Better Pork - October 2006 |
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Nutrition |
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Do you know your pigs' daily water requirements?The loss of one-tenth of a pig’s water can be life-threatening. And a drop in its water consumption can be a warning sign that there are health problems in the pen by JANICE MURPHY Although water is vital for body functions and makes up a substantial part of an animal's body mass, we often refer to it as the "forgotten nutrient." How often do we think about the availability and quality of water supplies on a farm? We are usually so focused on supplying rations formulated to the Nth degree for protein, energy, vitamins and minerals that we forget that, without an adequate supply of good water, the ration could very well be irrelevant. Pigs of all ages require a clean, fresh supply of water at all times. Surprisingly, an animal can lose practically all its fat and more than half its protein and still live, but a loss of one-tenth of its water can be life-threatening. How much water does a pig need? In theory, a pig will consume about 10 per cent of its body weight in water each day and up to twice that in hot weather. However, determining a pig’s exact requirements can be a tall order because water is involved in so many functions above and beyond the requirements for maintenance and production. In fact, it is difficult to think of a single major body function that does not require water. So, if you subscribe to well-known pork writer John Gadd’s school of thought, you might as well not worry about requirement and just use his golden rule -- NEVER DENY A PIG ALL THE WATER IT WANTS! According to Mike Brumm, Extension Swine Specialist and Professor of Animal Science at the University of Nebraska, daily drinking water needs for pigs range from less than two litres per pig per day for newly weaned pigs to more than 5.7 litres for grower-finisher pigs using nipple drinkers in warm conditions. Grower-finisher pigs using bowls, cup drinkers or wet-dry feeders use less water, usually averaging just over 3.8 litres per day. Water requirements for the breeding herd can range from 11-15 litres a day for dry sows to 19-23 litres for lactating sows. Using these numbers, Brumm predicted the yearly water usage of various facilities: For a 1,000 head grower-finisher facility, assuming pigs are occupying pen spaces 330 days per year, the facility has nipple drinkers and a 90 per cent facility utilization rate, total drinking water use will be 1,881,000 litres. However, if drinkers that have been proven to waste less water are used, such as bowl drinkers or wet-dry feeders, total drinking water use for the facility would 1,254,000 litres. Can daily water consumption records be used to monitor pig health? Over the past number of years, producers are becoming more aware of the relationship between drinking water usage and pig health. Figure 1 shows the impact that swine flu had on daily water disappearance in a fully slatted, 860-head finishing facility in Nebraska six weeks after the pigs entered the barn. Brumm suggests that the advantage of recording daily water use versus daily feed disappearance is that water meters are readily available and, if water delivery systems are well-maintained, water will generally always be available to pigs. Figure 1. Impact of swine flu on daily water usage (gallons/hour) in an 860-head, fully slatted finishing facility in Nebraska. (Brumm, 2006) There has been continued debate as to what changes in the pattern of daily water usage are the best predictors of pig health and performance, but this is an area that remains fuzzy. According to Brumm, observations by producers and veterinarians have suggested that when daily water usage drops for three consecutive days, or drops more than 30 per cent from one day to another, this may be an indication of health problems in the facility. These changes in water usage pattern, if nothing else, should serve as a warning to the producer to look more closely at the pigs for signs of illness. A spreadsheet for producers to create their own data sheets to chart daily water use patterns is available on the Nebraska Pork Central Web site at: http://porkcentral.unl.edu. When do pigs drink? Brumm’s data suggest that water usage in farrowing facilities does not show a distinct pattern over a 24-hour period. Milk let-down typically occurs every hour, so it is logical to assume that the sow would consume water throughout the day as long as water is made available. Since a sow's milk is primarily water, and milk yield generally increases to a peak level at approximately three weeks post-farrowing, it is not surprising that daily water usage during lactation follows this pattern. By contrast, water consumption by nursery and grower-finisher pigs has a distinct pattern within a 24-hour period. While research has shown evidence that the majority of water consumption is associated with eating, information on patterns of water usage in commercial facilities are limited. Figure 2 demonstrates the pattern of water use in a wean-to-finish facility in Minnesota. Figure 2. Effect of season on 24-hour water usage (gallons/hour) pattern in a 600-head, fully slatted wean-to-finish facility in Southeast Minnesota, when pigs averaged 195 to 210 lbs. body weight. (Brumm, 2006). The similarities between the patterns in the winter and summer suggest that there are two patterns of water usage, depending on the temperature. In thermoneutral conditions (air temperatures at pig level of less than 26°C), grower-finisher pigs start drinking at around 6 a.m., with a peak in water disappearance in early afternoon and a gradual decline throughout the day. This pattern has been well described in the published literature. However, when pigs are housed in warm to hot conditions (air temperatures at pig level above 26°C for one or more hours per day), their drinking pattern changes. Pigs begin drinking earlier in the day, with a morning peak around 9 a.m. During the heat of the day, there is a decline in drinking water use and then a second peak between 5 and 8 p.m., followed by a gradual decline overnight. Brumm notes that pigs shift to this pattern of drinking water use on the first day of warmer temperatures (above 26°C at pig level) and maintain the pattern for three to five days, even if the temperature moderates to what is considered thermoneutral. Armed with this information, it may be possible to use this shift in drinking water usage as a predictor of a performance reduction due to heat stress in grower-finisher pigs. How important is water quality? Depending on the age and condition of an animal, the effect of mineral or chemical contamination in water can vary immensely. To be safe, a water sample should be routinely tested about four times each year (in March, June, September and December) to establish background information about the seasonal nature of your farm’s water supplies. With this information on file, contamination can be more easily detected in the event of a problem. Knowledge of the daily water requirements of pigs and daily patterns of water usage allow for the appropriate sizing of water delivery systems and prediction of the impact of pork production on existing water supplies. Previous experience has suggested that daily charting of drinking water usage can serve as a valuable predictor of the onset of health problems. Brumm suggests that, as more sophisticated methods become available to record water usage, other predictors of performance may develop depending on the patterns that emerge. BP Source: Brumm, M.C., 2006. “Patterns of drinking water use in pork production facilities,” 2006 Nebraska Swine Report, pp.10-13. Janice Murphy is an independent consultant and former swine nutritionist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
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