Broilers Featured Articles
Water Quality and Broiler Performance
By Marco Quiroz, DVM, Manager of Product Development for Novus International Inc. and presented at the North Carolina Broiler Supervisor's Short Course Conference in April 2008. He emphasises the importance of removing biofilms from water-lines and outlines in details ways of achieving it.Algae, bacteria, rust and other contaminants can build up on the inner surfaces of poultry house water lines over time. Although flushing water lines between flocks is recommended, flushing cannot always remove the slime layer or bio-film of bacteria or algae. Therefore, more poultry growers are incorporating some form of organic acids to their water system flushing procedures. In addition to suppressing biofilm formation in the water lines, this procedure will reduce harmful bacteria, improve animal performance as well as food safety.
* "Sub-standard water quality...is relatively common and can have a profound adverse impact on poultry performance" |
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From feed formulation to delivery, great attention has been paid to the feed your bird receives. Poultry nutritionists have fine-tuned their feed formulations based on years of research and how this research performs in the field. Hence today’s rations contain nutrients in amounts and proportions that support optimum bird performance. Feed manufacturers place great importance on feed and pellet quality while ingredient purchasers set strict standards to assure consistent ingredients are purchased every time. Poultry producers maintain secure storage facilities to protect the quality of the feed delivered to their birds. Although feed quality has received much attention, the quality of the water that birds drink is often overlooked.
Microbial Contamination of Water
Sub-standard water quality – water contaminated with microorganisms, algae, dust and rust – is relatively common and can have a profound adverse impact on poultry performance. In some aspects, water quality can have a greater negative effect on bird performance than feed quality because it is a well known fact that birds consume more water than they consume feed.
According to several studies, more than 40 per cent of privately owned individual drinking water supplies – typically found on US poultry farms – are contaminated with coliform bacteria. In some regions of the world, more than 70 per cent of the water supplies are contaminated with coliform bacteria. The microorganisms can enter a water supply from a variety of sources including sewage, animal wastes or dead animals.
Although some of the microorganisms found in the drinking water can be potentially harmful, others are not. For example, iron bacteria are a major nuisance in many well-water supplies. Iron bacteria should not be confused with iron dissolved in water that causes red water and stains on clothing and plumbing fixtures. Iron bacteria do not cause disease but do form a reddish-brown slime that coats the inside of pipes, fouls pumps and clogs waterers. All of which represent a major challenges for poultry growers.
Algae are another type of microorganism that contaminates poultry water supplies. Some algae produce compounds which are toxic to poultry. In extreme cases, algae-produced compounds cause offensive flavours – described as 'muddy' or 'plastic' – in poultry meat.
Because bacteria- and algae-contaminated water may cause disease – or in some cases, depress the bird’s immune system – poultry flock performance suffers. In addition, some non-pathogenic bacteria and algae impart an offensive odour or taste to the water, which in turn results in water refusal, leading to a drop in feed intake and poor bird performance.
A major contributing factor to the presence and intensity of bacteria or algae contamination in poultry drinking water is the amount of dissolved nutrients – specifically phosphorus and nitrogen – in the water. These nutrients facilitate the growth of bacteria and algae through a biological process known as eutrophication.
In a major study conducted several years ago by the US Geological Service at the Massachusetts Military Reservation near Cape Cod, researchers concluded that the phosphorus was a common cause of eutrophication. Over time, eutrophication can progress to a point where the bacteria or algae form a visible slime layer (biofilm) on the inside surface of water pipes.
'Shock' Water-Lines to Remove Biofilm
Poultry growers find that water-borne bacteria and algae are difficult to kill. The cells of these microorganisms are encased in a cell wall. Common disinfectants and sanitizers cannot penetrate or degrade the cell wall. Biofilms provide bacteria and algae with additional protection from chemical assaults.
“Biofilm is generally present in all watering systems and the only good way to suppress mature biofilms is to aggressively 'shock' water lines with a good sanitizing agent between flocks,” Dr Pat Welch, a poultry production consultant, says.
The aim of a water system shock treatment is to expose all interior surfaces of the drinking water system to a sanitizing agent for a sufficient period of time to reduce the surface tension of the bio-film and dissolve mineral deposits that have accumulated in the water lines, and kill potential vegetative bacteria and algae growing in the biofilm.
Dr Welch cautions poultry growers to exercise care when mixing acids (organic or inorganic) and detergents with chlorine products due to the release of chlorine gas which can be harmful if exposed to the eyes or upper respiratory tract. “If inhaled in sufficient quantities, [chlorine gas] can be fatal,” he warns. Dr Welch advises poultry growers to don personal protective equipment before using oxidizers to shock water lines. Also, some oxidizers used for shocking water-lines are caustic and cause chemical burns on exposed skin or mucous membranes.
More poultry growers are discovering the value of water quality on the performance of chickens, turkeys, ducks and other commercial poultry. In a 2006 survey of growers conducted by Terrence O’Keefe and Gary Thornton, 33 per cent of US broiler growers responded that acidification of drinking water was one of the most promising new technologies on the farm. The percentage was higher – nearly 42 per cent – for turkey growers. Nearly 66 per cent of broiler growers said drinking water treatment (acidification or chlorination) was one of the most effective ways of controlling microorganisms in poultry operations – higher than the effectiveness of vaccines and direct-fed microbials.
Yet all acidifiers are not the same. An important distinction must be made between acidifying water versus reduction of microorganisms in the water, performance and food safety. For example, citric acid is an organic acid commonly used by poultry producers for acidifying their water. Citric acid is an excellent acid for this mainly because it’s inexpensive but also because it contains three carboxyl groups which help decrease the pH of the water quickly. pH of the water is important when you are using sanitizers because lower pH allows sanitizers to be more effective against certain microorganisms. However, citric acid does not have good antimicrobial activity.
HMTBA (2-hydroxy 4-methlythio-butanoic acid) is an organic acid and amino acid precursor (ALIMET® feed supplement by Novus International Inc.). Research conducted by the CCL Institute in the Netherlands using HMTBA demonstrated its effectiveness in reducing bacterial populations such as Salmonella, E. coli and Campylobacter, all of which can be found in the drinking water of poultry (report CCL-FS/QS 04.0058). HMTBA is also one of the main components of ACTIVATE® WD MAX, a proprietary blend of organic acids from Novus International. While in the water – and more importantly, once consumed by the birds – Activate WD Max plays an important role in the destruction of harmful microorganisms that could affect the birds future performance and that also play a role in food safety concerns.
Hence a new two-step poultry water 'shock' and cleaning procedure followed by the addition of Activate WD Max is outlined in Table 1. Table 2 features a list of chemicals suggested by Dr Welch that can be used when 'shocking' and cleaning the water-lines prior to placing birds in the house.
Table 1. Procedure for 'Shocking' Water-Lines with Organic Acids and Detergent in Commercial Poultry Houses
| Step 1: | Raise the water-lines to approximately 3 feet (1 metre) off the ground. |
| Step 2: | Turn off the water service from the source and drain the entrained water from the lines by opening the ends of the lines. |
| Step 3: | 'Shock solution' recipe: Add three ounces of liquid dishwashing detergent (unbuffered and unscented) and three ounces of blue food colour to one gallon of a concentrated solution (65-85 per cent) of organic acids or prepare a stock solution just by adding 250g of citric acid/litre of stock solution and mix thoroughly.* |
| Step 4: | Open the water regulators to the “Flush” mode to accelerate the 'shock solution' through the water-line. |
| Step 5: | With a medication metering pump, dispense the 'shock solution' though the water-line – including the hoses used to fill the drinkers – at a rate of one ounce per gallon. |
| Step 6: | Turn off the regulators and then close the ends of the water lines** |
| Step 7: | Allow the 'shock solution' to remain in the water line and drinkers for approximately 90 minutes. |
| Step 8: | Purge the water-lines with hydrogen peroxide 35% (1 oz/gallon) of Peroxyclean® 50% pull directly from the container to the medicator. Allow the solution to remain in the water lines for approximately 24-48 hours. |
| Step 9: | walk through the house and drag the bristles of a broom along the bottom of the waterlines, triggering each nipple, allowing the solution to penetrate the nipple assembly. |
| Step 10: | 24 hours before placement of new flock, Prepare a solution of Activate WD Max (according to directions) and flush the water line. Do not add blue food colour to this solution. |
| Step 11: | Measure the pH of the water at the end of the water line. It should be less than pH3.5, the optimum pH for Activate WD to have a maximum antibacterial effect. |
| * The 'shock solution' will be dark blue. Once it has travelled through the entire water line, a light blue solution will be observed coming out of the end of the water line. Once this occurs, allow 2.5 gallons of water to flow out of the water line to ensure that undiluted 'shock solution' is present in the entire water line. If bell drinkers are used, it is essential that undiluted 'shock solution' flows into the bell drinker. This may require emptying the drinkers several time before the blue 'shock solution' is observed. When the 'shock solution' appears, allow it to fill the drinkers to the lip to sanitize the drinkers. | |
| ** When using the regulator set on “Flush,” the procedure can damage the diaphragm if the regulator is not turned off before closing the drain vales at the end of the water line. | |
| ***Activate WD is different from other organic acid blends because it includes Alimet® feed supplement. | |
Table 2. Effective Chemicals for Poultry House Water-Line 'Shock' Treatments
| Chemical | Effective concentration (ml or g per litre) |
|---|---|
| Acetic acid (vinegar), 5% | 1,000 |
| Ammonia (household) | 125 |
| Anthium dioxide, 5% | 13 |
| Buffered organic acids, 65-85% | 1,000 |
| Chloride, 6% bleach | 125 |
| Citric acid, 410 g/pk | 250 |
| Hydrogen peroxide, 50% | 1,000 |
| Sodium acid sulphate | 125 |
| Sodium chlorite, 0.2% | 47 |
| Virkon®* S | 10 |
| *Virkon S is a DuPont Animal Health Solutions product | |
Poultry growers will likely find the task of maintaining high-quality water supplies more challenging in the future. Higher temperatures – possibly due to global warming – decreased precipitation, and the reduced flow of surface and ground water could concentrate contaminants (nutrients) in drinking water. This will lead to faster, more widespread, and higher intensity eutrophication. Higher environmental temperatures will also accelerate bacteria and algae growth in water lines. Therefore, the best defense is for poultry producers to establish procedures – such as chemical shock treatments – to suppress the formation of biofilms and slime layers in their poultry water lines followed by the use of organic acids like Activate WD Max for controlling harmful bacteria. These practices are an important piece of a program for improved water quality, improved live performance and improved food safety.
Further Reading
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- | For more information on ACTIVATE from Novus International, please click here. |
September 2008
