Birds at all ages, must always have easy access to clean, fresh and good quality drinking water. Good quality drinking water is clean, clear, fresh, tasteless, and free from contaminants. The quality of the drinking water should be regularly checked as contaminated drinking water can cause serious disease problems. Never forget the importance of water: when birds don’t drink, they won’t eat and cannot grow or produce!
Water as an important nutrient: Often neglected as a source of nutrients, but water is a very important nutrient for all production animals. Birds consume at least 1.6 times more water than feed, with an increased amount during the period of reproduction organ development. The birds should be able to easily find, access and drink the water, besides they should be able to drink as much as they need at any time. Water intake stimulates feed intake and both water and feed are necessary for the birds’ development and the production of eggs. A decrease in water consumption can be an early warning that something is wrong with the health of your flock. Daily water monitoring is therefore an easy and clear monitoring tool. Good quality water is important as it can also be used as a carrier for vaccines, antibiotics, or chemotherapeutics. But on the other hand, it can also be an important source of pathogens! The goal is to keep your water free from biofilm, scale, bacteria, molds, fungus, algae, and yeasts, while maintaining the correct chemical values as pH.
Visual inspection: The easiest and cheapest way to inspect the drinking water is by having a look at it. Collect water samples from the source or the well. A sample from the beginning of the water line in the poultry house. A sample taken at the end of the line…Click here to read more
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