Calf water consumption

[backlash]

I bought 3 calves with a total weight of 1600 pounds. I bought a new water trough that is about 2 feet deep and holds 110 gallons.
I filled it up and the next morning there was about 6 inches of water left in it. The ground around the tank is dry so I don't think it leaked out.
I refilled the tank and it's still almost full a day later.
I'm having trouble believing 3 small calves can really drink that much water but I don't have any other explination.
They had been in a corral all day when I bought them and it wasn't really hot.
What do you all think?

 

[zoomzoom]

That consumption is a little high. At their size, they should be drinking around 10 gallons give or take based on weather and such.
My "guess" is that the place you got them from wasn't providing ample water for the # of cows they had. If there isn't enough, it becomes a competition for water as the cows think of it as a limited resource. Your calves may still have that mindset that the water is limited. Therefore, they over-consume not knowing when they may get more water. Keep the water tank relatively full and once they know that it's an ample resource, their consumption should go down.

 

[Bacpacker]

We used to water our cow and her calf in an old clawfoot bath tub. It was down over half every day. Not sure how much water it held.

 

[LadyLocust]

I would agree with both ~ one more tidbit. If your water has needed minerals that the former place doesn't, they might be "hungry" for the minerals in the water also. I'd guess after a couple days it will decrease a little. An interesting side note. I have a bunny not huge, but not a mini. She has been drinking about 2 cups of water per day this past week which is a lot for a little bunny. It's almost full moon which does affect critters (2 and 4 legged.)

 

[Peanut]

I bought 3 calves with a total weight of 1600 pounds. I bought a new water trough that is about 2 feet deep and holds 110 gallons.
What do you all think?

When cattle are loaded and moved it stresses them out. The usual result is diarrhea.

These calves were obviously moved from a herd, probably still hanging around their mothers.

The calves are now scared and super stressed out and most likely have a case of super diarrhea. This dehydrates them x10. They are going to need a lot of extra water for the next couple of days.

My 2 cents... seen it happen before.

Edit to add... although the usual response to being loaded and moved is diarrhea... Stress is a funny thing, cattle can have varied responses to it. They might become lethargic, stop eating for a few days or even get constipated.

Just be aware of changes to the cow's normal routine. Maybe your neighbor gets a new stereo and plays it loud on weekends, anything that breaks the normal routine can cause stress in a critter.

 

[backlash]

The first day they mostly just laid around in the dried-out weeds. Now they are out in the pasture acting like cows. The water rough has been almost full but I have seen them drinking.
I have very hard water and I put out mineral and salt blocks like the seller had.
They had shots and the steer was castrated and separated from his mom the day I bought them so that may have had something to do with it.
They are pretty mellow and didn't get excited when we moved them.
Looks like things are settling down and they are liking the grass. Where they came from was pretty sparse eating.
Thanks, everyone for the advice.

 

[joel]

FIL used an old bath tub too.
We had a water tank cut in half from end to end, with legs welded on it about 24 inches high. We boys had to keep it full of water by turning the spigot
until the water trough was full. On hot day this would happen tow or three time a day, we would leave the water on low flow until all the animals stop drinking, then when full turn the water off.