Remember, ALL livestock require water, especially in the winter. Each animal is an individual and may consume more or less water, just make sure that your horse/cow/goat/sheep, etc. is properly hydrated … and licking the snow or frozen water troughs doesn’t give them what they require.
I know it is very difficult to monitor the amount of water intake in a herd situation, however, the problem is that animals need water to help soften and digest the forage they eat. Get to know what is normal for your animals, which will make abnormal more easily recognized. Without enough water, they can end up with an impaction of the colon or stomach, which causes abdominal pain. Keep an eye on each of your animals, if they are acting a “little off”, could it be from dehydration.
Whatever you do, do NOT let your animal become dehydrated. If you are concerned that this is the case, you can check the gums for color and moistness; when the gums are blanched by pushing on them with your thumb, the pink color should return in under two seconds, longer than that is an indication of dehydration. Pinching the skin on the upper eyelid will indicate dehydration if it does not quickly return to its normal state. So if avoiding dehydration is the goal, what can you do?
Animals prefer clean, fresh water, low in contaminants, as opposed to stagnant water, and most often they like water to be 45-65 degrees.
If you need to encourage water intake, adding a few tablespoons of salt to the hay or grain several times per day will encourage drinking. You can also add some warm water to the bucket. The water should at least not have ice inside the bucket. Do not increase the water temperature above tepid; rapid changes and too warm a water temperature can decrease water intake.
Electric bucket warmers are great, but they have drawbacks. They are a fire hazard, so check the cords daily for signs of wear. Also make sure that your animals cannot reach any part of the cord, as chewing on the cord can cause electrocution. Sometimes you may not notice a problem, but your animal can feel small amounts of electricity in the water (like electric fencing) and will refuse to drink.
An alternative is to insulate the bucket or water trough. You can wrap material around the tank or set it into the ground or even snow, which will insulate the water and protect from freezing. In some situations, you may just have to carry water from the house at least twice daily, more if it freezes quickly. FYI, hot water freezes more quickly in a bucket than tepid water.
There are many people that have installed automatic waterers and in this part of the country they are heated. However, I personally do not like automatic waterers, they make it difficult to monitor the amount of an animal’s intake so I’ve invested in insulated bucket sleeves. A 5 gallon bucket can be dropped (and lifted out for easy cleaning) into the sleeve to prevent freezing.
Have you ever thought about which type of bucket is best? I totally inadvertently have conducted an experiment on water freezing in rubber buckets VS plastic buckets, just by the buckets hanging in the indoor arena overnight. What did I find? Well, the heavy duty rubber buckets only had ice that froze on the top, whereas the heavy duty plastic buckets had ice that froze on the top, sides and bottom. So when I break the ice on the rubber bucket, I only need to sift the ice floating on the top. When I break the ice in the plastic bucket, it fills with ice chips (like your water glass at a restaurant) and you will end up straining out almost half the bucket. HINT – a metal litter box sifter works great for picking ice out of water buckets.
When you are rushing around to finish your chores as quickly as possible and get back into the warmth, don’t forget that every living thing needs water and that Mother Nature doesn’t always make it easy on the farmer, especially this time of the year!
