Livestock Water Solutions

Shop deals on ebay
shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Homesteading & Country Living Forum

Help Support Homesteading & Country Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Peanut

Peanut

Awesome Friend
Neighbor
HCL Supporter
Joined
Dec 16, 2017
Messages
21,293
Location
Bama
A place to put ideas for watering livestock… a problem brought this on. I have a couple of the blue tubs with rope handles for water, about 15g. Use them to water livestock on a temp basis when penned up for some reason.

My last beef calf would knock his water tub over occasionally. It was winter and sometimes when the water was low it’d freeze in the bottom of the tub. The calf would get frustrated and knock the tub over.

This new beef calf has knocked over his water tub every time I fill the darned thing since yesterday. Can’t have this!!! So tonight… the rope handles are missing from the tub so I took small chain and a quick link, ran it through the handle holes then fastened the tub to the corral. The calf will probably destroy it now!

The big picture… I don’t want a fixed water tub in the corral since the corral is scheduled for demo come spring. Also, when my cousin brings over the herd of heifers they’ll get water from the creek in the bottoms. I’ll turn the calf out and let him run with them when they arrive.

So, I’m looking for a temporary fix for a butthead calf that keeps knocking his water over.

But, any water problems and solutions would fit here...
 
Peanut said:
A place to put ideas for watering livestock… a problem brought this on. I have a couple of the blue tubs with rope handles for water, about 15g. Use them to water livestock on a temp basis when penned up for some reason.

My last beef calf would knock his water tub over occasionally. It was winter and sometimes when the water was low it’d freeze in the bottom of the tub. The calf would get frustrated and knock the tub over.

This new beef calf has knocked over his water tub every time I fill the darned thing since yesterday. Can’t have this!!! So tonight… the rope handles are missing from the tub so I took small chain and a quick link, ran it through the handle holes then fastened the tub to the corral. The calf will probably destroy it now!

The big picture… I don’t want a fixed water tub in the corral since the corral is scheduled for demo come spring. Also, when my cousin brings over the herd of heifers they’ll get water from the creek in the bottoms. I’ll turn the calf out and let him run with them when they arrive.

So, I’m looking for a temporary fix for a butthead calf that keeps knocking his water over.

But, any water problems and solutions would fit here...
Click to expand...
Does it have that lip that curls over or is it solid to the rim. If you drilled a hole or two near the rim, you could use a couple washers and screw it to a fence post.
 
Caribou said:
How about an old cast iron tub?
Click to expand...

I do have a cast iron bath tub about 150ft away. Have to figure a way to stop up the drain. If he poops in it a heavy tub would be a pain to dump and rinse.

LadyLocust said:
Does it have that lip that curls over or is it solid to the rim. If you drilled a hole or two near the rim, you could use a couple washers and screw it to a fence post.
Click to expand...

The rim curls over, it had holes for the rope in the rim. Ropes are gone but the holes remain. It's where I ran the small chain tonight.

The blue tub is what I'm using...

Bulla.JPG
 
Last edited:
I use 100 gallon plastic stock tank. Have drilled to screw the waterer body to the lip. (Ponies like to play).
This is gravity fed with a 275g IBC tank.

I spend a lot less time filling tanks and have 375g of water (which should last the 3 about 5 days) in case I have to evacuate.
 
Peanut said:
I do have a cast iron bath tub about 150ft away. Have to figure a way to stop up the drain. If he poops in it a heavy tub would be a pain to dump and rinse.



The rim curls over, it had holes for the rope in the rim. Ropes are gone but the holes remain. It's where I ran the small chain tonight.

The blue tub is what I'm using...

View attachment 163598
Click to expand...
You could still screw it to a post but would need a block of wood under the lip so it wouldn’t crush the plastic.
Otherwise you could hang it from a rope like a swing from a tree so it’s still flat on the ground but not tipable, but betting he would figure out a way to dump it still.
 
Do you have any of the galvanized water tanks? We use 55 to 350 gallon tanks here. They're easy to move around when empty. Of course you can always screw the smaller tanks of buckets to a fence board or post.
In winter I have to use a heavy bar to break ice every day. The water usually freezes about a foot thick over night. The water starts freezing immediately after I take the ice out of the tank.
 
Peanut said:
A place to put ideas for watering livestock… a problem brought this on. I have a couple of the blue tubs with rope handles for water, about 15g. Use them to water livestock on a temp basis when penned up for some reason.

My last beef calf would knock his water tub over occasionally. It was winter and sometimes when the water was low it’d freeze in the bottom of the tub. The calf would get frustrated and knock the tub over.

This new beef calf has knocked over his water tub every time I fill the darned thing since yesterday. Can’t have this!!! So tonight… the rope handles are missing from the tub so I took small chain and a quick link, ran it through the handle holes then fastened the tub to the corral. The calf will probably destroy it now!

The big picture… I don’t want a fixed water tub in the corral since the corral is scheduled for demo come spring. Also, when my cousin brings over the herd of heifers they’ll get water from the creek in the bottoms. I’ll turn the calf out and let him run with them when they arrive.

So, I’m looking for a temporary fix for a butthead calf that keeps knocking his water over.

But, any water problems and solutions would fit here...
Click to expand...
If it's just temporary, how about three T post to stabilize?
 
I also used old built in steel bath tubs.. They were free, but did work best if mounted to a pallet type base with a frame to support the back side..

Like said, Sammy the donkey would mess with everything in the paddock..
 
Ha! remembered i have a photo of the old tub dad and i installed in '74 when we built the house. I replaced it with a walk-in shower about 7/8 years ago. It's still laying out by the shed where I left it.

I checked the calf about an hour ago. He drank water after I fed him about dark. The tub was still upright, should be til dawn. He probably wakes up grumpy decides to destroy something.

I might have to use this cast iron tub. I have a pile of cinder blocks by the chicken pen. Could easily make a base for it, just loosely stacked would work fine. Wouldn't care if they got crapped on either. I was already thinking about doing a base for the ibc tote.

Neither can be permanent since the corral is going to be rebuilt with a completely different set up. It's going to move further down the slope and change shape.

I let my chickens help clean off this pile of block one summer... they killed everything growing on the pile. I'd cut the big stuff. Got a lot of it stacked that was worth saving.

That's the corral fence on the right in the 2nd pic. The new corral will add most of this area and lose area on the upper side.

20230330_tubs 602a.jpg


Blocks (7).jpg
 
Last edited:
The calf hadn't knocked over his water tub this morning. He had bumped it and sloshed some water out. But it didn't tip over...

I tightened the chain a couple links. Won't stop him if he's determined but he can't just knock the tub around willy-nilly. I noticed some old strap hanging on the fence. To short to tie around the tub but I think I know where a bigger piece of strap is located. If chained at the top and tied around the bottom it might be just enough of a deterrence. Make it more difficult to knock over.

20240930_093745a.jpg
 
I need to figure out a way to keep our water tanks from freezing. It's a lot of work chipping through 8 - 12 inches of ice every day. After awhile I have a huge pile of ice piled up where I toss the blocks, I have to use the tractor to move the ice. When we winter the cattle up here, they go through 200 - 300 gallons of water per day.
Years ago I bought a propane stock tank heater. The one I had never worked very good. Maybe the new ones are better. Anyone here have any experience with a non electric tank heater?
 
Last edited:
When I was a kid, growing up on a 600 acre ranch, my Dad built plywood boxes around the water troughs. These were only 50 to 150 gallon troughs, he threaded pipe in the drain with a cut off, these stuck out through the box, the boxes were insulated. I know your temps are colder than they were in NJ, but these insulated boxes made it easier, never had a solid frozen trough!
 
Pearl said:
When I was a kid, growing up on a 600 acre ranch, my Dad built plywood boxes around the water troughs. These were only 50 to 150 gallon troughs, he threaded pipe in the drain with a cut off, these stuck out through the box, the boxes were insulated. I know your temps are colder than they were in NJ, but these insulated boxes made it easier, never had a solid frozen trough!
Click to expand...
Not a bad idea. I'm thinking of something similar. I have a large tractor tire that I'm planing on laying on its side and pouring concrete on the bottom sealing it tight. I'll put a drain pipe in the center and dig a ditch to drain it. The rubber tire should absorb a lot of heat when the sun is out and keep the water from freezing. Problem is, we get weeks of fog, overcast sky's and many feet of snow.
 
Bury the tub half way. Put cinder blocks around the exposed upper part of the tub.

Ben
 
Neb said:
Bury the tub half way. Put cinder blocks around the exposed upper part of the tub.

Ben
Click to expand...
In my case the snow builds up and the cows pack the snow down around the tank. The cows have to get on their knees to drink and the young calves can't reach the water. I've set up another 350 gallon tank where I can get to with the tractor and keep the snow and ice clear.
So your idea of burying the tank half way might work. No doubt the water will still freeze, but it shouldn't freeze solid.
 
My friend doesn't use any stock tank heaters . I asked how she can keep up with breaking ice all winter for at least a dozen different tanks and she said she doesn't take out all the ice..she uses a rock bar to punch a big enough hole in the ice that they can get a drink from and leaves the iceberg. The hole she makes might get slushy or a tad icy but she said it doesn't turn into a huge ice block. She checks it at feeding time 2x a day though.
I'm not sure how because mine does, I keep a heater in mine for my two old goats. I'm going to get a smaller tank for them this year. I use a heated dog bowl for the chickens in their coop n keep another outside for the barn cats and turkeys that won't go in the coop.
After these goats kick the bucket..I'm not keeping any more stock over winter for awhile..it's a pain..
 
Hooch said:
My friend doesn't use any stock tank heaters . I asked how she can keep up with breaking ice all winter for at least a dozen different tanks and she said she doesn't take out all the ice..she uses a rock bar to punch a big enough hole in the ice that they can get a drink from and leaves the iceberg. The hole she makes might get slushy or a tad icy but she said it doesn't turn into a huge ice block. She checks it at feeding time 2x a day though.
I'm not sure how because mine does, I keep a heater in mine for my two old goats. I'm going to get a smaller tank for them this year. I use a heated dog bowl for the chickens in their coop n keep another outside for the barn cats and turkeys that won't go in the coop.
After these goats kick the bucket..I'm not keeping any more stock over winter for awhile..it's a pain..
Click to expand...
I have no choice but to take the ice out for the cattle, they all try drinking at the same time. For our chickens and the horse, we use these rubberized tubs that we can turn over and stomp on the bottom. All the ice comes out and we just refill.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top