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B.C. Livestock Watering Handbook

Last updated on May 28, 2024

Outdoor Systems for Summer and Winter

Water forms about 50 to 80 percent of an animal's live weight and is an essential nutrient. Whereas an animal may lose almost all of its fat and 50 percent of its body protein and survive, the loss of only 10 percent of its body water can be fatal.

The factsheets below provides livestock watering information for planning and constructing both summer and winter watering systems.

Chapter Title PDF, Size
     
Complete Manual B.C. Livestock Watering Handbook 16.8 MB
  Front Cover of Handbook    5.5 MB
     
Livestock Water Requirements Livestock Water Requirements: Quantity and Quality 1 MB
Water Quality and Cattle   (PFRA publication) 1 MB
Algae, Cyanobacteria and Water Quality   (PFRA publication) 1 MB
Enhancing Livestock Water Quality 1 MB
     

Accessing
Watercourses
Directly

 Watering Livestock Directly from Watercourses 1 MB
Improved Livestock Access to Water Using Geogrids 1 MB
Offstream Watering to Reduce Livestock Use of Watercourses
    and Riparian Areas		 1 MB
     
Developing Water Sources Measuring Water Flow: Along Streams, From Pipes, and From Nozzles 1 MB
Water Harvesters: Collecting Precipitation 1 MB
     
Designing Livestock Watering Systems Livestock Watering System Design #1: Flow Rate, Pressure, Storage
    and Trough Size		 1 MB
Livestock Watering System Design #2: Selecting Small Diameter Pipe 1 MB
Livestock Watering System Design #3: Calculating Pumping Requirements 1 MB
Livestock Watering System Design #4: Design Worksheet 1 MB
Understanding Gravity-Flow Pipelines: Water Flow, Air Locks, & Siphons 1 MB
Selecting Flow-Through Rates to Frost-Proof Water Troughs 1 MB
Storage Tanks for Livestock Watering Systems 1 MB
Conversions of Water-Related Units 1 MB
     
Pumping Livestock Water Pumping Livestock Water: It’s All About the Energy Choices ! 1 MB
Pumps for Livestock Watering Systems 1 MB
Powering Livestock Watering Pumps 1 MB
Using Wind Energy to Pump Livestock Water 1 MB
Using Gravity Energy to Pump Livestock Water 1 MB
Using Solar Energy to Pump Livestock Water 1 MB
Using Livestock Energy to Pump Livestock Water 1 MB
Using Stream Energy to Pump Livestock Water 1 MB
Using A Hydraulic Ram to Pump Livestock Water 1 MB
Using A Modified Hydraulic Ram to Pump Livestock Water 1 MB
     
Summer Outdoor Livestock Watering Summer Livestock Water Troughs 1 MB
Installing Summer Livestock Watering Systems: General Specifications
    and Requirements		 1.2 MB
Rangeland Livestock Water Trough: Design, Installation and Maintenance 1 MB
     
Winter Outdoor Livestock Watering Winter Considerations of Livestock Watering: Ice Formation, Freezing Index,
    and Frost Penetration		 1 MB
Frost-Free Hydrants 1 MB
Winter Outdoor Livestock Watering 1 MB
Energy Free Water Fountains  (PAMI publication) 1 MB

 

Livestock Watering Handbook cover

The amount of water livestock requires on a daily basis is often difficult to estimate. The B.C. government has developed a comprehensive livestock watering handbook to take you through a step-by-step process in calculating livestock water requirements.

Contact information

Do you have a question? Please contact us. 

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Email
AgriServiceBC@gov.bc.ca