Farm & Producer
Animal Water Needs
Daily, weekly, and monthly water by species, climate, and lactation state.
Animal Water Needs
Inputs
head
Results
Daily water need
15.6 gal per head
468 gal
Weekly
3,276 gal
Monthly
14,040 gal
Tank (3-day reserve)
minimum storage for outages
1,404 gal
How to use this
Water intake scales dramatically with temperature. A beef cow drinks about 12 gal at 70°F but 18–25 gal when the heat index hits 90°F+. Lactating dairy cows can push past 40 gal per day.
Size storage for at least three days of full demand so pump outages, frozen pipes, or delivery gaps don't become an animal-welfare emergency.
Formula
per_head = base_gal × climate_mult × lactation_mult
daily = per_head × head_count
tank_reserve = daily × 3
Related calculators
Formula
gal/day = base × head × climate × lactation