necattle
Member
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2012
- Messages
- 18
- Reaction score
- 28
Livestock health is of utmost importance to all of us. Adding vinegar to water supply is becoming increasing popular due to vinegar clears murky water is ponds and dam scenarios, is believed to help calves gain in summer months, and the vinegar smell definately decreases fly's desire to infest cowherds. I have found this to be absolutely right on. I started with vinegar to begin the all organic process.
The second is clean water. I have removed all windmills and installed solar wells with grundfos sqf 11 AC/DC pumps with the upgraded controler that utilizes a float so there is no over flow. This sqf 11 produces 11 gallons per minute and even pumps a little in snow storms! They are cheaper than a new windmill and no more climbing and potentially falling for aging ranchers. "Too many of us."
This will water 250 head of cow calf pairs in the hottest two weeks of the year. No more moving cattle in the early morning because the wind has not been blowing for 2-3 days.
Lastly, by letting the cattle drink down in the wintertime to a half tank of water, we manually turn on the pump and when we go to feed in the morning we turn the well on first thing. By the time we are done the well has pumped 11 gallons per minute of 52 degree water on top of the ice.
We have not chopped ice since the solar wells have gone in.
One last tip, I do not know why but by bottoming out the pump in the well and raising it 4 ft means the chance of running a well dry when you first fire up the well works great due to recharge of the well with a faster pumping well can shut the pump down until the water recharges. This for us has gone away after a few days when it does happen, never to happen again. But what we have found is that with two wells, one pumping at a shallower distance versus the deeper solar well is so popular with the cattle they all virtually go to the solar well. This must mean the water is sweeter tasting pumping from the deeper location of the water. Both wells originally the same depth.
I lied, without the water overflow due to the float turning off the water when it is full means weight gain. When it gets hot our angus cattle would hole up in the ponding over flow which is dirty water. Calves can not suck cows during the day, the cows are not grazing, and they don't graze as far away as they could with limited grazing hours meaning the pasture does not get evenly grazed.
Good water equals Great Herd Health!
First Solar Well. Solar Panels $250, Grundfos Pump n float $1900, Continuous panels $200, Misc suplies equals $3500 for solar well. New tank not included. Solar Well guys are very expensive and have a very large profit on solar right now, at least in Ne versus a windmill. By selling my old windmill and motor, I received $1500 for it and with depreciation on the new improvement the new well ran me under $2000. It actually was less than that form me because I had contacts and did the solar well for $2950. Hope this helps on water and herd health.
My first post guys and gals.
Sioux Angus
Gary
The second is clean water. I have removed all windmills and installed solar wells with grundfos sqf 11 AC/DC pumps with the upgraded controler that utilizes a float so there is no over flow. This sqf 11 produces 11 gallons per minute and even pumps a little in snow storms! They are cheaper than a new windmill and no more climbing and potentially falling for aging ranchers. "Too many of us."
This will water 250 head of cow calf pairs in the hottest two weeks of the year. No more moving cattle in the early morning because the wind has not been blowing for 2-3 days.
Lastly, by letting the cattle drink down in the wintertime to a half tank of water, we manually turn on the pump and when we go to feed in the morning we turn the well on first thing. By the time we are done the well has pumped 11 gallons per minute of 52 degree water on top of the ice.
We have not chopped ice since the solar wells have gone in.
One last tip, I do not know why but by bottoming out the pump in the well and raising it 4 ft means the chance of running a well dry when you first fire up the well works great due to recharge of the well with a faster pumping well can shut the pump down until the water recharges. This for us has gone away after a few days when it does happen, never to happen again. But what we have found is that with two wells, one pumping at a shallower distance versus the deeper solar well is so popular with the cattle they all virtually go to the solar well. This must mean the water is sweeter tasting pumping from the deeper location of the water. Both wells originally the same depth.
I lied, without the water overflow due to the float turning off the water when it is full means weight gain. When it gets hot our angus cattle would hole up in the ponding over flow which is dirty water. Calves can not suck cows during the day, the cows are not grazing, and they don't graze as far away as they could with limited grazing hours meaning the pasture does not get evenly grazed.
Good water equals Great Herd Health!
First Solar Well. Solar Panels $250, Grundfos Pump n float $1900, Continuous panels $200, Misc suplies equals $3500 for solar well. New tank not included. Solar Well guys are very expensive and have a very large profit on solar right now, at least in Ne versus a windmill. By selling my old windmill and motor, I received $1500 for it and with depreciation on the new improvement the new well ran me under $2000. It actually was less than that form me because I had contacts and did the solar well for $2950. Hope this helps on water and herd health.
My first post guys and gals.
Sioux Angus
Gary
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