Water is the most important nutrient. An adequate supply of clean, fresh water is a critical component of maintaining healthy, productive cattle. At this time of year in Oklahoma, managing your cattle’s water supply is more important than ever. Water accounts for at least 50 percent of your cattle’s live weight. Water is required to transport nutrients through the blood, maintain cellular structure, regulate temperature, and much more. In order for livestock to maximize feed intake and production, they need daily access to palatable water of acceptable quality and quantity. Water is also critical for cattle dealing with stress. Insufficient water intake lowers cattle performance more dangerously than any other nutrient deficiency. Dehydration in cattle severely weakens the ability of the respiratory organs to resist and expel disease-causing organisms. As well, hearing and sight of cattle can be adversely affected by dehydration.

Knowledge of water requirements of cattle is necessary when designing water supply systems where the water supply may be limited or the delivery system restricts access in times of heavy use. Although quite a bit of data is available on the water intake of growing and finishing cattle, little information is available in published literature for mature beef cows. OSU Cooperative Extension Fact Sheet ANSI-3299 is an excellent resource for information about water needs of beef cows. 

Factors that influence the daily water intake requirements of cows include the following:

Estimates of Total Daily Water Requirements of Beef Cows

                                                                        Average Daily Temperature (Fahrenheit)

                                                                                    40                    65                        90

Cow Weight    Milk Produced/Day                                        Gallons Water/Day                 

1,100 lbs.        0 (dry cows)                                          8.2                 10.8                        13.4                

1,100 lbs.        25 lbs.                                                 12.8                 15.4                        17.9

1,300 lbs.        0 (dry cows)                                          9.2                 11.8                        14.3

1,300 lbs.        15 lbs.                                                 12.2                 14.8                        17.4

1,300 lbs.        30 lbs.                                                 14.5                 17.1                        19.7

1,500 lbs.        35 lbs.                                                 16.3                 18.8                        21.4

These estimates are intended to represent total daily water consumption. Free water intake could be lower when cows are consuming feeds of high moisture content.

Key Points