cows drinking pee

vanderbadger

folks noticed a few of my cows at this lately, drinking pee off the floor in shed, is it a sign of something or some deficiency? they are getting minerals in their water trough now for a while whether they are any use or not, my well water has a bit of sulphur in it but doubt that would be an issue?

reilig

vanderbadger wrote: »

folks noticed a few of my cows at this lately, drinking pee off the floor in shed, is it a sign of something or some deficiency? they are getting minerals in their water trough now for a while whether they are any use or not, my well water has a bit of sulphur in it but doubt that would be an issue?

I noticed the excat same thing myself last weekend. They were just drinking it up off the concrete floor while they didn't do near the clean drinker in the pen. The water to the shed is off mains.

whelan1

i hate seeing this , some people say it is a deficiency of some sort and i think sometimes its just habit

MajorMax

2 Cows 1 cup?

john mayo 10

Noticed it myself last week too but didnt take any heed because it was a heifer that i seen doing it and she was sick for calving so i passed no notice of her doing it

pakalasa

I have cows chewing at the timber in the shed aswell. I'm feeding pre-calver for a few weeks now, so it's hardly mineral deficiency.

Saw a similar thing last night on the news where it showed a fence post eaten away by horses. It was an animal cruelty court case. They were saying that the horses were that hungry, they ate the posts.

reilig

pakalasa wrote: »

Saw a similar thing last night on the news where it showed a fence post eaten away by horses. It was an animal cruelty court case. They were saying that the horses were that hungry, they ate the posts.

We have fellabella ponies and they have eaten the bark of loads of trees and chewed the tops of some of the posts. The feckers are mud fat and will eat more than a cow. The bigest problem that we have is restricting the amount of grass that they get so that they don't get laminitis. I thought it was a deficiency that they had that caused them to chew the posts.

5live

I heard its caused by phosphorous or sodium deficiency. I think isolating the animals doing it and giving access to a salt lick would show sodium deficiency up. And the minerals in the precalving mix might not be sufficient for some of the animals but it would take a complete mineral analysis to establish what if any mineral deficiency would be present

Jack C

Yes, my vet said it was also a salt lick they wanted .

reilig

SLURRY/URINE DRINKING

Persistent drinking of slurry or urine (sometimes drunk directly from other animals) occurs mainly as a herd problem in calved cows wintered indoors or in yards. The problem is more aesthetic than economic, as general herd health and productivity is usually normal. However, as infected urine or slurry can spread infectious agents (such as TB, Salmonella, Leptospira, BVD etc), the vice is undesirable.

CAUSES

The causes are largely unknown. Suggested causes include: metabolic disorders associated with high milk yield and low roughage intake (high quality silage (high DMD) and dairy ration); subclinical ketosis; subclinical acidosis (with craving for alkaline material); mineral deficiency (P, Mg, Na, trace-minerals).
Investigation usually is futile. It has aspects of a learned vice, associated with boredom: once it starts, it usually spreads rapidly through the group. Poor yard drainage, or poor concrete (allowing pooling of effluent, slurry or urine) is usual. Otherwise, there appear to be few etiological factors in common.
One can test blood and/or feed for mineral deficiency (Na, Cu, Co, P, Mg etc) but many cases investigated by us over the past 20 years have failed to confirm any specific deficiency as a main cause.
REMEDIAL ACTIONS: IDENTIFY AND CORRECT THE CAUSES

If detected early (when only a few animals are affected), removal of the culprits to a separate area may prevent the vice from spreading to the rest of the group.
Provision of extra roughage (some straw or hay) and 30% inclusion of pulp (beet- or citrus-) in the concentrate feed, improvement of yard drainage and resurfacing of pitted concrete occasionally helps.
If blood or silage tests indicate Na, P, Mg or trace mineral deficiency, feeding of salt or a high-quality mineral (see below) may be tried. However, salt or high quality mineral mixes, even at high levels, often fail to control the problem.
See the Teagasc Manual on the Control of Mineral Imbalances in Cattle & Sheep, or shorter Web articles on minerals for Cows & Other Cattle, and for Beef Herds.

In spite of the above attempts, it may be difficult or impossible to control slurry/urine drinking until the cows are let out to pasture, when it usually self-cures within days.

http://homepage.eircom.net/~progers/

Phil Rogers MRCVS

5live

Very interesting reilig. The boredom bit is interesting too. Can i claim my sky sports subscription as a business expense to relieve boredom in my cattle and reduce infection transmission?:D

funny man

5live wrote: »

Very interesting reilig. The boredom bit is interesting too. Can i claim my sky sports subscription as a business expense to relieve boredom in my cattle and reduce infection transmission?:D

Put's a whole new meaning to taking the piss!

what happen

i saw my cow drinking her bull calfs pee could it be from the time of the frost and snow and no water in the drinkers.i brought them water but it might not been enough.or would she do it anyhow.

Bodacious

what happen wrote: »

i saw my cow drinking her bull calfs pee could it be from the time of the frost and snow and no water in the drinkers.i brought them water but it might not been enough.or would she do it anyhow.

my sucklers are outwintered and river in land and i've at least one that i've seen lapping/licking bull calf while he pissing so i never took much notice, kind of a mothering thing i thought while he sucking calf only 10 days old though

Butcher Boy

hi pakalasa i think that horse was a wind sucker

Bodacious

Butcher Boy wrote: »

hi pakalasa i think that horse was a wind sucker

??!

Old Perry

how many cows are kept in the pens together and for how along at a time, before you noticed it started happening?

lefthooker

I see a few cows doing this on & off, mainly in this early part of the year. Put out lick blocks or mineral buckets & sorts the problem tho its not a major concern.

pakalasa

Bodacious wrote: »

??!

Don't worry Bodacoius, I had to look it up too.:D
http://www.horseproblems.com.au/problem_horses_and_wind_sucking.htm

Bodacious

pakalasa wrote: »

Don't worry Bodacoius, I had to look it up too.:D
http://www.horseproblems.com.au/problem_horses_and_wind_sucking.htm

Cheers Pakalasa,

We've a clatter of horses here too (not my idea) and know what wind sucking is but still tryng to work out how it relates to a suckler cow drinking urine, my lady that i saw doing it was only licking bull calf in navel area while he suckling and while he peeing so not concerned at all!!