Watering Systems: Reliable Drinking Water for Barn and Field

Watering Systems: Water That Is Always There

Water is the most important feed on any farm. A dairy cow drinks well over a hundred litres on a warm day, a horse around fifty. If the drinker is too small, refills too slowly or freezes over in winter, intake drops straight away – and yield and health drop with it. In this category you will find drinking bowls, troughs, pasture drinkers, tanks and pumps for every species and every location, plus the valves, heaters and spare parts that keep the system running for years.

The right drinker for the site

In a tie stall one drinking bowl per animal is usually enough, while a loose housing barn needs bigger troughs with a high refill rate, because several animals want to drink at the same time. Out on the paddock the water source decides: if a pipe runs to the field you work with a float valve, and if not you work with a barrel, a tank or a mains-free pasture pump. Heavy versions in cast iron or stainless steel stand up to the pressure of cattle, while plastic is light and quick to clean.

Through the winter without ice

The cold season is the real test. Heated drinking bowls running on 24 V or 230 V keep the water moving, trace heating and frost protection cable look after the supply pipe, and mains-free thermal drinkers with an insulated double wall cope well below zero. What matters is that bowl, pipe and valve suit one another – a heated bowl is little use if the pipe in front of it freezes solid.

Frequently asked questions

How many drinkers do I need in a loose housing barn?
As a rule of thumb allow one drinking point per twelve to fifteen cattle, plus a second point in every pen so that lower-ranking animals are not pushed away from the water.

Cast iron or plastic?
Cast iron is still the first choice for cattle and for rough surroundings. Plastic wins with small livestock, poultry and anywhere you clean or move the drinker often.

What can I do when the drinker freezes in winter?
Usually it is not the bowl that freezes but the supply pipe. Trace heating with a thermostat and proper insulation solve that far more reliably than a bigger bowl.