Also, since dairy cows tend to produce twice as much milk as beef or range cows do, dairy cows tend to drink more water on average than a typical beef cow would. So a 1000 lb lactating beef cow may drink around 15 to 20 gallons per day, whereas a 1000 lb lactating dairy cow may drink around 30 to 40 gallons a day. If a certain feed is higher in salt content than another, a bovine will drink more water to counteract the amount of salt that is found in the feed.