Water Pokies

A gallery curated by flick16email. Read more read less. Choose from our selection of hose-to-pipe nipples, including hose fittings for air and water, chemical and petroleum hose fittings, and more. In stock and ready to ship.

Quality drinker nipples ensure your pigs have access to fresh drinking water on demand. Hog Slat's RIO™ No-Spray nipple reduces water waste and helps your animals drink easier while our AquaChief™ nipple is perfect for your cup watering applications. We also offer a range of nipple options from Edstrom®, Lixit®, Monoflo®, Trojan® and others. Rita Ora was spotted arriving at the trendy Firehouse in London after performing at the Capital radio summertime ball in Wembley Stadium, however when Rita arrived she showed the waiting photographers a bit more than her talent.

Introduction

Water is the single nutrient required in the greatest quantityby animals. Pigs require water for a variety of reasons, includingmost metabolic functions, adjustment of body temperature, movementof nutrients into the body tissues, removal of metabolic waste,production of milk, and for growth and reproduction. In fact,80% of the empty body weight of the newborn pig and about 53%of a market hog is water. An animal can lose practically all itsfat and over half of its protein and yet live, while a loss ofone-tenth of its water results in death.

Pigs consume the majority of their water by drinking. However,some water is ingested in feed and metabolism also generates water.The pig loses body water via urine, feces, respiration and fromthe skin. The balance between water intake and water loss is affectedby numerous factors including health status, nutrition and theenvironment. It should be obvious that there is no simple answerto the question 'How much water do pigs need?'. Surprisingly,few studies have directly addressed the question and many investigationserroneously equate water use or water consumption with water requirements.The primary aims of this paper are to provide useful guidelinesfor water delivery and to illustrate the importance of managementto adapt water delivery to the specific and changing needs ofthe pig.

Water Requirements of Pigs

It is necessary to recognize that there is no single water requirementfor a species or an individual; the amount of water consumed dependsupon factors such as temperature, diet, frequency with which wateris provided, housing and stresses in the environment. A summaryof water requirements of the pig are provided in Table 1. Thesevalues are based on the requirements of pigs in a thermoneutralenvironment and under ideal conditions. It is difficult to maintainpigs in such favorable conditions in commercial farms. Producersmust adjust water delivery to meet the needs of the pigs in theirunique farms and facilities. Most water delivery systems currentlyused in North Carolina offer little opportunity to adjust flowrates, nor do the systems meet the demands of individual pigs.Consequently, a certain percentage of animals in each pen andbarn do not receive sufficient water to meet their needs. Theprecise water requirements of the boar previously have not beenexamined. Values are extrapolated from requirements of sows ofsimilar body weight.

Factors Affecting Water Requirements and Intake

Pigs affected with diseases require more water than healthy pigsof the same age and body weight. For example, water loss associatedwith diarrhea or increased water demands of an animal with a feverchange the water requirements of a sick pig. These special needsare often overlooked on commercial farms. Increased water intakeis difficult for a pig to achieve in large pens with numerouspigs or when water supply is intentionally restricted by certainwater delivery systems (eg. intermittent water delivery in troughsfor gestating sows).

Water demand will increase in proportion to the crude proteinof the diet. Thus, 3.9 and 5.3 liters of water were consumed dailyby nursery pigs fed 12 or 16% crude protein diets, respectively.The influence of added artificial lysine to the diet on waterintake has not been addressed and unpublished studies indicatethat pigs consuming a pellet ration have greater water demandsthan pigs eating a diet fed as meal. Higher salt or potassiumintake increases the demand for water. 'Salt poisoning'is not generally a result of a toxic level of salt intake perse, but a disruption of the pig's water balance (ie, a disruptionof water supply). Water starvation is more appropriate to describethis condition.

High ambient temperatures will increase water requirements,particularly sows and finishing pigs. The increased consumptioncoupled with increased urinary water loss is an effective mechanismby which pigs lose body heat. A change in ambient temperaturefrom 54-60^oF to 86-95^oF gives an increase of >50% in waterconsumption. These higher requirements may be met by supplyingwater at the high ranges given in Table 1. When pigs are fed adlibitum, a reduction in feed intake is a typical response to hightemperatures. The decreased feed intake lowers the animals' needto eliminate metabolic heat. Fortunately, the diurnal patternof high ambient temperatures allows pigs to consume feed duringthe cooler parts of the day. Evaporative cooling devices alsoare useful to reduce the impact of high temperatures on feed intake.One interesting observation is that at high ambient temperatures,pigs will consume almost double the quantity of cool (50^oF) waterthan the amount of warm (80^oF) water.

It is an accepted industry procedure to provide 4-6 lbs of feedto gestating sows. This restricted feed intake is usually matchedby increased water intake (assuming sufficient water is available).The extra water intake is presumed to occur by the animals' attemptsto gain abdominal fill.

Influence of Water Intake on Health, Growth & Production

Growing/Finishing Pigs:

Results of various studies, designed to evaluate water deliveryrate on performance, are somewhat conflicting. This variationin results is due to the numerous confounding factors involvedin the experimental designs (ie, number of pigs/pen, ambient temperatures,diets, etc). Tables 2 and 3 provide some insight to the influenceof water delivery on performance. These tables have been modifiedto show the major differences.

The study by Barber and coworkers was conducted with pigs housedin a thermoneutral environment (83^oF). All values, with the exceptionof FCR, differed (P<.01) between treatments.

Several other studies examined water delivery rate on grower/finishingpigs. Some of the results from one of more comprehensive studiesare given in Table 3. These results showed that a higher flowrate was useful in maintaining pig performance when the ambienttemperature was 95^oF. When pigs were exposed to cooler ambienttemperatures, the higher flow rates were detrimental to performance.

Table 3. Influence of water delivery rate and environmentaltemperature on performance of pigs from 10 to 14 weeks of age(Nienaber and Hahn, 1984).

It is important that producers consider the experimental designand commercial applicability of the research results. Most studiesused fewer than 12 pigs/pen and the typical duration of the studieswas less than one month. Commercial farms rarely house so fewpigs in one pen and competition for water nipples presumably isa factor that will influence water and feed intake. The numberof pigs/water nipple is also a source of debate. One study indicatedthat one nipple/16 pigs (4 wks of age) had minimal influence onperformance but the weight variation between pigs was significantlyincreased. Obviously, this weight variation will have a majorinfluence in sort loss and uniformity. Other investigators suggestthat the best performance and uniformity were achieved with onenipple/5 pigs.

It should be clear that additional research on the influenceof flow rates and numbers of nipples/pen needs to be conductedwith long-term (the entire finishing period) studies with commericalswine units. The popularity of liquid-feed systems in the UnitedKingdom are based on the reduction of waste and improved feedutilization. Perhaps some consideration and research on liquid-feedsystems would be appropriate in North Carolina.

Lactating and Gestating Sows:

Most studies of water consumption by lactating sows have establishedvoluntary intake levels and not the absolute requirements. Reportedwater intake by lactating sows ranges from 8 to 25 liters (2-6gals)/day/sow. Litter size (milk demand and production), ambienttemperatures and quantity/quality of feed intake can influencewater consumption. Conversely, reduced water intake will decreasefeed intake, milk production and pig performance. The most dramaticinfluence by water intake on milk production is evident in thefirst 3 days of lactation. Restricted flow rates (ie. < 0.5liters/min) in later lactation lead to lower feed intake by thesow with significant weight loss; however, piglet survival andweight gain are seemingly unaffected. The sow weight loss andcondition may play a more important role in her post-weaning reproductiveperformance. A flow rate of 1.0 liters/min evidently is sufficientto meet the sows' demand for water. Despite support for the forementionedrecommendations, the water requirements of sows in a typical NorthCarolina summer have not been addressed.

Water consumption by gestating sows was reported to be between2 and 5 gals/sow/day. Limited information was available on thepotential influence of water delivery system on the health ofgestating sows. We recently completed a project, funded by theNCPPA, designed to evaluate the role of water delivery systemon the incidence of urinary tract infections in gestating sows.Four systems were evaluated in this study; (1) gestation crateswith a nipple in each crate, (2) gestation crates with intermittentwater delivery (15 mins every 2 hours) in troughs, (3) gestationcrates with a level trough (6' deep) filled three times aday and (4) pen gestation with two nipples (6 sows/pen).

In summary, it was evident that the nipples in gestation cratesprovided the most optimal system in regard to minimal urinarytract infections. The traditional and popular trough with intermittentwater delivery severely compromised the health of gestating sows.The other systems were intermediate. Perhaps the best explanationfor these differences was that the nipples provided sufficientwater to meet the needs of individual sows, regardless of age,parity, body weight and specific demands of each and every sow.In contrast, the provision of water at intermittent periods likelyprovided sufficient water for the healthy animals, but failedto the meet the needs of other sows. In fact, it was apparentthat most of the water, provided to sows on an intermittent schedule,became nothing but wastewater in the lagoons. In cooperation withDr. Jim Barker (Coll. Ag & Life Sciences), our group willconduct studies to evaluate the relative contribution of waterdelivery systems to wastewater in commercial swine units.

Summary and Conclusions

Water is generally abundant, inexpensive and not traded commercially.Therefore, limited research has been conducted on the role ofwater intake and use in commercial swine farms. This will change,as the cost of storing and handling waste water is a serious industryconcern. Common sense dictates that producers should reducethe quantity of waste water without compromising the health andperformance of their pigs.

As mentioned by Fraser and coworkers (1990), research on waterrequirements needs to look well beyond 'average' values.The 'average' piglet or the 'average' sowdoes not become dehydrated or affected with cystitis. The differencebetween good and excellent management may rest on how well thesystem supports the atypical needs of the more vulnerable animals,without generating tremendous quantities of waste water.

Take-Home Message

Consider the different needs of the various ages/weights of pigson your farm - ensure that these needs are being met by your waterdelivery systems.

Check the flow rates on all nipples on a regular basis (once aweek and prior to the introduction of new animals to a pen orbarn).

Don't take water for granted. Too little hurts your pigs, toomuch is a waste problem.

Suggested Reading and References

Barber J, PH Brooks and JL Carpenter. In: The Voluntary FoodIntake of Pigs. Ed. Forbes JM, MA Varley and TLJ Lawrence.British Society of Animal Producers. Occasional Publication No13. pp. 103-104. 1989.

Brooks PH and JL Carpenter. The water requirement of growing-finishingpigs: Theoretical and practical considerations. In: RecentAdvances in Animal Nutrition. Ed. Haresign W. and DJA Cole.Butterworths; Boston. pp. 115-136. 1990.

Fraser D, JF Patience, PA Phillips and JM McLeese. Water for pigletsand lactating sows: Quantity, quality and quandaries. In: RecentAdvances in Animal Nutrition. Ed. Haresign W. and DJA Cole.Butterworths; Boston. pp. 137-160. 1990.

Nienaber JA and GL Hahn. Effects of water flow restriction andenvironmental factors on performance of nursery-age pigs. J. Anim.Sci. 59:1423-1429, 1984.

National Research Council. Nutrient Requirements of Swine.9th Revised Ed. pp. 43-45. 1988.

Thulin AJ and MC Brumm. Water: The forgotten nutrient. In: SwineNutrition. Ed. Miller ER, DE Ullrey and AJ Lewis. Butterworths-Heinemann;Boston. pp. 315-326. 1991.

Useful Conversions

2.2 lbs. = 1 kilogram (kg)
1 lb. = 454 grams (g)

Cold Water Pokies

1 fl. oz. = 29.5 milliliters (mL), 1000 mL = 1 liter (L)
1 quart 1 liter (L)
1 gallon = 4 quarts 3.8 liters

Water Pokemon Swsh

Waterpokkies Simptome