water management

1. Water MANAGEMENT IN
POULTRY

2. objectives
• To know about the functions and importance of
water in poultry production.
• Water quality standards for optimum poultry
production
• Factors affecting water consumption
• Water management tips.

3. INTRODUCTION
• Water is a critical nutrient that receives little
attention until a problem arises.
• It is the cheapest nutrient for poultry having
very expensive implications if not handled
properly.
• Quality of water varies with the source, method of
storage and delivery system in practices.
• High levels of bacterial contaminants, minerals,
or other pollutants effects birds performance.

4. Water
• Water born diseases like colibacillosis,
coccidiosis, salmonellosis, enteritis, ascitis,
nephrosis, heapatitis

5. FUNCTIONS OF WATER
• From the physiological perspective, water
consumed by the bird is used for,
– Passage of feed through the digestive system
– Digestion and absorption of nutrients
– Transportation of absorbed nutrients to different
organs
– Facilitate enzymatic and chemical reactions in the
body
– Elimination of waste and toxic substances through
kidneys
– Body temperature regulation
– Lubrication of joints and organs

6. Water intake
• A rule of thumb a bird can consume twice as
much water as the amount of feed consumed
on weight basis
• It may increase three to four fold during
summer stress.

7. FACTORS AFFECTING WATER
CONSUMPTION
Feed consumption
• Water consumption is highly correlated to the
amount of feed consumed by a bird.
• Commercial broilers consumed around 2 times
to that of feed consumed.
• Age
• When age advances, the water consumption
also increases, although consumption per unit
weight decreases with age.

8. Environmental temperature
• The important way of regulating body
temperature by the bird during summer is
through evaporative cooling method.
• As birds pant for evaporative cooling of body,
water is lost and needs to be replaced in order
to maintain the body water balance.
• Water consumption in broilers increases
approximately 7 per cent for each 0F increase
in temperature.

9. Electrolytes
• During heat stress, addition of electrolytes not
only to replenish those depleted, but also
stimulate water consumption and thus have
synergistic effect to control mortality.
• Water temperature
• Any water temperature below the body
temperature of the bird will be beneficial during
heat stress conditions.
• The water consumed will help to dissipate body
heat.

10. WATER OUTPUT
• Birds lose water mainly through faeces, urine
and respired air.
• Except Ostrich, birds do not urinate as such
because the urine is mixed with the feces in
the distal large intestine.
• The quantity of water excreted in the feces
and urine depend upon the water intake.

11. • The water content of broiler excreta is about
60-70% . Majority of water is lost through
faeces than urine.
• Birds have no sweat glands, and consequently
evaporation of water through skin as that of
animals is limited. Hence, the evaporative
cooling of bird’s body during summer is
mainly through respiratory tract.

12. WATER QUALITY
Color Water is colorless, and any color in the water may
indicate an increased contamination level.
Turbidity Particles such as clay, silt, sand or organic matter in
suspension can cause the water to appear cloudy
or muddy. Turbid water can cause leaky nipples and
clog fogging nozzles.
Hardness Calcium and magnesium salts cause the water to be
hardened and can lead to scale and sludge buildup
within water lines. Hardness reduces the
effectiveness of soaps and disinfectants and
interferes with the administration of some
medications.

13. Iron (Fe)
• Iron will stain almost everything it contacts, and it is a
common water quality issue.
• Recent studies indicate that iron in the water does
not appear to affect poultry health, but some of the
iron may form solid particulates such as iron oxide,
which can lead to equipment problems.
• These small particles can cause leaky nipples and
block fogging nozzle openings. Either of these
conditions can have negative impacts on poultry
production.
• Bacteria are more likely to thrive in water with high
iron concentrations. As a result, biofilm buildup can
occur, which can obstruct nipple drinkers and
promote pathogen proliferation.

14. • Manganese (Mg)
• While manganese itself does not cause a
negative effect on poultry health, like iron, it
can form solid particulates that can cause
leaky nipples and clog foggers.
• Nitrate-N (N)
• Elevated nitrate concentrations indicate
decaying organic material. It has been
correlated with poor oxygen use in animals,
Presence of nitrate is a good indicator that
water should be checked for bacteria.

15. pH
The pH is a measure of acidity or alkalinity.
•A pH of 6.0 to 6.8 is preferred for broiler
production, but birds can tolerate a pH range of
4 to 8.
•A pH range of greater than 8 could cause
reduced water consumption.

16. • Alkalinity
• Caused by calcium carbonate, bicarbonate or
sulfate. High alkalinity increases the buffering
capacity of water.
• Total solids
• Total solids represent the total amount of solid
material in both suspension and solution. Total
solids are not directly linked to any poultry health
issues, but equipment function and water
delivery could be nega-tively affected by total
solids, which could influence bird performance.

17. • Toxic compounds
• The amount will vary depending on the
compound, but elements such as lead,
selenium and arsenic should be kept below
1.0 ppm to prevent bird health problems as
well as residues.
• Bacteria
• Keep bacteria levels to a minimum .

18. Physical quality
• Color, Taste, Odor and turbidity
• Drinking water should be clear, tasteless,
odorless, and colorless.
• Reddish-brown color may indicate the presence of
iron
• blue color - copper.
• Hydrogen sulfide - rotten egg odor.
• Hydrogen sulfide may also combine with iron to
form black water (iron sulfide)
• Taste can be affected by the presence of salts, and
a bitter taste - presence of ferrous and manganese
sulfates.

19. • Frothy water - more of organic matter.
• Turbidity - suspension of materials such as
silt, clay, algae or organic materials in water.
• Levels of turbidity above 5 ppm result in
unpalatable water and indicate surface
contamination.
• Turbid water can be filtered to remove
particular contaminants and prevent clogged
water lines.

20. pH
• Low pH water can be unpalatable, corrosive to
equipment, and may have a negative impact on
performance.
• High pH water is also unacceptable since it
reflects high levels of calcium and magnesium,
which can clog watering systems.
• Poultry accept water on the acid side better than
they accept water on the alkaline side.
• normal 7.0-7.2 and 6.5 to 8.0 acceptable for
poultry.

21. Total Dissolved Solids
• Total dissolved solids (TDS), or salinity,
indicates levels of inorganic ions dissolved in
water.
• Calcium, magnesium, and sodium salts are the
primary components that contribute to TDS.

22. A GUIDE FOR DRINKING WATER
QUALITY FOR POULTRY
Use the following table as a guide for drinking water
quality for poultry
Contaminant, Characteristic or
Mineral
Maximum Acceptable
Levels
Bacteria
Total Heterotrophic Bacteria 100 CFU/100 ml
Coliform Bacteria 50 CFU/100 ml
pH 6.0 to 8.0
Hardness 110 ppm

23. Use the following table as a guide for drinking water quality for poultry
Contaminant, Characteristic or Mineral Maximum Acceptable Leve
Naturally Occurring Compounds --
Calcium 500 ppm
Chloride 250 ppm
Copper 0.6 ppm
Iron 0.03 ppm
Magnesium 125 ppm
Manganese 0.05 ppm
Nitrate 25 ppm
Phosphorus 0.1 ppm
Potassium 500 ppm
Sodium 50 ppm

24. WATER MANAGEMENT TIPS
• Conduct water tests
• Each farm should have its well water tested.
Water quality can change during periods of
heavy rain or drought,
•

25. Flush water lines regularly
Perform a high pressure flush on water lines
between each flock and after adding supplements
through the medicator (i.e., vaccine, medications,
vitamins, electrolytes, etc.).

26. • Change filters regularly
• Sediment and other particulates can cause leaky
water nipples that can have negative effects on
litter quality.
• Clogged filters restrict water flow to the drinker
and cooling systems.
• In some cases, simple cartridge filters may not be
adequate, such as for water with high iron. In
those cases, consider other water treatments

27. Water sanitation and sanitizers
• Filtration, sedimentation, ozonization, UV
treatment and chemical treatment.
• Chlorination is the best and cheapest.
• 5 to 8 grams of bleaching powder with about
35 percent available chlorine should be added
to 1000 litres of drinking water and allowed
to have minimum contact time of 60 mins
before offering the water to birds.

28. • Normally bleaching powder is added at night
to the water
• At the collection point residual chlorine should
be 0.2 ppm

29. • Where storage facilities are not available, liquid
chlorine preparations like chlorine dioxide, 5
percent sodium hypochlorite (sanitech), etc.,
may be used at a level of one ml per 10 litres of
water.
• Iodophores containing 1.6 percent available
iodine are also used as water sanitizers at the
same dosage level.
• Products containing Quarternary ammonium
compounds like quat, quatovet, encivet, sokrena
etc. may be used as water sanitizers as per the
manufacturers’ specifications
• 50% H2o2, used at 1 ml/50 L.

30. Guidelines for Chlorination
• Do not chlorinate market age birds under
extreme heat stress.
• Discontinue chlorination and administer
powdered milk solution before vaccination to
neutralize chlorine since chlorine kills vaccines.
• Use caution since chlorine solutions are acidic
and often oxidize soft rubber.