Dr Rakesh Kumar Sharma1 and Dr Harish Kumar Verma2
Regional Research and Training Centre, Talwara, District Hoshiarpur (Punjab)
1 Senior Scientist; 2 Director Extension Education, GADVASU, Ludhiana
The wheat-paddy rotation in north Indian states has lead to significant reduction in soil fertility. This particular way of cultivation has put a great burden on the level of ground water. The unrestrained use of fertilizers, insecticides/pesticides and weedicides in the standing crops has affected the quality of ground water significantly. The ever increasing human population further intensified the demand of drinking water.
Water is the most important but most ignored component of animal nutrition. About 60-80 per cent of animal’s body is water. Almost all the physiological activities need water for their accomplishment. The optimum composition of all the body fluids is maintained through water. Animals are able to control their body temperature through water. The excessive heat generated in the body is expelled out in the form of sweat. Water is essential for digestion of ingested food particles, absorption of digested food and their transportation to liver. The assimilated molecules are, then, channelized through watery medium to respective cells and tissues of the body. Excretion of waste material from different tissues of the body also needs water. Fluids present in the allantoic and amniotic sacs protect the foetus from all kinds of physical threats. Water is indispensable for growth, reproduction and milk production by the animal. The smooth working of joints also depends on water. In nutshell, almost all the life processes are governed through water.
The dairy animal excretes water in the form of milk (25-35% of consumed water), dung (30-35%) and urine (15-20%). Salivation, sweating and respiration are also responsible for substantial loss of body water. Water also evaporates from body surfaces. The quantity of lost water depends on many factors like status of body metabolism, milk yield, environmental temperature and humidity, rate of respiration, intake level of fodders and water etc. The milch animals always require higher amount of water than other classes of livestock. This is simply because of the fact that milk contains almost 85-87 per cent water. Livestock will need more water in summer to counteract excessive loss through respiration and sweating. In fact, respiration and sweating are the two processes through which undue heat is lost from the animal’s body. Summers can witness almost 50 percent increase in water demand. The cattle may consume about 20 litres of extra water just because of increased environmental temperature.
Various livestock species have different water requirements. This is because of the fact that level of water losses is different in different species. The daily water requirement of a particular species depends on many factors. These factors have been described briefly in the following paragraphs.
- Age of animal: Calves and heifers require comparatively higher amount of water than adult animals. Calf’s body has 80 per cent water as compared to 60 per cent in mature animals. As the calf grows, its demand for water also rises till puberty. Thereafter, it remains almost static.
- Genetic constitution of the animal: Buffaloes need more water than cows of similar age. Zebu cattle can thrive on limited supply of water as compared to exotic cattle.
- Management strategies: The management practices also play a great role in the level of daily consumption of water. Free roaming animals under loose housing system will always require higher amount of drinking water than tethered animals. Animals that are allowed to graze on steep fallow lands will also need more water than stall fed animals. Any kind of exercise or heavy physical work especially in draught animals will raise the demand for drinking water.
- Pregnancy status: The requirement of drinking water is always higher in pregnant animals.
- Production status: Roughly four litres of water is needed to produce one litre of milk. Obviously, higher production will also demand higher water consumption.
- Environmental factors: The environmental factors like temperature and humidity are also known to affect the daily requirement of drinking water. The comfortable temperature range for bovines in tropics is 25-30° In summers, when the environmental temperature soars at 45°C, the demand for water usually doubles or triples. During winter, the demand decreases drastically.
- Quality of water: The temperature of water and presence of foreign matter, impurities, algae etc. also determine the amount of water an animal usually drinks. Water meant for drinking purposes should have temperature around 25° Hotter water in summers and colder water in winters is usually not liked by animals. They, often, consume less water resulting in poorer production. Animals especially goats prefer clean water.
- Feed/ Fodder quality: The water content of green fodders also affect the behaviour of animals with respect to overall intake of water in a day. The clovers (Indian, Persian or Egyptian) and lucerne (alfalfa) contain a lot of water especially during the first two cuttings. Consumption of water gets reduced significantly when these fodders are used. More water will be needed when wheat/paddy straw, maize stover or dried stalks of any other crop are fed in bulk. This is because of higher content of non-digestible matter in these feedstuffs. Higher amount of water will be consumed when oil seed cakes are included in concentrate feed in excess of its usual requirement. This is because of the fact that higher amount of urea will have to be excreted through urine. Animals deprived of common salt will have reduced thirst. Higher than recommended levels of salt in the feed will lead to over consumption of water.
Fig.1: Feeding of wheat straw with very little green fodder
Frequency of water intake is mainly determined by the variable needs of the animal. The animal has to drink water every few days so as to maintain its minimum level necessary for sustaining life. Water has to be consumed at least on alternate days to keep up the production. When peak milk yield is to be sustained, sufficient water must be available to each animal at all times.
Animals need energy (carbohydrates and fats), proteins, minerals, vitamins and, of course, water for different activities of the body like growth, production and reproduction. The demand of water far exceeds the daily requirement of all the other nutritional components. This is the reason why the quality as well as the quantity of water matters most for the well being of different categories of livestock. Water deprivation, often, leads to sudden drop in milk output.
Drinking water is invariably a scarce commodity in kandi (sub-mountainous) areas of the country. It should always be used judiciously for all kinds of domestic animals. The farmers must have a tentative knowledge of water requirements of different classes of livestock. Calves up to six-month age will need 4-12 litres of drinking water daily. Calves above six-month age and heifers (especially zebu and buffalo heifers) below 32 months can consume 40-70 litres of water on daily basis. Pregnant but dry animals will require 20-40 litres of water. For growing pigs, 1-3 litres of water will be sufficient; however, breeding boars and pregnant sows will need higher amount of water i.e. 10-15 litres/day. The demand of drinking water for different categories of goats will be around 3-8 litres a day. Horses of average size will require 10-40 litres of water every day.
Along with quantity, the quality of water also matters a lot. The water trough should be constructed in the shed at such a place where dust, fodder/feed particles or excreta can’t gain entry. It must be built under a shade so that the falling tree leaves are better avoided. Water trough should be such that the animal won’t be able to put his/her forelegs in water.
Hardness of water also determines its consumption level. Hardness is due to presence of salts of calcium and magnesium in water. Besides, potassium, sulphur or sodium salts can also contribute to its hardness. If possible, hard water should not be used for drinking purposes. The poultry birds are very sensitive to the dissolved minerals of hard water followed by pigs. The cattle (including buffaloes) are least affected by the presence of these minerals in hard water. Hardness of water does not have direct effect on health and reproduction of animals. Hardness does have bad effects on buckets, milk drums, other utensils and water pipes. Presence of calcium in water can cause deficiency of phosphorus in animals in long run. Digestion of proteins and carbohydrates get affected. Excess of magnesium can lead to diarrhea. Presence of sulphur can cause oedematous swelling. Medicines employed for treatment of various ailments will have reduced effects.
The ground water, often, contains higher amount of these minerals as compared to surface water. The acceptable limit of these dissolved minerals is about half gram per litre of water. When hardness exceeds this limit, the animal will need higher amount of water to quench his/her thirst. Sometimes, the ground water contains excessive amount of a particular element like iron, magnesium, lead, mercury, selenium or fluorine etc. Under such situations, the milk yielding capacity of whole of the population of the area will get reduced significantly. In Punjab, selenium is present in toxic levels in the soil of kandi area. The south-western districts of the state experience higher levels of fluorides in the ground water.
The water employed for drinking purposes should be neither acidic nor basic in reaction. In both the cases, the animal will consume less water. The feed intake will also get reduced. The animal may pass loose faeces all the time. The milk production will also be on lower side. The basic nature of water can be reduced by the use of alum. Acidity can be checked effectively by dissolving lime in water.
The drinking water must always be free from growth of any kind of algae. Usually, the algae grow in warm and still water. Presence of higher amount of dissolved minerals in water will hasten the growth of these algae. The best way to arrest the growth is by putting lime in the water trough. The inside of water trough may even be plastered with lime. These activities can be repeated every fortnight. To begin with, small quantity of lime may be used. Otherwise, animals may refuse to drink such water. The animals may also experience diarrhoea in initial days. The water in the trough must be replenished frequently. This will also check the growth of algae.
The animal fulfill their water needs
- By drinking water
- Through water present in the fodder
- Through water produced during metabolism
Drinking water from any source is by far the most important method of quenching one’s thirst. In kandi areas especially in the state of Punjab, special canals have been constructed with aid from World Bank to supply water for irrigation purposes. The villagers living alongside this kandi canal fulfill their water needs by drawing water from this very canal. Special ramps have been constructed for the animals to drink water from this canal. The most important feature of these ramps is that the animal can drink water, but they cannot enter the canal itself. This way, the water body remains pollution free.
Fig.2: Kandi canal along with specially constructed ramps
There are perpetual flowing rivulets in some parts of kandi belt. Water from such rivulets can be employed for livestock as well as for domestic use.
Fig. 3: Ever flowing rivulet in Kandi belt
In kandi area, the slope gradient is too high. The rain water gushes down the hill too quickly, often, causing soil erosions, flooding, uprooting of trees etc. Small check dams can be constructed at suitable places to collect this rain water. This water can then be channelled to various households down the hill through gravity. Such type of check dams have been constructed in the villages of Makkowal (Block Dasuya) and Dholbaha (Block Bhunga) in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab.
Fig. 4: Check dam at village Dholbaha, District Hoshiarpur (Punjab)
The rain water can also be collected in village ponds for future use. Quality of this pond water must be ensured before using it for drinking purposes.
Fig. 5: Village ponds in District Hoshiarpur (Punjab)
The rain water can even be collected in ditches excavated in the farmer’s fields. The seepage of water can be prevented by lining these trenches with polyethylene sheet. Rain water can also be harvested from rooftops of various households.
Fig. 6: Rain water harvesting ditch in the farmer’s field
Hand pump or tube well can be employed to extract water in areas where ground water is not too deep. The animals are allowed to drink water from pucca troughs. The breadth and depth of this trough should be five feet and three feet, respectively. Its length will depend on the size of the herd. One cubic foot of this trough can hold about 28 litres of water. Each animal of the herd must have access to about 60 litres of water in the trough. These figures will help the farmer to evaluate the size of the trough sufficient for his herd.
Fig. 7: Ground water extracted through tube well Fig.8: Water trough for clean drinking water
The farmers especially in kandi areas, thus, can improve the utilization of available water resources for their livestock. The farming can even become more profitable when the optimum production level is maintained for a longer period through better management of drinking water.
