Cattle will have an increased demand for drinking water as temperatures rise. Keeping troughs clean will increase water intakes. / Philip Doyle
ADVERTISEMENT
Temperatures are set to rise over the coming days.
As temperatures rise, cattle will need more water and will frequent drinking troughs more often.
Drinking water should be clean and troughs should have a quick refill.
ADVERTISEMENT
Cows that are queuing to drink is a sign that the trough is either too small or too slow to refill with water.
Clean
If drinking water is dirty or the trough is soiled with debris or algae, it should be cleaned out. Dirty water will reduce cattle intakes and, as a result, milk yield and liveweight gain will suffer.
A spring-calving suckler cow with a calf at foot can drink between 50 and 60 litres/day of water.
As temperatures rise above 20C, daily water intakes can increase by another five to 10 litres/cow.
If cattle are being fed concentrate for finishing off grass, meal will also increase the animal’s water intake by around five litres per kilo of meal fed.
This content is available to digital subscribers and loyalty code users only. Sign in to your account, use the code or subscribe to get unlimited access.
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
CODE ACCEPTED
You have full access to the site until next Wednesday at 9pm.
CODE NOT VALID
Please try again or contact support.
Temperatures are set to rise over the coming days.
As temperatures rise, cattle will need more water and will frequent drinking troughs more often.
Drinking water should be clean and troughs should have a quick refill.
Cows that are queuing to drink is a sign that the trough is either too small or too slow to refill with water.
Clean
If drinking water is dirty or the trough is soiled with debris or algae, it should be cleaned out. Dirty water will reduce cattle intakes and, as a result, milk yield and liveweight gain will suffer.
A spring-calving suckler cow with a calf at foot can drink between 50 and 60 litres/day of water.
As temperatures rise above 20C, daily water intakes can increase by another five to 10 litres/cow.
If cattle are being fed concentrate for finishing off grass, meal will also increase the animal’s water intake by around five litres per kilo of meal fed.
If you would like to speak to a member of our team, please call us on 01-4199525.
Link sent to your email address
We have sent an email to your address. Please click on the link in this email to reset your password. If you can't find it in your inbox, please check your spam folder. If you can't find the email, please call us on 01-4199525.
ENTER YOUR LOYALTY CODE:
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
SHARING OPTIONS