# cattle and a pond



## Muddy Boots (Jan 23, 2010)

I am in the process of fencing in a new pasture that boarders a pond. Some areas of the pond have a step drop and others are shallow where they can walk in the water. Do I need to worry about the deep areas and run a fence along the pond or will the cattle stay away. Itâs all new to me


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

They WILL go in the pond. They can accidently push eachother in, if nothing else.

As long as there is a way for them to get back out, they should be fine. They CAN swim, though they are not great at it. The main thing is having a bank they can get out on. If the sides are too steep they can drown.

A friend of mines horse drowned in a neighbors unfenced irrigation pond. He kicked a lot of holes in the plastic liner and caused a lot of damage. It was only about 5 feet deep, but he couldn't get out.

The cattle remind me of hippos in the summer, standing in the pond on summer afternoons with just their faces above the water. Keeping cool.


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

We have had trouble with our cattle getting bogged down in the mud along the edge of the pond. If I were you I would fence them out of the pond. You can fix an area behind the dam and pipe out water from the pond to a waterer.


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

Just remember if it can happen it will happen. Only a few days ago the wife was on the 4 wheeler and lost a supermarket plastic bag contain 3 playtex gloves in the pasture. I buried a nice 400 heifer yesterday that picked up the bag and ran away eating it and the contents.


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## mudburn (Feb 26, 2010)

I don't let any cows into or near my pond. Granted, I don't have but 4 at the current time, but it seems to me that they don't belong in or near my pond. I've seen the kind of damage cow hooves do to soft, muddy ground. I've also seen how cows are indiscriminate about where and when they relieve themselves. I just have a hard time imagining that pond water that has been urinated and defecated in makes for hygienic drinking water, even if they are only cows.

mudburn


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## francismilker (Jan 12, 2006)

I've never given a pond in the pasture much thought. As mentioned above, they can swim just not graceful at it. In my neck of the woods, a pond is sometimes the only saving grace to keep them from dying of heat stress in the middle of summer.


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## RosewoodfarmVA (Oct 5, 2005)

Ponds are good for water source and cooling in summer. Down side is mud. In winter a pond is wonderful as you don't have to worry about frozen waterers. I would never include a pond in a permanent pasture as the edges will turn to muck. In rotational grazing it works well as the grasses on the edge are allowed to regrow before grazing is done again. We have creeks, 2 ponds, and several pastures with waterers. I would rate them as pond is the best, followed by creeks (except that you have to check on them in summer as they get dry without rain), then waterers. With the waterers it's a constant checking and waiting etc. Daily chore...

We've never had any trouble with ponds though we do have one that the pasture is on one side and hayfield on the other, the fence runs out into the pond about waist high, low water in summer the cows just waded across! Didn't use that pasture again til the pond filled up again. The cows will keep the pond ice-free. This winter we had 3" of ice on the pond but they found a way to always keep it broken in a place to drink from. I checked it regularly but didn't have to mess with it.


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