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Show Why Dairy Cows Require Generous Supply of Water By Prof. George B. Caine Extension Dairyman As milk is about 87 per cent water good dairy cows require a great deal more to drink than cattle not producing produc-ing milk. Range cattle and dry stock in summer and winter can get along on one drink daily but this is not enough for dairy cows. The cow consumes a large amount of food that is mostly roughage so must have water in order for the food to be properly assimilated as-similated and digested. It has been found by experiment that cows consume from 77 pounds to 350 pounds of water daily. A small Jersey cow giving 27 pounds of milk daily needs over 70 pounds of watei while a Holstein producing 110 pounds of milk consumed 350 pounds of water daily. These figures indicate - that with feeds containing considerable succulence cows consume about 3 pounds of water daily. When green feed, beet pulp, or silage is fed in large quantities that of course will influence "he amount of water consumed. Cows fed on hay and grain only giving a similar amount of milk should have considerable more water than those being fed succulent feed. Cows should not have to walk long distances to obtain water because under un-der such conditions they do not drink as much as they would if it were close at hand. Water should be close at hand at all times for good dairy cows and they should be encouraged to drink at least twice daily. Insufficient water wat-er will show its effect upon the cow the same as poor feeding The best source of water for covs is deep wells, artesian wells, or warm springs. The ordinary irrigation canal can-al or ditch where the ice must be chopped from the surface before the cows can drink" are the poorest source of water, and cows drinking irom such olaces shiver and hunch up their backs and do not drink as much as they rhould have to keep up their production produc-tion Cows should never drink from oonds or stagnant pools that drain from corrals or out buildings of any sort Such water may have a serious effect upon the milk produced. "The average dairy farmer living in a section where freezing weather prevail pre-vail for any length of time, that does not have a source of warm water for his cows, should apply artificial heat to the water. Cement tanks with regular reg-ular water heaters are used to great advantage in a number of places. They have proved profitable for dairy farmers. |