What base water rates do you use?

Typical planning values in gallons/head/day: cow-calf 12–20 (20 lactating), beef yearling 6–12 (9 used), dairy (lact.) ~30, horse 10, sheep 2, goat 2, swine 6, poultry 0.05 per bird. Always adjust to your conditions.

How do adjustments work?

We multiply daily need by (1 + heat% + activity% + reserve% + wildlife%). For hot days or long moves, bump these up. You can also set a custom base rate.

How many gallons are in a cubic foot?

1 ft³ ≈ 7.4805 gallons. The trough calculator converts L×W×D in feet (or meters in metric mode) to volume automatically.

Livestock Water Needs

Units: Saved on this device

Herd & base rate

Species / class

Base rate (gal/head/day)

Head count

Days in period

Heat / weather adj (%)

Activity / drive (%)

Reserve / safety (%)

Wildlife / spillage (%)

All adjustments are additive then applied once.

Tank / trough & refill

Solve for

Refill interval (hours)

Source flow (GPM, optional)

We’ll estimate fill time if provided.

Existing tank (gal, optional)

Trough L×W×D (, optional)

If both are set, we’ll add them.

Results

Daily need: —

Period total: —

Required tank (for interval): —

Existing tank capacity detected: —

Fill time at source (optional): — hr

Planning estimates. Shade, wind, distance to water, and diet can swing usage.

Livestock watering essentials (optional)

Common gear for sizing tanks/troughs and keeping water flowing. Links open in a new tab.

Stock tank float valve— automatic refill
Livestock water trough / stock tank— match your herd size
Stock tank de-icer (heated)— winter use
Heavy-duty livestock water hose— for filling tanks
Hose quick-connect fittings— faster setup/teardown
Water flow meter (GPM)— optional, to estimate fill time
Portable livestock trough— for temporary setups

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How we got these numbers

Enter head, rate, and adjustments to see step-by-step.

Formulas

Adj. rate = base × (1 + heat% + activity% + reserve% + wildlife%)
Daily need = head × adj. rate
Period total = daily × days
Required tank (for interval) = daily × (interval hr ÷ 24)
Tank duration (hours) = tank ÷ (daily ÷ 24)
Trough volume (US) = L×W×D (ft³) × 7.4805 • (Metric) = L×W×D (m³) × 1000
Fill time (hr) = tank ÷ (flow × 60)

Notes

Use higher reserves for heat waves, lactation peaks, or long moves.
Place tanks near shade and shorten walking distances to smooth demand spikes.

Estimates only. Verify before purchasing materials or operating equipment.