Investigations on the water intake of growing bulls

The voluntary water intake was evaluated in 62 growing Holstein bulls (mean body weight range = 193 to 550 kg) during a whole fattening period. The diet was composed of corn silage and concentrates. Water was offered for ad libitum consumption. A total of 17,772 measurements of water intake were recorded over 282 days. The average daily water consumption was 18 kg/animal (S.D. = 6.7 kg). Applying a multiple regression analysis to the data set yielded the following equation: voluntary water intake (kg/day) = − 3.85 + 0.507 ⁎ average ambient temperature (°C) + 1.494 ⁎ dry matter intake (kg/day) − 0.141 ⁎ roughage part of the diet (%) + 0.248 ⁎ dry matter content of roughage (%) + 0.014 ⁎ body weight (kg). The incorporation of the variables body weight gain, relative humidity, maximum ambient temperature, Na intake, and K intake into the equation did not increase the accuracy of the prediction.