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west central Iowa | We feed cows exactly as you are thinking. We feed and water on the south end of half mile rows and the cows overnight next to the timber on the north end. We feel the cows really need to get some exercise anyway. If the sun is out and snow is not too deep the cows will pick at stalks all winter long.
We have a Cobett waterer at another location and run 100+ cows on it and absolutely love it!!! In my mind the simplicity of the waterer and lack of trouble, in the past, is well worth the price!
The cows on the 1/2 mile rows drink from a large round stock tank. We fill with a hydrant and 10 inch hose. We make sure to have the water level full at night so ice stays at the same level. A large number of cows will keep a hydrant running slow most of the day. We open the same holes to drink each day. One thing we have noticed is that when the weather is really nasty, the young cows will not hang around to drink after they have eaten. One day is not a big deal, but (we delieve) 2-3 days has led to possible calf developement issues that show up at calving.
Hope this helps
560highcrop | |
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Water for cows on cornstalks?
