Water consumption trends for commercial broilers grown to nine weeks

Abstract

Monitoring drinking water consumption (WC) is a daily routine for broiler producers and can be a good indicator of flock health and performance. In general, water consumption will increase as broilers age, and any sudden dips or decreasing trend in water consumption can indicate an issue that should be addressed. Due to the lack of information in the literature, this study quantified daily WC trends for broilers grown to nine weeks under commercial conditions. Daily WC was monitored between d 8 to 63 and varied between two flocks. Mean cumulative WC was 14,629 L/1,000 birds, ranging from 13,982 (Flock 2) to 15,276 L/1,000 birds (Flock 1). At wk 8, flocks from this study consumed between 27 to 46% more water on a L/1,000 birds/wk basis than data reported 20 to 30 yrs ago. However, broilers in this study consumed less water to achieve equivalent body weights (BW) when compared to past studies. While reporting broiler WC in units of L/1,000 birds makes discussions in the field easier when trying to estimate the expected water needs of a farm, broiler genetics and husbandry practices continue to increase bird weights earlier in the flock. Including a WC:BW in terms of mL of WC to kg of BW can provide a more accurate comparison. Future WC research studies should include additional data to allow for better comparisons between studies: weekly BW, environmental set-points, in-house air temperature, lighting photoperiod and intensity, diet composition by feeding phase, drinking system, and water line pressures, and others.