How to provide the right amount of water for your cattle

If you were to ask any producer about which nutrients they are concerned with chances are they would tell you protein, energy, and minerals. Now while these are important there is another that is just as important: water. Ensuring that cattle have an adequate amount of clean water is necessary for them to function.

Water is an essential part of life. A certain amount of water is needed for growth, fetal development, lactation, and overall production.

However, providing the right amount of water to your herd requires more than just putting some troughs out. It will take a little bit of planning on your part and some basic understanding of cattle’s needs and habits. Being able to get it right will ensure that you get the maximum output from this most necessary resource.

Importance of Water

As I mentioned earlier water is an essential nutrient in order for any living thing, including cattle, to survive. They require a certain amount in order for things to run as they should.

But how much water does a cow need anyways?

A cow’s water intake requirement can vary based on a few different factors. You can see in the table to the left things like the amount of milk being produced will affect it. The outside temperature (obviously) can have an effect on water consumption.

In many studies, including one from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, a cow’s water intake can vary from 3 to 30 gallons a day depending on certain factors. Some of the factors that can affect this are their size(weight), age, and stage of production along with the weather.

One important thing to remember is that the water must also be clean as well as abundantly available. Any dirty or contaminated water, like algae, can increase the chances of them getting sick.

If you are having any questions about the water you have your local county extension office can help. The local NRCS office can also help with this. They will have information on setting up certain structures to have the least environmental impact.

Monitor their intake

Surface water is often the main source of water for cattle in the pasture. Since it is a water source that means if the weather is dry enough it can dry it up. This can be remedied if a live water tape is near your fill tanks. If you do not have a live tap then either moving cattle out of the pasture or hauling water may be your only option for the short term.

If you are thinking hauling water will be easy let me warn you of that. Keep in mind that a cow will drink 20 gallons and calves will drink 5 to 8 gallons per day. I don’t know about you but that is a lot of water that will need to be hauled and to top it off you can’t let it run out. A cow can go a couple of days without water which is not really the issue here. The issue comes in trampled calves at the tanks when you start dumping fresh water. If you are going to be hauling water then you will need to do it in advance of the naturally supplied water running out. This gives the cows a chance to establish their pecking order before it becomes a dire situation.

What size trough do I need?

Now that you have an idea of how much water your cows will need. You will need to think about how that water will be delivered. Stock tanks are a popular choice but they do have some drawbacks. For one it is more likely the water can get contaminated with the cows hanging out in it. Plus it is a little unnecessary, as well as expensive, to have one dug for every place that it is needed.

A water trough is generally a good idea but there are some things that will need to be taken into account when picking which one to use.

The size of the trough that will be needed will depend on the number of animals in the pasture for sure. But you will also need to factor in how far apart from each other they are. Water troughs being too far apart will make going to get a drink more of a social event. Cows do not like to travel anywhere that is out of sight of the others. So the entire herd will go to it at the same time.

Group activity factor

When a group activity occurs then the tank should be able to hold 25% of the total daily intake and it should allow for 5% to 10% of the animals to drink at the same time. If the troughs are close enough then it should allow 2% to 4% of the total herd. As with figuring bunk space, you will want there to be about 2 feet of room for each animal that will be drinking at any time.

Another thing to think about is the amount of time it would take the trough to fill back up again. In a group activity, you will want the trough to fill completely back up within an hour. On the occasion that only a small amount will be showing up to get a drink then a refill time of about 4 hours could work.

How many troughs do I need?

Studies have shown, like that with the NRCS, that cattle tend to graze less than 600 to 900 feet from any water source they have. So when figuring out how many you need plan on the cows not having to go any further distance. When the troughs are too far apart then some areas of the pasture will be underutilized.

I talk about how you can use certain supplements in order to improve the grazing distribution here.

On a side note: the troughs should be made of material that will be expected to last at least 10 years. Concrete is a popular choice that does seem to hold up well. Used tractor tires are also popular but be sure to clean the inside thoroughly before you use them. Also, place the trough on a solid pad (such as concrete or gravel) that is 6 to 8 feet in radius from the trough. This will prevent any mud from being formed around it that could end up causing a problem like hoof rot.