The table listed below outlines important criteria for sheep water quality. Make calculations on the basis that sheep require up to 10% of their body weight in water in hot weather per day.

Be aware of the risk of blue green algae in dam water when water levels are low in warm weather as blue green algae can be toxic to sheep.

Total salinity (ppm)	Conductivity (μS/cm)	Magnesium (mg/L)	Suitability for use
<5,000	<8500	<400	Suitable for all sheep
5,000–10,000	8,500–16,500	<600	Not suitable for lambs and weaners, caution with lambing ewes
10,000–15,000	16,500–25,000	<600	Only dry mature sheep which have adjusted to water
>15,000	>25,000	>600	Not suitable for sheep

Refer to Tool 5.2 in MMFS Module 5 Protect Your Farm’s Natural Assets for a system for calculating farm water supply, quality and reliability.

Australian Wool Innovation Meat & Livestock Australia AWI Privacy Policy MLA Privacy Policy

Sitemap

MMFS Manual

Module 1 Plan for Success Module 2 Market Focused Wool Production Module 3 Market focused lamb and sheepmeat production Module 4 Capable and Confident People Module 5 Protect Your Farm’s Natural Assets Module 6 Healthy Soils Module 7 Grow More Pasture Module 8 Turn Pasture into Product Module 9 Boost Business with Breeding Module 10 Wean More Lambs Module 11 Healthy and Contented Sheep Module 12 Efficient Pastoral Production

Industry Links

Resources(2)

resource item 2 resource item 3 resource item 4 resource item 5 resource item 6 resource item 7 resource item 1