Sheep not drinking?

[Ruus]

The water level in my sheep water tubs never seems to go down, should I be worried about them? While they were on pasture I assumed they were getting all they neded from the grass, but they've been on hay for quite a while now and they still don't seem to be drinking. The water is kept clean and fresh, and I break the ice out several times a day. Their stool is normal and they don't seem to be dehydrated. they eat the sheep salt like crazy, but the water tub is pretty small, so I'd be able to see if they were drinking, and they're not.

 

[purplequeenvt]

Do you have snow? In the past, our sheep would eat snow over drinking water.

 

[Sheepshape]

I have never known my sheep to drink much water apart from when they have just given birth or are lactating. Sheep don't sweat.
As long as there as water always available,they will drink when they need to.
They DO seem to like snow....sheep version of ice cream?
Check that the ewe lick doesn't contain too much salt.

 

[vt_mountainman]

My sheep don't drink much either. With all the cold weather we've had lately, their water is usually frozen within a few hours. I dump the water and ice out, and replace it with fresh water, a few times each day, ...but they never seem very anxious to drink it! I just want to be sure they do have fresh water available, and not a bucket of ice, if by some slim chance they do want to drink.

I bought two 2-1/2 gallon gas, removed the spouts, and use those to carry water to my sheep. The built in handles make them easy to carry, even while wearing gloves/mittens, and the water doesn't slosh out of them during my trip down to the barn. They have made watering my sheep so much easier than when I used a 5 gallon pail to do the same thing.