Rant!

The ranchers in South Texas may have more than 50k steers spread over as many acres.

I have to agree with Ron.
This is a highly unusual situation in the south, unprecedented I would say.
No rancher would want to lose a single steer if they can help it, I get it with someone owning a dozen or so for meat and milk.

Apples and Oranges.

I doubt if anyone on this forum has ever worked anywhere near the number of cattle I have, or covered the literal miles I have had to cover to do it. My very first job cowboying as a young man in Wyoming was calving over 200 pregnant cows in -25 degrees and snow. The cows were fine, the calves were fine and there was no way to build a barn that big. While I have tremendous respect for my elders on here, and applaud the concern they have for all of nature, animals have lived out in the elements and inclement weather long before man ever domesticated them. They were designed by God to live life as an animal. Treating them as anything else is not practical, natural or doable.

I have certainly never worked cattle, but working on Oklahoma farms in the 70’s where they had cattle also, hauling swinging beef before it went to boxed, I worked in the industry and know that what Dewayne says is spot on.

I grew up around cows my friends own and run cattle yet none of them are reporting frozen cattle. Despite the cool temps it never got cold cold you know -20 -30. No sir cattle are not sheep that you can freeze after the fall shearing but then sheep are born looking for a place to die. Frozen livestock in +20 degree weather

Deer and elk bury themselves deep in brush. At least they do here.

The birds are absolutely going crazy here. They cleaned out the bird feeder days ago. We put a bowl on the front porch and they swarmed it. They made such a mess that we moved it out in the yard today and gave them the last of the seed we had. Don't know what else we can feed them until we can get out. I saw that the were staying up close to the house under bushs and stuff so I leaned some boards around every few feet. I don't think anyone wants to see any animal suffer.
A huge gray heron landed on the frozen pond and wandered around pecking at the ice for about 15 minutes before taking off.

I didn't mention you at all.

Just my 2 cents or less, Live stock I don't worry about, like Dewayne said, God made them to withstand the country he made them for and they were here before we. On the other hand Dogs might have but, after OUR crossbreeding them from wolves many do not have what it takes to stay outside in subfreezing weather or blistering heat. I've always wondered what kind of mentality would leave there dog out in that kind of weather because it seems many here do.I think if you care for and love your pets whether they be for hunting purposes and or as companions you would care enough to keep them from suffering. Even to make a well insulated shelter for them if there not wanted in the house. I don't see it here, most (but not all) treat them as if they were live stock or less. These are the people I believe should do stiff jail sentences (min.1year) and or made to live like the animals they abused. They were made by God for us and we are their caretakers not their torturers. 

Dewayne makes a lot of sense, but there is a but, in a Texas the sun boils you, no shade, you can see cows huddled around scrub mystique trees, shelter doesn’t have to be enclosed , my neighbor has about b40 cows, drives to them in a brand new GMC Denali, no shelter, a lean to to stop the wind 2/3 thousand dollars, yes animals can cope, but again, there is a point when you need compassion . That’s all I was saying, not a tree hugger, have killed and burtchered many a animal. We need to do better.