As you know, any animal needs water to survive. But, if you’re raising sheep, you may rarely see your animals drinking—in fact, you may not see them drink at all. Do you ever wonder why that is, how you should give them water, or how much water your sheep actually need?

Of course, you should provide fresh, clean water for your sheep. Sheep prefer drinking from a still source of water, rather than from flowing water. We recommend using buckets or other forms of automatics waterers. Also, please rinse out the container that holds your sheep’s water regularly.  Your sheep will prefer water that has no ice in it in the winter, and water that is in shade during the summer.  Finally, to maintain control of your water supply, we recommend fencing off water from nearby streams and other natural water sources.

Typically, your sheep will need between something between a half gallon and three gallons of water a day. The amount of water they need a day is influence by how heavy the animal is, whether or not they are lactating, what they are being raised for, and environmental conditions. Similarly, if they don’t seem to drink, it is most likely because they get most of the water they need through forage. We recommend having a clean, fresh supply available at all times.

If you would like to learn more or have any questions about sheep care, please feel free to contact us. We are excited to hear from you.