Why poultry water line purity is imperative

Since more than half of the end products sold by egg and poultry producers consist of water, making sure the water the birds drink is pure cannot be stressed enough, said Jesse McCoy, supervisor for Neogen’s water treatment business unit.

Roy Graber Headshot
(Zhang Yongxin | iStock.com)
(Zhang Yongxin | iStock.com)

Since more than half of the end products sold by egg and poultry producers consist of water, making sure the water the birds drink is pure cannot be stressed enough, said Jesse McCoy, a business unit specialist for Neogen Corp.'s water treatment business unit.

Speaking during the International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) Marketplace TechTalk, “Water Treatment Programs for Organic Production,” McCoy pointed out that birds themselves are about 66% water, while their meat ranges from about 66% to 69% water, and eggs are about 74% water.

“The reason I bring this up is that these are the things that we sell as an industry,” said McCoy.

Nearly all of the water poultry ingests comes from the drinker, although they do get small amounts of water from respiration and from their feed.

He also notes that water is “by far the largest single oral input.” As a general rule of thumb, poultry will drink twice as much water by weight when compared to how much feed they eat.

A typical broiler will drink about 2.5 gallons of water per bird over its life cycle, said McCoy.

Disinfectants are necessary to eliminate pathogens and, in turn, improve feed conversion and reduce disease. It also cuts medication usage, which is particularly important to organic poultry producers, he said. Another reason proper disinfection is important is because it reduces staffing and maintenance costs, he said.

“We want to make this as easy as possible, so let’s treat the water so that it works for us as opposed to being something that’s a problem for us,” he said.

Best methods of disinfecting

McCoy mentioned the following disinfectant options that are commonly used in poultry production. Those are ozone, chlorine bleach, chlorine dioxide, peroxide, ultraviolet (UV), iodophores and acids. However, UV and ozone are not as effective in keeping the lines clean, since drinkers are open and are susceptible to infection from pathogens in the air.

“Many are pathogens of consequence to your bird,” he added.

When disinfection procedures are performed, when the water lines are flushed, the water should look impure when it first comes out. That means the disinfection agent is doing its job. Keep flushing the water until it is clear. Testing of the water should be done to make sure it is pure. He also advises to closely follow all directions on the label.

“We want the first drink they get to be the best drink they get,” he said.

Pay attention to registrations

Remember that all disinfection products have to be registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), McCoy said. For organic poultry producers, the disinfectants not only need to be approved by the EPA, but also by organizations such as the Organic Materials Review Institute. 

“As an organic producer, the key for you is going to be to not only find that organic stamp, but also find that brand that satisfies the rest of the approvals that you need,” he said.    

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