Orange Water Gets Cows To Drink More

Orange Water Gets Cows To Drink More DAIRY EQUIPMENT & IDEAS Dairy Equipment & Ideas 30-5-10 A dairy researcher at the University of Guelph, Ontario, has found a number of ways to get cows to drink more water. Vern Osborne says it makes sense that water intake is important, when you consider that milk is 87 per cent water, and a cow's own body makeup is between 50 and 80 percent water. More water equals more milk. One discovery Osborne made is that cows drink 12 percent more when the water is at or near their own body temperature. He has also found that by adding orange flavoring to their water, test cows would drink more, but this may be only because it was a novelty to them. The study is ongoing as he continues to test a variety of flavorings. "When we added glucose to the water, it significantly reduced rumen ammonia and blood urea, improving digestive functions." Other studies are looking at water supplementation of glycerol and soybean oil for transition dairy cows. Glycerol is a byproduct of biodiesel made from soybeans. Jim Linn, a dairy nutritionist at the University of Minnesota is also doing water quality studies on how the mineral content in water interacts with the minerals in forage and purchased feeds. "Most people discount the minerals in water, but you can get fairly high mineral intake. It could result in a ration that's not balanced," Osborne points out. It's important to test water quality twice yearly, because mineral levels can change. When iron is present, it may prevent the cows from properly absorbing other nutrients. High iron levels may also reduce immune function or cause mastitis and oxidative stress. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Vern Osborne, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada (vosborne@uoguelph.ca) or Jim Linn, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn. (ph 612 624-1205; linnx002@umn.edu; www.ansci.umn.edu).

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