Do Sheep Drink Water?

[Alchad]

OK, probably qualifies for dumb post of the day….

We share a water supply with a neighbour - our small farm was part of a much larger farm, when it was sold we bought the farmhouse and some land and neighbour bought the other land. Water supply is a borehole near to the farmhouse which pumps to a holding tank at the highest point on the farm. House and probably 10 troughs on ours and neighbours land are fed by gravity from the tank. Borehole is controlled by a timer which in the winter is on for a couple of hours a day. I very occasionally check the tank and the last few times it’s been full. However last week noticed that the pressure at the kitchen tap which is fed directly from the gravity feed from the holding tank was low, which from experience I know means the holding tank is getting low and I need to adjust timer.

Reason for question - neighbour has sheep which he took back to his place for lambing a month or so ago and has been gradually bringing them back with lambs onto his fields. For some reason I’d always assumed that sheep get their hydration from the grass they eat as I’ve never noticed them drinking from the water troughs.

Just wondered if the fall in holding tank level is due to the sheep actually drinking from the troughs, or have I go a leak somewhere?

 

[Bob c]

yes, in simple terms

 

[Bury the Trash]

Your observatation is correct about them when eating grass /!forage and them getting sufficient moisture from it. but when on dry feed conc. especially with extra sodium in the will drink most.particulary of course when in lactation
What you also have to factor in is the psychology of the ovine, they are very naturally wary of water
Also they have very very good sense of smell which can turn them off water if its even mildly tainted, with anything,, even mains treated water will make the reluctant.

 

[Forkdriver]

Ewes feeding lambs need water to produce milk. Our meadows have a fast flowing river boundary. I haven't noticed that the sheep keep away from it.

 

[Jonp]

I've got IBCs with troughs, have to refill them regularly for the sheep, it's not evaporation.

 

[Blue.]

OK, probably qualifies for dumb post of the day….

We share a water supply with a neighbour - our small farm was part of a much larger farm, when it was sold we bought the farmhouse and some land and neighbour bought the other land. Water supply is a borehole near to the farmhouse which pumps to a holding tank at the highest point on the farm. House and probably 10 troughs on ours and neighbours land are fed by gravity from the tank. Borehole is controlled by a timer which in the winter is on for a couple of hours a day. I very occasionally check the tank and the last few times it’s been full. However last week noticed that the pressure at the kitchen tap which is fed directly from the gravity feed from the holding tank was low, which from experience I know means the holding tank is getting low and I need to adjust timer.

Reason for question - neighbour has sheep which he took back to his place for lambing a month or so ago and has been gradually bringing them back with lambs onto his fields. For some reason I’d always assumed that sheep get their hydration from the grass they eat as I’ve never noticed them drinking from the water troughs.

Just wondered if the fall in holding tank level is due to the sheep actually drinking from the troughs, or have I go a leak somewhere?

Check how full the tank is,might just be something simple like a frog in the pipeline.

 

[d-wales]

A ewe will need about 10L per day when lactating. They will get some from the grass but will also need some out of the troughs at some pints

 

[Farmer Roy]

Yes, sheep drink water

 

[Jackov Altraids]

In a shed, on haylage and concentrate, a lactating sheep will drink a lot of water. 10-15 litres.
Non-lactating sheep on grazing, should always have water available but will hardly drink it at all unless conditions are very dry.

 

[ladycrofter]

Check how full the tank is,might just be something simple like a frog in the pipeline.

Dead mice fit nicely too

Sheep as said of course drink water and a lot of it.

 

[Paddington]

Our sheep love water, topping up water buckets in the barn they will shove their noses under the running water or stand for minutes with their noses in a water trough just daydreaming.

 

[yellowbelly]

Our sheep love water, topping up water buckets in the barn they will shove their noses under the running water or stand for minutes with their noses in a water trough just daydreaming.

Nah, they're just wondering if it's deep enough for them to drown themselves in.
Number 174 in the 500 ways sheep can die.

 

[Bury the Trash]

Yes, sheep drink water

Interestingly If the water in grass/ forage they are grazing just about meets their needs no they won't they "eat " water instead.

If compared with Cattle then they are a good bit different
Fact is Some mammals don't litterly need to drink but they still of course need water.

 

[Bury the Trash]

Another example is suck lamb , mothers milk provides the water they need ,early season lamb gone quick wont readily drink water in the lairages because they haven't done in their life before, so what can happen is too long from mother before killing and KO % or even grading can be affected .

 

[Alchad]

Thanks all for the replies.

Left the borehole pump running for a good few hours on Saturday and went up to check on Sunday and it was 3/4 full and getting normal good pressure back at the house ( height difference between and house is well over 100ft and last time I fitted a pressure gauge to a tap in the yard it was about 50psi).

Thinking about it, last time I checked the reservoir level was a good month or more back and as it was full I cut back 15mins on the timer so maybe pump supply and our usage were evenly balanced and the slight reduction in filling made a difference over time - perhaps aided by the sheep having a bit?

Will turn the timer back up and keep a closer watch on the level for the next few weeks.

 

[Wisconsonian]

Dry hay will make the biggest difference in how much water they drink. Mice are one of the mammals that can get all their water needs from the breakdown of carbohydrates. Goats on lush pasture will drink a small fraction of the water that they give in milk, even with cool clean water available.

Have you considered a level switch on the tank? it could work along with the timer if you have an electric rate that favors off peak use. If running wires, or a wireless connection wasn't practical, then a precise pressure switch might work at a lower point in the system, would probably have to be read when the pump is off and no flow to be able to read the level correctly.