Importance of water quality and its importance in birds
1. Water constitutes about 55% to 75% of body weight in poultry birds and is considered as one of the most important nutrients for their growth and development.
2. On an average, birds consume twice the amount of water as feed on weight basis.
3. Water quality challenges can have detrimental effects on the normal physiology of the birds resulting in reduced performance.
4. Water hygiene must be considered an integral part of any biosecurity programme in Poultry houses.
5. Drinking water for poultry arrives from different sources posing a serious threat to the quality of water due to the presence of a wide variety of
a) bacterial contaminants,
b) inorganic ions
c) or other pollutants,
which directly or indirectly affect the overall performance and health of birds.
6. Hence, maintaining and providing good quality water is essential for the efficient development of birds in terms of health and nutrition.
7. Water quality is evaluated by several criteria such as
a) total alkalinity,
b) hardness,
c) total dissolved solids (TDS), etc.,
8. But the primary and most important parameters in poultry are
a) pH,
b) hardness
c) and microbiological analysis.
9. Ideal parameters in Poultry drinking water:
a)pH between 6.5 and 6.8,
b) hardness between 60 – 180 ppm,
c) and contain less than 100,000 CFU/ml of total bacteria for poultry drinking water.
10. Water should be tested frequently in order to ensure that its quality is stable.
11. To do this, water should be collected from the farthest point of entry into the house, the last drinker.
12. In many parts of India the levels of hardness, dissolved solids in the water, are quite high, which increases the pH to the upper end of acceptable levels.
13. These salts, especially calcium or magnesium salts, can form deposits in the water pipes that can ultimately reduce water flow.
14. Additionally, they can also encourage the build-up of biofilm in the pipes by providing attachment sites for bacteria to lodge.
15. Flushing of water lines should be carried out at least once per week, and more often in hot climates to ensure good results.
16. This will reduce the risk of parts of the biofilm breaking loose in the water pipes and causing an obstruction in the drinker valves,
17. Please use an alkaline detergent at 2 litre for 100 litres of water which is having high descaling and degreasing power.
18. Please distribute the adequate detergent solution throughout the pipeline for one hour and afterwards rinse twice with water through pipelines
and donot allow birds to drink rinsing water.
19. Now allow your birds to drink fresh water which are free from bacterial and viral contamination which will benefit your flock performance .👍
By-Dr V. Rajendra Prasad,Poultry Consultant, Hyderabad.
