Water is the most critical nutrient for poultry!
In addition to being a nutrient, water aids in digestion and absorption and respiration in birds. Water also helps to remove waste, lubricates joints, and is a major component of blood and a necessary medium for many chemical reactions within the bird’s body. Although the importance of providing enough water as per the bird’s requirement and adequate access to water is well accepted, the importance of water quality on poultry nutrition performance is often overlooked.
Water Quality:
Water quality is important across all livestock species; more so in poultry as, the water intake is on an average 2-3 times that of the feed intake in birds. Quality of water may vary with factors like source of water, the season, the water management processes etc. The drinking water for poultry should be fit for its consumption and should be checked at regular intervals for various parameters to assure of its quality.
pH:
pH in simple terms is the level of free H+ ions in water, that determines the acidity or alkalinity of water. Acidification of water is an established concept that helps in keeping all the pathogenic microbes at bay, if optimum acidic levels of up to 3.8-4.0 pH is achieved in the water. pH meters can be used to check the water pH.
Hardness:
Hardness is an indication of the amount of inorganic minerals in water in the form of carbonates/sulphates. Hardness and pH do have a correlation, which is not proportional all the time. Equivalency of high pH to hard water and the vice-versa of low pH to soft water need not essentially hold true.
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