Open AccessEstimating water consumption and factors affecting intake in grazing cattle
Author(s) -
Shaukat Ali,
L. A. Goonewardene,
J. A. Basarab
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
canadian journal of animal science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.377
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1918-1825
pISSN - 0008-3984
DOI - 10.4141/cjas94-077
Subject(s) - grazing , relative humidity , zoology , water consumption , humidity , cattle grazing , environmental science , biology , agronomy , geography , meteorology , environmental engineering
Water consumption (WC) by 39.5 animal units (AU) of grazing cattle was studied at a central Alberta site in summer. Average WC AU −1 was estimated at 48.9 L d −1 . WC increased by 0.68 L AU −1 (P < 0.01) for each percentage decrease in relative humidity, increased by 0.81 L AU −1 (P < 0.02) for each degree Celsius increase in maximum daily temperature, and increased by 0.15 L AU −1 (P < 0.06) as cattle grew and the season progressed. Relative humidity is shown to be an important determinant of WC in grazing cattle. Key words: Water consumption, animal unit, temperature, humidity, grazing cattle
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