pond water...

[eric]

I am getting ready to wean a couple of calves and was wondering if there is any advantage to using city water vs. pond water. The pasture I am going to wean them in has a large pond, and they go in there to cool off and have been drinking from it when there are in this pasture, but they also have fresh water available to them in the big pasture. Do I need to supply fresh water in the small pasture or is pond water good enough for them?

 

[D.R. Cattle]

Vaccinate for Lepto if using pond water.

 

[Craig-TX]

Water from a stock tank (pond) is the only water many if not most cattle ever get. Unless the tank is extremely nasty for some reason it won't hurt them.

Craig-TX

 

[dun]

If cows can walk in it, it's nasty. If it's very large, the stuff gets diluted enough that it may not be much of a problem. Around here, most ponds for watering are only a couple of hundred feet square, full of frogs and if fish are put in they're all dead within a month or so. If a dish can't live in it, I'm leery of the cows drinking it. It has to be a witches brew of nasty stuff. Watering from a pond that the cows can't walk/pee/crap/ and whatever else in is a whole different story. Water consumption is much greater from clean wate rthen the green/black slime sources. Water si health.

dun

Water from a stock tank (pond) is the only water many if not most cattle ever get. Unless the tank is extremely nasty for some reason it won't hurt them.

Craig-TX

 

[Tman]

My place borders on the shore of a 600 acre lake and the cows will still come up to the pen to drink fresh water from the trough every afternoon.

 

[Craig-TX]

Fish dying sounds like a reasonable definition of nasty to me. If fish can't thrive in it, it's nasty. Just yesterday we caught a mess of nice bass and cats from one of our tanks. That tank and another tank are the only sources of water for all the cattle on that place unless we have them penned up for shipping or doctoring. Sure, they poop and pee in it, but the cattle, fish, birds, etc. do fine drinking it and swimming in it. The coyotes do to, darn it. I would agree that if it's funky enough to kill fish it's too nasty for livestock.

That's not to say they don't prefer well water out of a trough. They're not dumb. But they do fine watering at a stock tank. If somebody around here tried to fence cattle out of the stock tanks they would be laughed out of the county.

Craig-TX

 

[dun]

These are just the types of area orinted things that makes this business so interesting.
We cleaned out a pond that had been used to water livestock for about 20 years. The water before cleaning was maybe 18 inches deep, and stunk like a sewer. We cleaned down to the clay blanket that seals the pond and it's now 28 ft deep. Fish a growing well and taste great. Cows never get near the pond anymore.

dun

Fish dying sounds like a reasonable definition of nasty to me. If fish can't thrive in it, it's nasty. Just yesterday we caught a mess of nice bass and cats from one of our tanks. That tank and another tank are the only sources of water for all the cattle on that place unless we have them penned up for shipping or doctoring. Sure, they poop and pee in it, but the cattle, fish, birds, etc. do fine drinking it and swimming in it. The coyotes do to, darn it. I would agree that if it's funky enough to kill fish it's too nasty for livestock.

That's not to say they don't prefer well water out of a trough. They're not dumb. But they do fine watering at a stock tank. If somebody around here tried to fence cattle out of the stock tanks they would be laughed out of the county.

Craig-TX

 

[eric]

sounds like I should get another trough and put in fresh water every morning/afternoon. sounds like a good job for the kid to do while he's waiting for the bus in the morning, since this pasture is closest to the road and he walks right by it every morning. It about 300 ft from the nearest hydrant, as we havent ran a water line out there yet! But then its only (2) 7 mo old calves, how much are they gonna drink?

 

[Anonymous]

sounds like I should get another trough and put in fresh water every morning/afternoon. sounds like a good job for the kid to do while he's waiting for the bus in the morning, since this pasture is closest to the road and he walks right by it every morning. It about 300 ft from the nearest hydrant, as we havent ran a water line out there yet! But then its only (2) 7 mo old calves, how much are they gonna drink?

There is a guy here in town that sells large 55 gallon blue plastic drums that are used for Soda water syrup for $ 25.00. We haul water all over the place with a couple of those. Might work for you until you run a line.

 

[Tman]

There is a guy here in town that sells large 55 gallon blue plastic drums that are used for Soda water syrup for $ 25.00. We haul water all over the place with a couple of those. Might work for you until you run a line.

 

[TXBobcat]

But then its only (2) 7 mo old calves, how much are they gonna drink?

They'll probably drink anywhere from 10 to 25 gallons a day, depending on the weather. I have one calf in the pen right now that's being fatted up, and he's being watered out of a 50 gallon tank. I fill it once a day, which can get to be a pain, but I'm only doing it for about 30 more days. I would recommend putting a float on any tanks that will be permanent, that way you won't have to mess with them everyday. Just check them periodically to make sure the float isn't broke.

 

[Tc]

no sence in carrying water to the calves if theres a large pound in the pasture alredy.the pound will be just fine.~~~~~~~~~~~Tc

 

[J Baxter]

I have fresh water available to my cattle at all times and they still prefer to drink from the pond.

 

[Tman]

How about that the opposite of mine, one group has a descriminating palate. Go figure :lol: :lol: :lol: Just funnin

 

[dun]

With a public water system and chlorine they get pretty picky. When we got off the public water and went to a well water consumption increased significantly. But they'll still drink out of a puddle if they don't have to walk to far rather then going another 200 ft to the water tank.

dun

How about that the opposite of mine, one group has a descriminating palate. Go figure :lol: :lol: :lol: Just funnin

 

[CattleAnnie]

Very true about the puddle, Dun. And worse yet, it doesn't seem to matter where that puddle is or what's in it.

I've seen the cows suck run-off water that came from the barnyard, all the while being twenty feet from the waterer. And I've never seen the beat of this - when we ford the river to take the herd to pasture, those nasty critters will stand and drink from the river with their head facing downstream - meanwhile their tail is up and they're downloading. The floaters just bump them in the chin and they keep right on drinking.

Blech! :?

Take care.

 

[la4angus]

Ughhhh.
:shock: :shock:

 

[Anonymous]

Makes sense!

Dunn who is that dashing young man on you Avatar ?

Smarts and handsome ? Your wife okay for herself.

 

[Tman]

Makes sense!

Dunn who is that dashing young man on you Avatar ?

Smarts and handsome ? Your wife okay for herself.

Dang it, I always forget to sign in when I come from the email notifiactions.

This was me.

 

[cherokeeruby]

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