Cattle drinking water: what practitioners need to know

Water, chemical formula: H2O, a transparent, tasteless, and odorless liquid that is essential for life on Earth. Water is becoming scarce… Climate change is enhancing drought periods on one hand, and extreme rainfall events on the other. 

Such a taken for granted asset… we all know it is essential, but we often forget about it, not only for ourselves but also for our animals.

While energy, protein, and minerals dominate nutritional strategies, water is the cheapest yet most impactful component of the diet. For both pasture and feedlot systems, cattle drinking water quality, accessibility, and intake directly influence health, welfare, and productivity. In this article, we will briefly look at how water access affects average daily gain (ADG) and what the major signs of dehydration are.

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Why Water Is the Most Critical Nutrient

Water constitutes approximately 60–70% of cattle’s total body weight and over 85% of the rumen content (Beede, 2005), making it essential to a proper rumen fermentation, healthy ruminal ecosystem, nutrient absorption, and pH stability. Any disruption in this water balance can quickly compromise digestive efficiency and animal performance. 

Beyond hydration, water plays a critical role in thermoregulation and metabolic processes, especially under heat stress conditions.

Beef practitioners should prioritize water as a key factor in promoting both animal health and optimal performance. 

Water and average daily gain (ADG)

Water intake influences average daily gain (ADG) in beef cattle, as it directly affects DMI, rumen fermentation patterns and thermoregulation. Studies consistently show that reduced water availability decreases appetite, slows digestion, and leads to a decrease in performance. Changes in water intake highly influence dry matter intake (DMI) and thus productivity. 
 
Field studies in feedlots confirm this relationship. Steers subjected to restricted water intake during summer experienced elevated core body temperatures, a measurable decrease in feed efficiency, and an ADG drop of up to 0.4 kg/day compared to hydrated controls. Environmental conditions amplify these effects. Studies show that a 1°C increase in ambient temperature raises water requirements by approximately 1.5%. Without matching this demand, cattle reduce feed intake to limit metabolic heat production. In high-temperature feedlots, animals may require more than 80 liters of water per day to maintain performance levels. 

Water Access: Pasture vs. Feedlot Systems

On pasture, challenges include: Distance to troughs or ponds (>300 m decreases intake); water quality variation from algae, runoff, or seasonal stagnation; and winter freezing or summer overheating, which reduces palatability.

In Feedlot systems water is often plumbed and consistent, yet pitfalls exist: inadequate flow rate (<10 L/min) during peak heat impairs access; insufficient space per animal leads to crowding or aggression; water temperature >20°C can reduce intake by 10%; dirty troughs reduce consumption by 10–15%. In a feedlot setting, a finishing steer may require 50–80 liters/day, depending on weather and diet. Failure to meet this demand may lead to suppressed gains and poor feed efficiency.

Behavioral Signs of Dehydration in Beef Cattle

Early detection of dehydration —especially in young or transported cattle—is essential to prevent welfare issues and performance losses.

Recognizing the signs of dehydration in beef cattle is essential for timely intervention, particularly in feedlots and during periods of heat stress or transport. One of the earliest and most visible indicators is sunken eyes, reflecting fluid loss from body tissues. This may be accompanied by a dry muzzle, tacky oral membranes, and skin tenting, where skin pinched over the shoulder or neck takes longer than 2 seconds to return to normal—signaling reduced skin elasticity from fluid deficit.

Behavioral signs also provide important clues. Dehydrated cattle may show increased aggression or restlessness around water troughs, especially when access is limited or flow rates are inadequate. Subordinate animals may hesitate to approach troughs due to crowding or dominance behavior, leading to prolonged thirst and subclinical dehydration. Practitioners may observe cattle lingering near water sources but drinking hesitantly or not at all—often due to warm, dirty, or unfamiliar water. Affected animals also show reduced feed intake, low rumination activity, and lethargy, all of which contribute to compromised growth and immunity.

Failure to recognize and address these early signs not only affects welfare but also increases susceptibility to metabolic disorders, heat stroke, and mortality. Therefore, routine monitoring of both physical and behavioral signs of hydration should be an integral part of herd health management.

Auditing Water Systems During Herd Visits

To prevent dehydration, a proactive water audit should be performed regularly and should include:

1. Flow Rate Testing – Should exceed 10 L/min in feedlots.
2. Visual Inspection – Look for algae, sediment, or biofilms.
3. Behavioral Observation – Watch for crowding of animals or signs of thirst.
4. Access Check – One trough per 20 cattle; within 15–20 m in confinement.
5. Water Quality Sampling – access pH, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) - includes all inorganic salts (mainly calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, bicarbonates, chlorides, and sulfates) and small amounts of organic matter dissolved in water. Nitrate and temperature: 15–20°C in summer.

Key Takeaway

Water is not merely a passive nutrient; it’s a performance driver. Practitioners must give it equal consideration to protein, minerals, or vaccinations. Integrating water quality and access assessments into routine herd health audits can significantly improve animal welfare and uncover hidden causes of poor performance. Whether on pasture or in confinement, water availability holds the key to unlocking productive potential and optimizing returns.

References

1.    McMeniman, J.P., Gaughan, J., & George, M.M. (2022). Evaluation of automated bunk management–feedlot cattle performance. Link
2.    Schwartzkopf-Genswein, K., Stookey, J., & Berg, J. (2012). Code of practice for the care & handling of beef cattle: Review of scientific research on priority welfare issues. NFACC. Link
3.    Petrovski, K.R., et al. (2022). The value of cow signs in assessing nutrition on farms. Animals, 12(11), 1352. Link
4.    del Campo Gigena, M. et al. (2021). Effect of Finishing Diet and Lairage Time on Steers Welfare in Uruguay. Animals, 11(5), 1329. Link
5.    Bruno, K.A. (2019). Effects of extended water restriction on performance, behavior, health, and welfare of feedlot steers. Link  
6.    Allwardt, K.L. (2016). Validation of a system for monitoring water intake and restricting water intake in group-housed steers. Link
7.    Tucker, C.B., Coetzee, J.F., & Stookey, J.M. (2015). Beef cattle welfare in the USA: identification of priorities for future research. Anim Health Res Rev, 16(2), 129–141. Link
8.    Seidle, C.M. (2024). Evaluating the Addition of Water to a Barley-Based Finishing Diet on Feed Sorting Behaviour, Digestibility, Steer Performance, and Carcass Characteristics. Link
9.    National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle, Eighth Revised Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/19014.
10.    Schütz, K.E., Cox, N.R., & Tucker, C.B. (2014). A field study of the behavioral and physiological effects of varying amounts of shade for lactating cows at pasture. Journal of Dairy Science, 97(6), 3599–3605. Link