Installing auto waters and bulls

[BAR_R]

I will be installing a few Ritchie waterers and I was thinking about the bull's propensity to want to push and try to roll anything less massive than a tree. Not to mention the rubbing on any vertical surface they can find. So my question is should I install wood or steel posts on either side of the water to help bare the brunt of the rubbing?

I know the units must be strong due to the nature of their location but they are plastic and the bulls are large (one bull in each pen where the water will go.)

Thanks

 

[mitch2]

We installed our waterers on the outside of the fence. On both sides of the waterer we used old utility poles for the posts and used a metal cross-arm across the two posts above where they would stick their head through and then a metal cross-arm at the height of the waterer. The waterer is also bolted to a cement pad.

No problems to date.

Michele

 

[pdfangus]

We have several in and never have had any porblem.

I have assisted many farmers with layout and design and water trough installation and do not know of any problems.

I have never observed my bulls even butting at ours and I have one that is in the bull lot.

Our State BCIA bull test has them as well but they are in corners in the barn. More likely to have a bull shoved up on top of em than anything else but they endure.

 

[Nowland Farms]

I have 2 fountain waters bolted to concrete pads. I don't run a bull now (all AI) but I did not have any problems when I did have a bull. Of course my Black Angus bull was about as laid back as they come.

 

[SRBeef]

I don't want to say anything negative about a Ritchie, I have no experience with them. A lot of WI dairy operations have one outside the barn next to the wall.

For durability however I would suggest you look into a concrete waterer. I have one from Petersen in Iowa. It weighs 875 lb and has worked very well even though the temperatures were near -30 deg F a couple mornings this last winter.

Cattle do seem to rub on everything. I did put some posts up next to it but these are to add a cattle panel divider down the middle for after weaning so two pastures can come to the same waterer.

There are a couple different companies making concrete waterers. These should be put on a 4" high concrete pad about 12" bigger than the waterer base all the way around. You don't bolt these down ( I hate drilling a lot of holes in concrete) just set them on a good grade of roofing flashing adhesive. Just another suggestion. They will not push this one around. Good luck.

Here is the Petersen website: http://www.petersenwaterers.com I use the model 34C.

Here is the "northern climate" base prep work before setting the waterer on top. I put the roof flashing cement all around for about 2" just inside the line.

 

[Bez+]

Sink some two inch pipe all around it - or go from Ritchie to a full concrete waterer - either way works

Best to you

Bez+

 

[dyates]

Bull won't hurt 'em. Horses chewing on them is much more destructive than a bull will be. After many years of service, the plastic will deteriorate in sunlight and crack. Once the cracking starts, replace the top before winter. Once soaked, the insulation is useless.

 

[I luv herfrds]

Replaced both Ritchie waterers on our place with Hoskins. The Ritchies were pretty old and were starting to freeze in the winter, even with 2 heating elements in them.
We really like our new ones. We placed them in the center of the corral fence, so there is water on each side. Only problem we have had is the float sticking open. The one in the upper corral had the water half freeze a couple of years ago. I believe they said the windchill was -40 that night.

 

[BAR_R]

Thanks for all the info. I will put it to good use!!