Footage filmed by local news crews showed the creatures chest deep, unable to move and clearly in some distress in Muscoy, around 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Los Angeles.
The area, along with large swathes of California, has been pummelled by weeks of near record-breaking rain that has left the ground sodden.
Video from San Bernardino County Fire Department showed rescuers wading through the mud and using a skid steer -- a rigid sheet -- to haul the creatures free.
Specialists were on hand to help deal with the 17 animals -- horses, cows and bulls -- during a five-hour operation, the department said on Twitter.
The rescue, on Wednesday, came as a rare tornado raked a city east of Los Angeles.
Video on social media showed the funnel of wind ripping off roofs and hurling debris into the air.
At least one person was hurt in the tornado -- a sometimes-violent weather event usually associated with the US Midwest -- and 11 buildings were declared uninhabitable in the city of Montebello.
California has endured a difficult winter, with a seemingly never-ending train of storms tracking in from the Pacific Ocean and dumping trillion of gallons (liters) of water.
The rain -- which has turned to very heavy snow over mountain areas -- has toppled trees and caused landslides that have blocked roads and damaged homes.
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