your livestock projects.

Scott Stinnett

Area Extension Agent

Kit Carson County

Golden Plains Area

Colorado State University Extension