The water intake of British Friesian cows on rations containing various forages

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Abstract
The intake of drinking water of lactating British Friesian cows in 14 herds with a total of 840 animals was measured monthly from November to April inclusive. The intake of food, the air temperature and relative humidity were also recorded. The herds which mainly contained autumn-calved cows were managed under controlled commercial conditions.The average daily intake of drinking water was 49·9 (range 20·1 to 87·1) kg/cow for animals yielding an average of 16·8 kg milk/day in an environment with a mean temperature of 8·2°C and a relative humidity of 84·8%. The amount of water drunk daily was positively and significantly related to the mean daily milk yield and the drymatter content of the ration, but not significantly related to either the mean air temperature or the relative humidity. The average intake of water was 3·70 kg per kg of dry matter consumed after subtracting the amount of water in the milk. On average, 40·0% of the total daily intake of water was drunk between 15·00 and 21·00 hr.Behaviour studies of 24 hr duration on five herds showed that drinking time ranged from 2·0 to 7·8 min/cow per day, and the rate of drinking varied from 4·5 to 14·9 kg/min.Recommendations are made for the provision of drinking water for dairy cows being offered a wide range of forages under modern conditions of housing.