cattle without water

tedandbetty · 07-01-2010 4:02pm #1

how long can cattle go (only getting silage) without water?
every pipe i have is frozen. they are fine at the moment but they have no water for the last week.

vanderbadger · 07-01-2010 4:09pm

tedandbetty wrote: »

how long can cattle go (only getting silage) without water?
every pipe i have is frozen. they are fine at the moment but they have no water for the last week.

jees a week is a long time, better get a few barrells and head for the river id say

whelan1 · 07-01-2010 4:32pm

a week ffs how would you like to be with out water for a week , we are spending most of our days giving out water at the moment

adne · 07-01-2010 4:38pm

tedandbetty wrote: »

how long can cattle go (only getting silage) without water?
every pipe i have is frozen. they are fine at the moment but they have no water for the last week.

Are you tking the michael...... a week.... water is as important as fodder......

tedandbetty · 07-01-2010 4:59pm

adne wrote: »

Are you tking the michael...... a week.... water is as important as fodder......

easy there guys, i am not stupid and know how important that water is for cattle.
we are closely watching the cattle and the perfectly healthy at the moment.
this is ot the first time we have had water issues but it certainly the longest it has gone on for. any time it went in the past it came back within a few days however there is no break this time.

DanFindy · 07-01-2010 5:34pm

Ah for f**k sake how the hell would u know if the cattle are in the early stages of dehydration??? I know wet silage is fine(well not perfect by any means on its own as it has a high water content but if its diet feeder or they are getting meals they will be mad with the thirst, wait till u go with water to them and see how they will go mad for it, Christ sake man get a slurry tanker of water or put a few barrels on a trailer and draw it to them :eek:

MI5 · 07-01-2010 5:36pm

I have 12 dry cows in open slatted shed, on silage alone. I have water supply to a near by shed which is well buried coming into the shed, and I have the pipe coming out of the ground in the shed well insulated plus 2 light bulbs hanging near, to prevent freezing.
So I am filling up the 3 seperate 20gal troughs in the slatted shed feed passage from this supply. With the cold weather, they do for not such an amount of water as they would in normal temps. It's averaging 2 gals a head per day. Silage is baled and one day wilted in good weather.
Then I have one single calved cow, with 2 month old calf sucking her in another shed. She on silage and nuts. Between cow and calf, they easily drink 10 gals a day.
Have a mate with cows in 2 bay double shed. Old shed, fairly low roof compared to modern sheds. Cows drink a lot more water than mine in the open shed. I guess cows in closed shed lose water in hotter environment and some level of perspiration.

Tipp Man · 07-01-2010 5:38pm

Wow some way OTT reaction there, cattle not getting nuts can go a fair while without water, especially if the silage is any way moist at all

Some of ours were without water for 6 days so left them to the river and all they did was f##k around, drank barely 2 mouthfuls between them

Having said that a week is about as far as we'd go, you'd want to think about getting some water to them fairly soon, purely because there is no end in sight to this freeze, could easily be another week before it thaws and then there will be breaks in pipes etc

If you can't get animals to a river or stream i'd say get someone to wash out their vacuum tank and draw some to them. Don't worry they are never as thirsty as all their messing about makes you think

tedandbetty · 07-01-2010 5:43pm

thanks for that MI5 that a lot more useful then name calling as other posters have.
Dan as i said i am not stupid - they are on wet silage and getting no meal what so ever.
and the proof of no dehydration is that i witenssed cows pass water as normal. and i would not bring water to them in a slurry tank as it would be bound to get contaminated. after all would you drink your own crap?
i would rather run them all to a river even if it was more work then a slurry tank of water.

some people should find out the fact and not go presuming i am meal feeding cattle without water.

tedandbetty · 07-01-2010 5:45pm

Tipp Man wrote: »

Wow some way OTT reaction there, cattle not getting nuts can go a fair while without water, especially if the silage is any way moist at all

Some of ours were without water for 6 days so left them to the river and all they did was f##k around, drank barely 2 mouthfuls between them

Having said that a week is about as far as we'd go, you'd want to think about getting some water to them fairly soon, purely because there is no end in sight to this freeze, could easily be another week before it thaws and then there will be breaks in pipes etc

If you can't get animals to a river or stream i'd say get someone to wash out their vacuum tank and draw some to them. Don't worry they are never as thirsty as all their messing about makes you think

thanks Tipp man now that more of the answer i wanted.

Tipp Man · 07-01-2010 5:48pm

tedandbetty wrote: »

thanks for that MI5 that a lot more useful then name calling as other posters have.
Dan as i said i am not stupid - they are on wet silage and getting no meal what so ever.
and the proof of no dehydration is that i witenssed cows pass water as normal. and i would not bring water to them in a slurry tank as it would be bound to get contaminated. after all would you drink your own crap?
i would rather run them all to a river even if it was more work then a slurry tank of water.

some people should find out the fact and not go presuming i am meal feeding cattle without water.

If the tanker is washed out properly then its not a problem, we regularly do this during the summer when the council turn off the water because they haven't spent a penny on it in 25 years. The tanker just needs a good was

I wouldn't drink my own urine but you'd often see cows do it:D

greysides · 07-01-2010 7:39pm

Sounds like a use for a disused bulk tank.

mossfort · 07-01-2010 10:46pm

were using an ibc tank on the front loader.
we just fill it with a tap and put some troughs in front of the barriers.
you just have to drive along and open the valve to release the water and just turn the ibc around to do the other side .
its a very quick way of doing the job.

twincamman · 07-01-2010 10:52pm

just take up a few drums or barrels or whatever you have full of water.and fill there tank .no more about it.

maidhc · 07-01-2010 11:34pm

Sorted water for our cattle yesterday. It was their first time drinking since friday night and they drank so little it made me wonder was it worth my while. They are only on baled silage, and some of the stuff they are getting is a little wet.

There is a bit on it in todays farmers journal. Basically it seemed to say if you are stuck just feed silage, not ration and definately not molasses.

djmc · 08-01-2010 12:27am

After spending a day trying to defrost frozen pipes without sucess I got a new roll of pipe from co op and conected it to the pipe coming out of the pump straight into the slatted house and a pipe coming out again with a tap on it left on half way.
easier than drawing water and after the big freeze is over I will conect the old system back and keep the new roll for something else.
I think cows could go without water on silage for a long time but that dosent make it right though

adne · 08-01-2010 10:12am

Tipp Man wrote: »

Wow some way OTT reaction there, cattle not getting nuts can go a fair while without water, especially if the silage is any way moist at all

Some of ours were without water for 6 days so left them to the river and all they did was f##k around, drank barely 2 mouthfuls between them

Having said that a week is about as far as we'd go, you'd want to think about getting some water to them fairly soon, purely because there is no end in sight to this freeze, could easily be another week before it thaws and then there will be breaks in pipes etc

If you can't get animals to a river or stream i'd say get someone to wash out their vacuum tank and draw some to them. Don't worry they are never as thirsty as all their messing about makes you think

you are clueless...... water is frozen in my shed and i am drawing water to them once a day... they are going crazy for it..... a week..... cop on lad

adne · 08-01-2010 10:17am

maidhc wrote: »

Sorted water for our cattle yesterday. It was their first time drinking since friday night and they drank so little it made me wonder was it worth my while. They are only on baled silage, and some of the stuff they are getting is a little wet.

There is a bit on it in todays farmers journal. Basically it seemed to say if you are stuck just feed silage, not ration and definately not molasses.

there is a danger of twisted gut when letting cattle go along time without water and then giving them as much as they can drink

Tipp Man · 08-01-2010 10:33am

adne wrote: »

you are clueless...... water is frozen in my shed and i am drawing water to them once a day... they are going crazy for it..... a week..... cop on lad

well it depends completly on what your feeding them, dry ration maize etc then obviously they will be thirsty, damp to wet silage much less thirsty

If you think cows can't go one day without water in dry cold weather then you my friend are the clueless 1, but still at least your kept busy

adne · 08-01-2010 12:05pm

Tipp Man wrote: »

well it depends completly on what your feeding them, dry ration maize etc then obviously they will be thirsty, damp to wet silage much less thirsty

If you think cows can't go one day without water in dry cold weather then you my friend are the clueless 1, but still at least your kept busy

Regardless of the feed the cattle are on If you think letting cattle (especially cows) go 6 days without water has no adverse affect on them and is good husbandry.... you should consider another possibly planting your land and getting into forestry

:D:p

sobs · 08-01-2010 12:53pm

Moonbaby wrote: »

Well if your not stupid, the only other option is your a heartless bastard.
Find someone who has running water. And draw it to them.

Thats a bit harsh. None of us know the full story. I am in a similar position. The only access I have to my farm at the moment is on foot as it is up a steep hill. Had to buy over 600 meters of half inch piping yesterday to get water to them.

whelan1 · 08-01-2010 1:02pm

sobs wrote: »

Thats a bit harsh. None of us know the full story. I am in a similar position. The only access I have to my farm at the moment is on foot as it is up a steep hill. Had to buy over 600 meters of half inch piping yesterday to get water to them.

we did the same and the fecking thing is frozen solid this morning - took 4 hours to do the milking this morning - its just crazy

vanderbadger · 08-01-2010 1:13pm

im using those a good few of those garden hoses on the reels, hozzlelock or whatever they are called, you can connect a fully extended hose into the next reel and keep going, when troughts full I wind them up again and leave them in the boiler house for the night, its apain in the ass but its the only way to stop them freezing again and its beats bucketing water all the time

whelan1 · 08-01-2010 1:17pm

yes lesson learned from yesterday but i think last night was the coldest yet , milk pump was even frozen over this morning and the milk filter was frozen solid in the machine too - the joys of farming:rolleyes:

DanFindy · 08-01-2010 1:47pm

vanderbadger wrote: »

im using those a good few of those garden hoses on the reels, hozzlelock or whatever they are called, you can connect a fully extended hose into the next reel and keep going, when troughts full I wind them up again and leave them in the boiler house for the night, its apain in the ass but its the only way to stop them freezing again and its beats bucketing water all the time

Smart move there

snowman707 · 08-01-2010 2:05pm

adne wrote: »

there is a danger of twisted gut when letting cattle go along time without water and then giving them as much as they can drink

yes remember reading about , seems it can cause a lot of problems,

stock appear happy when the water comes back it's a different story,

- 7.5 C here this morning , troughs in the lambing pens frozen

drawing between 4 to 500 gallons a day in an old mobile milk tank filling it with a pto pump , lifts it with loader and fills the troughs by gravity

messy but waht can one do !

tvo · 08-01-2010 3:32pm

"how long can cattle go (only getting silage) without water?
every pipe i have is frozen. they are fine at the moment but they have no water for the last week. "
fill a bucket of water and walk into the pen if you get out unhurt they re ok

networks · 08-01-2010 3:32pm

jeez go easy on him lads,im feeding round bales of gud silage which has brown water dripping out of it(baled in early june/perfect conditions)?? and they dont go to water trough all even tho its full of water and ballcock frozen

whelan1 · 08-01-2010 4:25pm

i dont think they drink as much ice cold water as they would normal water iykwim

tedandbetty · 08-01-2010 4:26pm

tvo wrote: »

"how long can cattle go (only getting silage) without water?
every pipe i have is frozen. they are fine at the moment but they have no water for the last week. "
fill a bucket of water and walk into the pen if you get out unhurt they re ok

TVO - if you read it properly you would have seen that "EVERY" pipe I have is frozen including the one at the top off the well so getting a bucket of water is just not possible.

adne · 08-01-2010 5:13pm

networks wrote: »

jeez go easy on him lads,im feeding round bales of gud silage which has brown water dripping out of it(baled in early june/perfect conditions)?? and they dont go to water trough all even tho its full of water and ballcock frozen

they wont touch icy water

Ginja Ninja · 08-01-2010 5:26pm

All I can say is wow, never expected this reaction,lads.

It depends on how wet your silage is/what kind of animals you're feeding[Cows might only want water every 2-3 days on moist silage]Weanlings on meal will need a fairly constant supply.

Make sure they get a drink twice a week at the very,very least. And be careful giving them water the first time after a drought,they'll have a tendency to drink too much and bloat.If you haven't get water to them NOW and maybe try and insulate the pipe coming out of the well,it'll take some of the pressure off the pump rising it and it should last a lot longer.

irish_bob · 08-01-2010 8:36pm

whelan1 wrote: »

we did the same and the fecking thing is frozen solid this morning - took 4 hours to do the milking this morning - its just crazy

heres a few ideas that might be worth putting into practive , place red bulbs over the milk line in the parlour , one every two units should suffice , you need to wire up bulb holders and wire a plug to each end ( that or buy an entire infa red unit for each ) and simply plug them all into a lead , screw something into the ceiling so they can hang down over each unit ( relay )

as for the milk pump , place a gas heater in front of it and leave it on the whole night , costly on gas i know but anything is better than thawing out a plant each and every morning

pakalasa · 08-01-2010 11:00pm

Guys, the proper way to deal with frozen pipes long term is "Trace Heating."
This is a long rubber strip that you cable tie onto a pipe. It has 2 copper wires that run inside the rubber. You plug it in and it gives off a very small amount of heat, something like 60w per metre length. I've used these before at work (off farm) and they work fine.

I know it's a bit late now, it might not freeze for another few years

but I thought I'd show it anyway. We got ours from a company in the UK but I think ATC in Dublin have them now. You could set them off a thermostat so that they come on automatically. Of course insulation should be wrapped around the whole lot also.

This explains it -
http://www.traceheatinguk.co.uk/trace-heating/getting-started/step1.htm

mossfort · 08-01-2010 11:32pm

pakalasa wrote: »

Guys, the proper way to deal with frozen pipes long term is "Trace Heating."
This is a long rubber strip that you cable tie onto a pipe. It has 2 copper wires that run inside the rubber. You plug it in and it gives off a very small amount of heat, something like 60w per metre length. I've used these before at work (off farm) and they work fine.

I know it's a bit late now, it might not freeze for another few years but I thought I'd show it anyway. We got ours from a company in the UK but I think ATC in Dublin have them now. You could set them off a thermostat so that they come on automatically. Of course insulation should be wrapped around the whole lot also.

This explains it -
http://www.traceheatinguk.co.uk/trace-heating/getting-started/step1.htm

the only problem with this is where the pipes are frozen under concrete.

yessam · 09-01-2010 10:39am

my water supply is also frozen and i am drawing in water but i am supprised how little they drink. maybe they dont drink much in cold weather. they are eating a lot more in the cold weather

whelan1 · 09-01-2010 11:39am

seems the ones that i am carrying buckets too drink loads while the ones i am feeding with the hose drink feck all:o

BawnArd · 09-01-2010 1:27pm

Just wonder if cattle and cows were let out in field and ate and licked the snow, would that suffice for water????

whelan1 · 09-01-2010 4:43pm

GOT A DRINKER GOING IN THE YARD TODAY YIPEE!!!!! TOOK ME HALF AN HOUR TO COAX THA WATER OUT BUT ITS ALL GOOD:D

DanFindy · 09-01-2010 6:42pm

Prob be froze again tomoro mornin

Ginja Ninja · 09-01-2010 7:44pm

BawnArd wrote: »

Just wonder if cattle and cows were let out in field and ate and licked the snow, would that suffice for water????

technically,yes.I don't think they'd lick enough to keep away their thirst and it'd be very dangerous with regards cooling their already cold bodies

John_F · 09-01-2010 8:04pm

yessam wrote: »

my water supply is also frozen and i am drawing in water but i am supprised how little they drink. maybe they dont drink much in cold weather. they are eating a lot more in the cold weather

was on to our mineral provider the other day , he recommended warm water be given to cows freshly calved so they take in enough, as he says animals wont like icy water, they may be thirsty as hell but and if given warmer water would drink, he is coming across a few held cleanings in cows that are on a balanced diet.

greysides · 09-01-2010 10:43pm

John_F wrote: »

was on to our mineral provider the other day , he recommended warm water be given to cows freshly calved so they take in enough, as he says animals wont like icy water, they may be thirsty as hell but and if given warmer water would drink,

They might not like icy water but I've never seen them drink offered warm water after calving either.

he is coming across a few held cleanings in cows that are on a balanced diet.

So all held cleanings aren't caused by mineral deficiency?:eek:

pakalasa · 10-01-2010 12:05am

This kind of weather isn't tough on cattle. I have cattle in a shed with access to an open yard. Saw them today they were all out in the yard. Their hair is about an inch long too which helps. It's the driving rain they don't like. Once they have enough to eat (and drink) - no problem.

powerfarmer · 10-01-2010 12:40am

pakalasa wrote: »

Guys, the proper way to deal with frozen pipes long term is "Trace Heating."
This is a long rubber strip that you cable tie onto a pipe. It has 2 copper wires that run inside the rubber. You plug it in and it gives off a very small amount of heat, something like 60w per metre length. I've used these before at work (off farm) and they work fine.

I know it's a bit late now, it might not freeze for another few years but I thought I'd show it anyway. We got ours from a company in the UK but I think ATC in Dublin have them now. You could set them off a thermostat so that they come on automatically. Of course insulation should be wrapped around the whole lot also.

This explains it -
http://www.traceheatinguk.co.uk/trace-heating/getting-started/step1.htm

I've seen them use trace heating on mains water pipes in Norway , and have fitted it myself to heat pipes containing liquid sugar and chocolate and other weird stuff..... Very effective.

whelan1 · 10-01-2010 11:07am

DanFindy wrote: »

Prob be froze again tomoro mornin

not frozen today

John_F · 10-01-2010 1:33pm

greysides wrote: »

They might not like icy water but I've never seen them drink offered warm water after calving either.

So all held cleanings aren't caused by mineral deficiency?:eek:

obviosly not straight after pushing out the calf :rolleyes: but cows do drink water after calving specially if the calf is taken away,

i'm only passing on the message, but i presume if a cow isn't getting enough water then the minerals cannot be passed as easy through the intestinal wall, and aswell shes more than likely not happy, and using energy to keep her body warm and other processes will sacrifice

Role of water : 1. Brain is 75% water. Moderate dehydration can cause headaches and dizziness

2. Water is required for expiration

3. Regulates body temperature

4. Carries nutrients and oxygen to all cells in the body

5. Blood is 92% water

6. Moistens oxygen for breathing

7. Protects and cushions vital organs

8. Helps to convert food into energy

9. Helps body absorb nutrients

10. Removes waste

11. Bones are 22% water

12. Muscles are 75% water

13. Cushions joints

Clare Bear · 10-01-2010 4:51pm

My brother is travelling a mile every day back and forth a few times with barrels of water for his cattle. I wouldn't let them go any longer than a couple of days without water. Yes they can survive without for a bit longer but it wouldn't hurt to bring them a few barrels surely. And don't give them any ration while they're without water, just silage. Hope the water problem gets sorted soon for you all.

pakalasa · 10-01-2010 5:10pm

....I thought that if I got sick somewhere like Kenya it'd be like Oh my God...

We need a laugh in this weather..

dar31 · 10-01-2010 5:50pm

I have 65 spring heifers out on kale and silage(wet ish), the water to the paddocks was turned off 4 days ago incase of pipes bursting down the feilds, any way the water level of the 300gl through has only droped by 4 inchs in that time. id say that the most ot that drop was due to ice being removed every day. from these observations the heifers have drank little if any water over the peroid wheather they are not keen on the iced water or just dont need it, im not sure

convert · 10-01-2010 5:52pm

If you're completely stuck, try giving them some snow to lick on. Obviously it's not an ideal solution but it would tie them over for a bit to give you a chance to get water for them.

cattle without water

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