When cattle are housed, their world gets small: feed face, cubicle or slatted pen, water trough. That makes the shed the ideal place on a dairy or beef farm to control intake of key nutrients to maximise animal health and performance.
Why water, and why the shed
Every animal drinks, and in a shed they drink from a closed system with the opportunity to supplement accurately. No stream at the back of the field, no bullying at the lick bucket. For housed cattle silage quality varies pit to pit and year to year, but your herd’s requirements don’t. A proportion of daily needs comes from the diet, but supplementary minerals are needed on most farms to avoid disease and production losses from deficiency.
Dairy: get the transition right
Dry cows and springers are where housed dosing earns its keep. Mineral and vitamin deficiencies can lead to pre & post-calving problems such as retained placenta, milk fever, lameness and fertility challenges. A quality, proven pre-calving blend in the dry cow shed’s water reaches every cow – including the shy ones at the back of the pen. The transition to in-calf, productive cows begins long before calving and a good pre-calver, consistently available, will overcome many problems.
Beef: consistent from sucklers to finishers
Suckler cows face the same calving risks while weanlings and finishers need steady supplementation through the housed period. Good mineral nutrition supports calving, fertility, bone development, immune function and more. Water dosing gets it into every pen without extra handling at feeding time. Different animal ages will have different intakes related to their need. Consistent availability through water using an accurate dosing system ensures all animals receive an appropriate mineral dose each day.
Consistent Availability of the Right Minerals
Cattle drink more on a warm day and less on a cold one and diet can greatly influence water intake. Proportional dosing systems cannot deliver an accurate dose automatically – this is where Terra Nutritech makes the difference. TERRA NutriTECH controllers are designed for both indoor and outdoor systems where the variation in water intake can be huge. They dose the correct amount irrespective of the weather, so the herd gets the precise dosage whether they drink a little or a lot.
Getting the dose right is what convinced John Clinton. With spring- and autumn-calving cows on anywhere from 1 to 6 kilos of meal, putting magnesium in the meal meant some cows got too much and others too little. Moving it into the water fixed that.
“That was one of the big selling points for me – finding a consistent way to get the magnesium in.”
— John Clinton, dairy farmer, TERRA NutriTECH customer since 2013
Watch John’s story: terranutritech.com/case-study/farmer-john-clinton
What a shed setup looks like
- OPISPro – for larger herds. Doses one to six mineral blends into the water supply feeding one or many troughs, so you can run different blends for dry cows, the milking herd or finishing cattle.
- AQUAHerd – a fixed, automated dosing system that delivers liquid minerals directly into the farm’s water supply. Designed for sheds or fields with piped water.
It fits in more easily than most expect: the controller can be fitted to any type or size of existing water piping, and a full installation can be completed in an hour or less. Just cut the appropriate pipe, fit the manifold, plug in and start dosing.
Start with the blend
Every blend is built for the herd in front of it. TERRA NutriTECH looks at available information including herd history, forage & blood analysis and animal health records before recommending a blend. Where specific needs are identified Terra Nutritech can formulate a custom blend for your herd. Supplementing through the water network delivers consistent mineral supplementation to the herd and is the only sure way to know when, how and what your animals are being supplemented with.
A water system that keeps watch
Once the OPIS controller is fitted, it measures as well as doses. Water consumption is monitored to enable correct dosing throughout the day and irregularities such as leaks, no-flow, power failure can be set up as automated alarms for added peace of mind.
AquaHerd controllers do not measure or report water flow – they use advanced logic to ensure each herd receives the minerals needed each day without influence from weather or water intakes.
Both systems ensure your herd gets the correct dose every day leaving you with one less task to worry about.
Before you start: a shed checklist
- One water source per group. Ensure only treated water is available to the herd.
- Layout. Know which troughs each line feeds – dry cows, milkers, weanlings, finishers.
- Get the blend right first. Share silage analysis, soil results and herd health history.
- Ensure dwelling house and parlour are on a different line.
The bottom line
From springers in the dry cow shed to bullocks on the slats, housing allows you huge control on your animal intakes. Dosing through the water means every animal gets its supplement, with no mixing, top-dressing or guesswork and the system delivers day after day.
Want to know if your shed setup suits water dosing? We work with dairy and beef herds throughout Ireland at all stages from housing and calving through to breeding and grazing. Terra Nutritech will have the correct solution for your farm. Call Ronan on (087) 708 6714 to talk through a dosing system and a mineral blend built for your herd.