Slippery Slope
Member
Talking to the kids at lunchtime about how we used to see it occasionally but I haven't seen it in a long time. Does anyone still do it? It fascinated me as a lad!
Goldfish in cattle drinkers
- Thread starter Slippery Slope
- Start date
- Location
- East Sussex
We used to do it. Just a bit of fun really but some of them got to be really big fish by the time we packed it in. Gave them to father in law to look after.
Slippery Slope
Member
I presume the cattle just got used to them being under their noses?
- Location
- East Sussex
Yes, fish avoid any trouble and eat the bits dropped by the cows. A handful of nuts scrunched up and thrown in used to bring them up for a feed........when no cows were about obviously 
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
We used to do the same at home, in a 500 gallon trough by the OOPFs, fed by (warmed) cooler water. We never fed them, and they cleared up all the detritus washed off the cow’s noses when they had a drink after coming out of the feeder stalls.
Missed a trick maybe, as those £1 goldfish looked like some very exotic coi carp after a few years.
Missed a trick maybe, as those £1 goldfish looked like some very exotic coi carp after a few years.
Exfarmer
Member
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds
We used to do the same at home, in a 500 gallon trough by the OOPFs, fed by (warmed) cooler water. We never fed them, and they cleared up all the detritus washed off the cow’s noses when they had a drink after coming out of the feeder stalls.
Missed a trick maybe, as those £1 goldfish looked like some very exotic coi carp after a few years.
Hah the Koi scam! My son was keenon Koi when he was younger, we built a large pond and stocked it with fingerlings. After a 3 or 4 years they were probably 5-7 pounds in weight and the same size and colour being offered for sale for a couple of grand!
Give them a few more years and they will be 15 pounds!
In truth you will struggle to sell them for much more.
One out of six put in three years ago left. Seagulls got the others but the remaining one is a good size now
Slippery Slope
Member
Did you put them in because they look nice or do they serve a purpose?
Big tank that goes murky. Thought it might help to keep it clean - which it sort of does although the heifers only drink from it in spring to autumn
Ducati899
Member
- Location
- north dorset
Put two in from funfair years ago that turned into 15,still going strong and quite a size,keep the trough lovely and clean and it’s quite nice seeing the cows drink with the fish almost touching their noses
Hilly
Member
- Location
- Scottish Borders.
Amazing that.
Ducati899
Member
- Location
- north dorset
A pic from July 2017,they’ve got a bit bigger since
- Location
- East Sussex
Fine. I don’t think smashing the ice is helpful though.
Hindsight
Member
- Location
- Lincolnshire
There was a thread a few years ago on same subject.
Hilly
Member
- Location
- Scottish Borders.
Again thats amazing !
Gerbert
Member
- Location
- Dutch biblebelt
Parents used to do it aswell, but we have a communicating vessels system which is great as it never freezes up but not so great for goldfish as sometimes the throughs fall dry because of a blockage. My experience is that goldfish really really don't like an empty through.
Do you feed them over winter or is there enough gunk in the trough to see them through
local dairy farmer does