These four words are not something you would hear together in most conversations but all four work hand-in-hand when it comes to looking after your livestock, increasing your profit margins and giving you a tasty feed at the same time. Milne Feeds’ sales manager, Paul Nenke, puts the pieces of this concept together for us in relation to a key livestock management factor – water.
Summer is the time of year when water quality is often a limiting factor for animal health. Water is the most important ingredient of all life and, when it comes to farming, animals rely on water to facilitate food digestion, regulate body temperature and support growth.
The intake of water for each animal will vary greatly depending on the weather and body weight but, in the case of our summer, always plan on the high side for required consumption. The table below indicates average water consumption in litres/day.
One factor that can have a significant, negative effect on water intake is water quality. When water quality is poor, stock will reduce the amount of water they drink. This, in turn, leads stock to reduce their consumption of feed, causing a loss in body condition, which will affect weight gain/growth and milk production. The better the quality of the water (maximises water intake), the healthier the animal.
So how do we monitor water quality? This is where the yabby comes in handy. The yabby, or marron, is a cheap, cost-effective ‘canary’ suited to the waters of WA. These freshwater crustaceans can help identify water quality issues, provide a tasty meal and can also become a nice secondary income.
Common Water Limitations to Production
Salinity
Salinity is one of the biggest problems with water in WA. Tolerance of salinity varies between animals. The guidelines from DIPRD recommend that salt levels in water should be within the range of 0-4000 mg/l for beef cattle; 0-2400 mg/l for dairy cattle; 0-4000mg/l for sheep; and 0-4000mg/l for horses.
The recommendation is that farm water sources should be regularly tested by an accredited laboratory. Salinity levels of dams and creeks can change over the years and across seasons, particularly over summer. Water should be tested regularly from the beginning of summer onwards to ensure salinity is within the desired ranges to maximise stock water consumption rates.
Pollution from Run-off
As farmers, we have all seen this – a sudden thunderstorm or flood fills dams up with organic matter from run-off. This can be manure, grasses, hay, and even dead animals. The eutrophication that occurs from such run-off can result in putrid water, as oxygen is stripped from the water by algal blooms. Not only can this cause animals not to drink the water, but livestock death can also occur in some cases where contaminated water is consumed.
This type of water issue is easy to identify at the onset, due to the organic material floating on the dam, but after a number of days this will sink. Then we are looking for other indicators, such as smell and the water changing colour.
Yabbies and Marron - our 'canaries' in the water
Like the canaries that were used to identify poisons in mines, the humble yabby and marron can be used as a very good indicator of when the water in your dam is not suitable for livestock. Most farms across WA already have these tasty crustaceans in their waterways.
The first indicator that the stock water has an issue is when the yabbies start walking out of the dam. They will actually get up, get out, and start looking for clean fresh water.
As a freshwater species, yabbies require water that is healthy to live in. Like livestock, they prefer water that is low in salinity and is not putrid or overrun with bacterial or algal growth. When the health of water in a dam is deteriorating, they will walk out and can be found all around the dam, often dying. This is a good time to remove the livestock from the water source and have the water tested.
Adequate livestock water consumption is a critical part of our animal management, and also impacts the success of animal production enterprise, whether it be growth, weight gain or milk production that is required. Water quality, particularly salinity, can be a limiting factor for livestock water intake, so why not add some yabbies to your dam water? They’ll provide you with a quick, easy and cost effective water quality monitor.
At the end of a long day working with the livestock, these little crustaceans also provide a tasty meal!
(Photo credit: Thankyou to Cambinata Yabbies)
