Winter Calf Management Strategies - What about water?

Managing calves throughout the different seasons each come with their own set of challenges, but winter, especially where there are freezing temperatures and snow, can come with additional headaches. 

When it comes to anything calf related, the main thing to remember is you can manage your way out of just about any situation. Now, don’t get that confused with it’s easy, because many times it’s not, but it is possible. 

We are going to go through a couple scenarios where some extra time and attention might be needed in the winter to help your calves stay healthy, happy, and growing. 

Water is always at the top of the list for winter calf health and also being something that is kind of annoying to deal with when everything is frozen. There are a couple ways that you can handle watering calves in the winter, but they are going to be more work, and require more management.

First, it’s important to know that calves CAN NOT get sufficient water intake just from their milk diet. Water is the cornerstone for every bodily function including the digestive system, rumen development, and even the respiratory system. They can not go without water, but it’s just as important in the winter as it is in the summer. In the summer, it’s hot, which makes it obvious that water is needed, but in the winter, it’s dry and the calf is using more energy to keep themselves warm, making it just as important to have free choice water available. 

Now that we’ve covered the why, let's talk about the how. There are many ways you can manage water in the winter. With younger calves, make sure you’re not wasting water. While they aren’t going to drink much, the little bit they do drink is going to be very important. If you fill a two gallon bucket to the top, and a three day old calf drinks one cup, it’s going to be impossible to tell that they even had any, leading you to believe it was a waste of time and energy, but that cup of water means a lot to that little calf!

When filling water buckets, the goal is to give them JUST enough to get them to the next feeding. One rule of thumb I like to use is to give calves about 2 cups of water per week of age. Another thing that can help keep from overwatering is to use smaller and shallower buckets. Maybe you don’t put out the 2 gallon bucket until just before weaning. Maybe you use the shallow round dish for the first 3-4 weeks and then graduate them to the big one when they are actually drinking significant water. This will also help from having to find a home for all the water you have to dump if you use the buckets for milk, and it will help keep the water fresh. It could take a week for a calf to drink two gallons of water!

Using a smaller bucket will also help encourage the calves to put their head into the bucket. If they have to stick their whole head into a black bucket, they are likely not going to do it unless they have to. We like to have buckets so that the calves don’t have to go past their eyes to get to whatever they are trying to eat/drink. 

Second, make sure you are offering warm water! Calves love warm water and will be significantly more inclined to drink it vs cold water. Take the time to offer a little water and wait to see if they drink it, and offer a little more. Give them as much as they’ll drink while you are there, and leave them a little for later. Pro tip: it’s really hard to over water calves. If a calf is chugging warm water it’s because they need it! Don’t short them because you are worried about “over watering”. Let them fill themselves full, even if they look like the GoodYear blimp when they are done. In our barn, the calves that drink the most water are the biggest calves in the pen. 

Lastly, if possible, take a walk through the barn midday and water again. This is where the extra time and energy is going to come in, but it can go a long way for your calves to have another opportunity to drink more water. Water is a huge driver of starter intake, and those extra calories will go a long way when it’s cold out. This could also be an opportunity to offer electrolytes if that is something you do on your farm. 

Are you looking for some help with calf management in the winter? We can help you create efficient, cost effective systems to keep the toll of winter on the calves low. Something as simple as getting creative with watering calves in the cold months can make a huge difference.