Cattle stuck in cast concrete water trough

[BBE]

Last year I lost an in calf heifer, found her stuck upside down in a cast concrete water trough. It had happened in the night and she was dead when I found her in the morning. We've had the troughs in the same position, in the same building, for 40 years with no previous problems so I put it down to a freak accident. Last night I found a 10 month old bullock in the same position, fortunately I got to him in time, lifted him out with forklift and he's fine. Different building but same type of trough. Is this a problem with this type of trough? The are set on 2 sleepers but would raising them further stop it happening?

 

[Highland Mule]

How big is the trough? I’d be tempted to put the sleepers on top, rather than below, to stop access for anything bigger than the cattle’s noses.

 

[BBE]

How big is the trough? I’d be tempted to put the sleepers on top, rather than below, to stop access for anything bigger than the cattle’s noses.

It'll be abut 5'x2"6' and 3' high at a guess. Think I'll do this, thanks.

 

[BRB John]

They seem to be very large don't you have problems with cows dunging in them?

 

[Fendt516profi]

Fabricate like a feed barrier to fit on top

 

[Nearly]

Fabricate like a feed barrier to fit on top

Like a heavy ladder.

 

[delilah]

Slightly off topic, but: Found a heifer like this last winter, got her out, noticed the others bullying her a bit, decided they had bashed her in the side and tipped her in. Three months later that heifer went downhill rapidly, vet out, Malignant Catarrhal Fever, had to put her down. Call me fanciful but I reckon they knew she was ill.

 

[BBE]

They seem to be very large don't you have problems with cows dunging in them?

Do need cleaning out fairly regularly.

 

[Fendt516profi]

Slightly off topic, but: Found a heifer like this last winter, got her out, noticed the others bullying her a bit, decided they had bashed her in the side and tipped her in. Three months later that heifer went downhill rapidly, vet out, Malignant Catarrhal Fever, had to put her down. Call me fanciful but I reckon they knew she was ill.

Assisted suicide

 

[Fendt516profi]

Do need cleaning out fairly regularly.

Would you be better with smaller troughs then that get emptied by cows and stay fresher and less water wasted if you have to clean them out

 

[Y Fan Wen]

Some years ago I drove past a neighbour's field and noted that he had put his first set of twins out. Came back about an hour later and saw that the ewe was upside down in the feed trough, usual wooden ones of that time. Ran across to help her, a big Suffolk, tipped her out and set her on her keel but she looked really unhappy so fetched the owner. She succumbed to either tld or hypo in the end, despite his best efforts.
We just could not understand how she had managed to do it without tip[ping the trough over.

 

[puppet]

the ewe was upside down in the feed trough,
We just could not understand how she had managed to do it without tipping the trough over.

She managed it because she was a sheep.

 

[milkloss]

We had a split yard for easily twenty years and they shared the water tank between the two. Had yearlings in it every winter but two years ago one was upside down in the tank dead. Fine, odd thing to happen but hey ho. Next year another dead one, one caught in time and the tank got moved.

Lord only knows why they suddenly decided to do it.

 

[Andrew]

We have frames over all of ours cladded with stockboard, just leaving a few head sized holes. Stops them getting in and stops muck and bedding straw getting in them. Keeps the water so much cleaner.

 

[thorpe]

We had a split yard for easily twenty years and they shared the water tank between the two. Had yearlings in it every winter but two years ago one was upside down in the tank dead. Fine, odd thing to happen but hey ho. Next year another dead one, one caught in time and the tank got moved.

Lord only knows why they suddenly decided to do it.

they would have a job to get stuck in ours , they only hold 5 lt. good move having gone to bedding machine. they always have clean water in front of them. as mr tesco says every little helps.

 

[farmerm]

best to try keep it quiet or they will all want to have a go

 

[bht]

We have a concrete block in all of ours to stop this, they aren’t very deep tho so might need something bigger

 

[Hilly]

I’d build a feed barrier type thing around it and that’s the end of that problem .

 

[Y Fan Wen]

She managed it because she was a sheep.

How very true!

 

[casper74]

This happened yesterday 1st time it’s happened here, I got him dragged out and he fine now, there’s always something to keep you alert[emoji85][emoji85]