water troughs for rotating

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jallen

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How big of a tank would be recommended for using in a rotational grazing system? I have 15 cows and a bull, obviously calves as well. I want them to pretty well drink it down at the end of every day so moving the tank isint a pain--I don't want to be dumping 50 gallons of water each day before I can move it. Any ideas?
 
I love games. I'll guess
16 big'uns at 30+ = 480+ (the plus is gonna be way more at some times than others)
15 lil'uns at 10+ = 150+

My guess is 530+. Take a 250 gallon tank and you won't have to dump any. :lol2:

Or put your tank on skids.

How are you filling it?
 
Lactating cow can need as much as 4 gallons of water per 100lbs of body weight in the summer. Dry cows use about half of that.
If you averaged 3 gallon per 100lbs. I would think you would need to be closer to 500 gallon or higher.
 
jallen":15j7u1yd said:
How big of a tank would be recommended for using in a rotational grazing system? I have 15 cows and a bull, obviously calves as well. I want them to pretty well drink it down at the end of every day so moving the tank isint a pain--I don't want to be dumping 50 gallons of water each day before I can move it. Any ideas?
I`ve been thinking of this my self and what i came up with is a small tank for them to drank from and a liquid container tote on a trailer that can be pulled by a tractor or atv i`d move the tank where i want it and drive up to it with the tote and give them water tell they stop dranking then just leave a little in there for later
 
Thanks guys, that's more than what I was figuring honestly. I don't know how I'm going to handle it honestly. I was planning on running a hose down from the house but hell I have no clue how this will effect the water bill. If I'm burning an extra 500 gallons a day holy crap that will add up. I have a pond but its in the corner and my afternoon shade is all on one side of the field. Its kind of a bad layout for rotating but I'm going to figure it out as I go
 
jallen":1mln78d8 said:
Thanks guys, that's more than what I was figuring honestly. I don't know how I'm going to handle it honestly. I was planning on running a hose down from the house but be nice I have no clue how this will effect the water bill. If I'm burning an extra 500 gallons a day holy crap that will add up. I have a pond but its in the corner and my afternoon shade is all on one side of the field. Its kind of a bad layout for rotating but I'm going to figure it out as I go

Another option would be to get a pump and have it pump water from the pond to where you want to water your cows.
 
My cattle water comes from the well that services my house and the elect on this meter runs a barn. its no more than 60.00 a month that is with 5 troughs with automatic floats. Your best course of action is to bury a PVC line and put spigots along that line. Old bath tubs work very well for troughs . I use a golf ball as stoppers in them.
 
Last summer I used a stock tank and caddied water to the trough with a 275 gallon water tank in the back of the truck. I had about 12 head of various ages and they would drink about 250 gallons a day. I just planned on filling the tote every day to bring water to them. if you go with the hose I would put a float in the tank and the day you want to move the tank shut off the water the morning you plan on moving the tank and I would bet you won't have any left by the end of the day.
 
The best bet for me may be to give them a lane to the pond. I want to move daily and that may bent best option. This will take time to figure out that's for sure.
 
How many different pastures will you be grazing? I agree with M-5 about having a trough for each pasture with a float instead of moving them, unless that isn't practical in your situation.
 
Was planning to move daily. I've got roughly 22 acres to work with, was going to do 1 acre blocks to begin.
 
If you want to move the tanks, could you set it up where one tank services 4 paddocks. Could even build a lane that could access a central tank location or 2.
 
If you move them daily use a 150 gallon tank. Move it and fill it before you move them to the new pasture, let them drink their fill than top it off and don;t refill until you move it to the next pasture.
 
LRTX1":1slhdrqn said:
If you want to move the tanks, could you set it up where one tank services 4 paddocks. Could even build a lane that could access a central tank location or 2.

that's what Im thinking also. Or just one tank in the lane. one trough caN service all 22 acres. just put it in what ever lane you decide to use. Your overthinking it.
 
How would somebody water numbers of like 80-100 mamma cows, in tanks?

Mine drink from ponds and streams now, but when I retire, I'd like to rotate more frequently.

I've got a mental picture of a 1000 gallon tank on a tobacco wagon. I'd have a drop deck engineered on the back with a small tank. Gravity flow to float valve.

1000 gallons wouldn't touch 80 cows though. Your talking multiple trips, with this apparatus.

Any better ideas?
 
I would pump from the pond into a tank, leave the tank mostly in one place then just graze with temporary wire and move them daily with the lane changing as required. Most of the time you are only looking at two wires, one in front and one behind them.
 
Bigfoot":12z3u985 said:
How would somebody water numbers of like 80-100 mamma cows, in tanks?

Mine drink from ponds and streams now, but when I retire, I'd like to rotate more frequently.

I've got a mental picture of a 1000 gallon tank on a tobacco wagon. I'd have a drop deck engineered on the back with a small tank. Gravity flow to float valve.

1000 gallons wouldn't touch 80 cows though. Your talking multiple trips, with this apparatus.

Any better ideas?
The best way to water cattle in rotational grazing is by using lanes for cattle to go to water. Much easier for cattle to go to water than take water to cattle. That almost sounds like a Confusious saying. :???:
An alternate way would be to make your paddocks 3 to 5 acres in size and have a water tank on one end then stripgraze each paddock starting on the end where the water is and moving out from it.
Hauling water may be ok starting out, but to me it would soon get old every day.
Using lanes is the best IMO.....also you got to think about shade...its hard to haul shade to every paddock.
 

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