Fair Enough
A few years back, I noticed a 4-H mom pouring Gatorade into a bucket of water at our county fair. She started doing that a week before bringing her children's dairy feeder calves to the fair. The Gatorade helped mask the taste of city water, making it more appealing for the calves.
Before this, I had never thought about this topic from the animal's perspective, but now I completely understand. Most cattle are raised on farms with well water, and sometimes they won't drink very much if the water at the fairgrounds has a different taste. That's an important issue, because 4-H'ers need their cattle or calves to be fully hydrated on show day.
Beef animals can lose essential minerals when they exercise, sweat or have diarrhea. Symptoms include lethargy, or depression, sunken eyes and loss of skin elasticity. Just like humans, cows need to replace those lost minerals with electrolytes. That can come from a balanced feed ration, but water is key to bringing their system back into balance.
More than once, I've seen a judge place a class of dairy feeders and make the comment that one or two calves weren't filled out. That could be caused by a lack of feed, dehydration or both. The most important thing you can do in early April is push feed and water. Get them growing strong and healthy!
During fair week, a number of things can cause your calf to eat and drink less. Riding in a livestock trailer can cause stress and affect the calf's fluid intake. It's possible they don't like the taste of the local water. Giving them Gatorade at home may help with their transition to the fairgrounds.
If your cow or calf is dehydrated, ask your veterinarian for advice. Many feed suppliers have electrolyte formulas that are specifically designed for cattle and calves. If you're in a pinch, Gatorade is acceptable to use, but be sure to add it to a bucket of water. Gatorade is high in sodium, glucose (sugar) and other essential minerals.
My research on this topic led me to some interesting facts. For example, did you know that cows have about 25,000 taste buds? That's roughly two and a half times as much as humans. They need all those taste buds to differentiate between the various types of grasses and weeds in a pasture. When they drink Gatorade, they taste the sweetness of the sugar. That's what keeps them coming back for more.