Broiler Chicken Water Consumption- Commercial Poultry Farming

It seems simple, but what and how much chickens drink has a huge impact on flock performance of broiler chickens. We've talked about several elements that impact chickens' drinking water, including water's pH value, flow rate, pressure and quality. For more information about these important factors in chickens' health, check out our Poultry Biosecurity video resources on YouTube.

We want our chickens to drink fresh water. Feed intake and how much water a chicken drinks are directly connected. Chickens drink approximately one and half to two times as much water as they do feed. When water consumed increases, feed consumed increases as well.

Dr. Tabler from Mississippi State University says that "Water is the most important nutrient for the overall health and performance of commercial broilers." Although we may not always think of water as a nutrient, it is a huge part of what chickens need to be healthy. Several health issues for chickens can be traced back to the chickens' water- is there enough water in the waterer? Is the water clean? Could there be sources of water contamination? Do you need any water treatments?

It's clear to us the impact of water on our human bodies. If we don't have enough clean water, we can really feel our dehydration throughout our whole body. What's in the chicken waterer does more than just hydrate your bird. It impacts all major functions of a bird body- digestion, waste secretion, respiration, food softening, joints lubrication and body temperature regulation. If any one of these functions is impaired, chickens will see compounding health problems.

Sometimes, we try to treat chickens' symptoms without looking at the root issue. If you overlook the basic problems with water quality and consumption, your efforts to make your chickens happier and healthier may be met with little success.

How can you make chickens drink more water?

Start with the basics. What does water consumption look like currently? Although you can't control the feed you receive, you are in full control of the water your chickens consume. This is a huge deal since clean, fresh water is one of the most important nutrients to keep chickens healthy.

To really increase chickens' drinking water consumption, you shouldn't focus on what makes the chicken want to drink water, but what may be stopping them from visiting the chicken waterer. You don't have to teach your birds to drink water- you just have to provide water! Birds know naturally that drinking water is good for them. They want to drink water. So what is keeping them from visiting the waterer? That's what we need to focus on to make sure our flock gets enough clean water.

First of all, a bird can't drink anything if the chicken waterer is empty. Start from the beginning of their water source.

-What is the capacity of your source? Do you have a well? If so, how many gallons is it pumping?
-Is the motor strong enough, and is it running efficiently?
-What size are the pipes running from the well, or from the county source, to your houses?
-Is there a bottle neck running into the house? You could have 12-inch pipes running to the house and in the house, but if there's a half-inch pipe at the meter then guess what? A chicken cannot get as much water as it needs.
-What do your filters look like?
-How old is the plumbing?
-Is there any buildup in the lines, reducing pipe diameter?
-Do you have the correct pressure?
-Now, you can have all the drinking water capacity in the world, but if you don't have the supply to match how much water your chickens drink, it won't matter. Mechanical items like these can be taken care of with a little attention to maintenance or some retrofitting.

Water quality is another huge factor in how much water a chicken will drink. Assessing what's in your flock's water source can be a bit more complex than determining the effectiveness of its delivery method. What does your water smell like? Is your water clear? What is the pH in your waterers? What will it take to get the pH where it should be? Will this pH-changer also drive the flock away from the water?

We hope you found this video helpful. Please reach out to us with any questions or suggestions for future topics by emailing me at [email protected] or calling 800-608-3755.

Now go get those birds some good water!

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Sources:
https://extension.msstate.edu/sites/d...
https://extension.uga.edu/publication...
https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articl...
https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articl...
https://www.livestocking.net/water-co...