# Cattle Water Trough



## michaelmoten (Apr 30, 2014)

I am trying to determine what kind of water trough is going to best suit my needs. I divided my pasture fields to allow for a more rotational grazing. However this has left 4-10 acre paddocks with water sources ranging from none to poor. I have decided I am much better off to use city water for this project as opposed to drilling wells, or pumping water from existing sources to the needed locations.

I am leaning toward Ritchie Thrifty King units and splitting them with fence line. Each waterer supplying water to two paddocks. I am leaning towards the thrifty King for the fact it is frost free and hoping this would reduce evaporation during the summer months. I intend to use these areas for summer into late fall.

Please guys, I am open to suggestions or thoughts I am missing. Thanks!


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

I've seen guys use a water tank with a small trough/drinker fed by gravity from the bulk tank (bulk tank on a wagon, old liquid fertilizer nurse tank, etc. Of course in cold weather that doesn't necessarily do you much good. I guess if you hauled water every day and used a tank heater inside the tank to keep the water above freezing so that it could be hauled out to the pasture for awhile, then brought back to the barn and plugged in to keep the water warm overnight til the next day.

I've run 3/4 inch poly tubing underground by adding a boot to a subsoiler to allow the tubing to be fed down underground into the trench around a pulley to place it underground... basically a big tile plow. Of course it's only about 6 inches to a foot deep, which of course is deep enough here, but not in cold areas where the ground freezes. We've rented walk-behind trenchers fairly inexpensively; it could possibly lay poly pipe deep enough in your area, for reasonable cost.

Later and best of luck! OL J R


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

Thrifty king looks similar to my ecofount. I have been well pleased with it.


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## Thorim (Jan 19, 2015)

City water is going to get expensive in a hurry.


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## michaelmoten (Apr 30, 2014)

Thorim said:


> City water is going to get expensive in a hurry.


It is, but not as expensive as I thought it would be. I can pay the water bill for 5 years for what it would cost me to pump water to this location. That is assuming no breakdowns or failures of pumping equipment.


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

Is this going to be grazed year round? If not, i wouldn't piss away that much money on a drinker like that when you can do it for about 1/10 the cost.

A 10 acre paddock is gonnna have maybe 15 pairs in it if intensively grazed, so a 100 gallon tank with a Jobe Rojo valve, and rotational grazing plumbing running from a hydrant nearby. It's all portable and doesnt cost an arm and a leg.


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## JLP (Aug 5, 2013)

I am with Stack. Nothing permanent. You will find out that you will want to change something or change the use of the ground and if it is all portable and temporary, it is easily removed. You may decide to take the four, ten acre fields and make them into twenty, two acre fields to increase your grazing efficiency.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

michaelmoten said:


> It is, but not as expensive as I thought it would be. I can pay the water bill for 5 years for what it would cost me to pump water to this location. That is assuming no breakdowns or failures of pumping equipment.


If you are thinking at all long term or possible expansion, no to the city. Rational: well should / could last 25-50 years (depending upon factors). Plus the city can raise the rates (ask for a rate history if you don't know). And with a well I don't think evaporation would as big of concern (cost per thousand cubic foot should be a lot lower).

Larry


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## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

They're running two Ritchie's here, a Watermatic 300 and the shorter Watermatic 150 for the calves. Both are mounted on the concrete feed lot so mud is not problem. They both need a heater here in central NC even though the Rep. said they shouldn't need it.

The only complaint I've heard from the folks running the ball closure type is that they're harder to clean out and I've yet to see one that didn't need to be cleaned out every month or two. My late FIL ran Ritchies when the Dairy was here for about 50 years. He had a couple of all metal ones that were ok but rust was their enemy. Ritchie makes a quality product.


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## SCtrailrider (May 1, 2016)

I'm going to bring this thread back ........

On another forum someone has rubber/plastic water trough's and they noticed there cows were standing and looking and not drinking....

They figured out the drop in heater had a short and due to the rubber/plastic tank it did not blow the fuse and was giving a shock when the water was touched....

I would hate to loose something in a situation like this..

I use a Richie so it's plastic, how can I ground the tank or water to help prevent a shock.....

Thought about a ground rod with a copper line that reaches in & touches the water....

Thoughts.....

Thanks

Chris


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Chris, I am surprised that you would need a heater....usually if it's not extremely cold for more than a day or two you are good to go with a well insulated waterer in this part of the world.

Regards, Mike


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## SCtrailrider (May 1, 2016)

My Richie 150 will have 1/2" of ice on the top if it gets to 25* over night, with this last spell it was 10* both nights and didn't get above 30* , I don't need it all the time, I have the water line buried and it's on a small slab, I do have a light bulb in the bottom for the pipes, I really hate working on water pipes when it's frozen out...

The local dealer has about all the different ones they sell and he said they will freeze even with the insulation inside them and he recommended the heater from the start with me...

The horses don't really mind the ice, they know how to break a hole, BUT the calf thinks she needs to head butt it and with my luck I'll see her pushing it across the lot and the horses playing in the water....


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

I have not had a lot of experience with different waterers, however, Having a dairy farm in the past I will say this. Are you running a bigger water than what you really need? Your signature shows 4 animals currently. Is the waterer inside a building or out in the open? We had 2 old nelson bowel waters and 1 "frost free" one in 3 sided sheds. The nelson ones had heaters until they shorted out and electrified the water. On cold nights (under 15 especially if windy) the nelsons would freeze from lack of use and in the morning we would take a bucket of hot water and dump in the bowel and it would thaw it out and the animals could keep it going rest of the day. Lack of use is a big culprit of freezing water. Just some thoughts, from your post of having half inch of ice my guess is it is outside exposed to wind.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

SCtrailrider said:


> I'm going to bring this thread back ........
> 
> On another forum someone has rubber/plastic water trough's and they noticed there cows were standing and looking and not drinking....
> 
> ...


If you can get your hands on some use old lighting rod cable which is woven copper, place a loop in the bottom of the tank then ground the other end to your OWN ground rod. Years of having milk cows taught us to never rely on the utilities ground.


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## SCtrailrider (May 1, 2016)

I'll be grounding mine, like I said I don't have it on much, just when it's going to freeze...

I have it out in the open in a fence line..

You can see how I feed hay also, I have the calf separate from the boys right now..


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