Poultry encyclopedia · NEXTEKCI School · Feed raw materials
Water, the first nutrient
Water is the bird’s first nutrient: it makes up 65 to 78% of its body, and the bird drinks about twice as much as it eats in feed, far more in hot weather. A bird that drinks badly eats badly. Water must be clean, cool and available at all times.
Key facts
- Share of the body
- 65 to 78% depending on age
- Amount drunk
- About 1.6 to 2 times the weight of feed eaten
- In hot weather
- Up to 3 times what the bird eats
- Quality
- Water fit for humans to drink
- Reserve
- At least 48 hours of peak consumption
Why water is the first nutrient
Water makes up 65 to 78% of the bird’s body, depending on its age. It is used to digest and carry nutrients, to remove waste and, especially in a hot climate, to get rid of heat. An egg is itself largely made of water.
A bird that lacks water soon stops eating: many "feed problems" are really water problems. A chick that does not find water in its first hours becomes dehydrated and starts badly.
How much birds drink
A chicken generally drinks 1.6 to 2 times the weight of the feed it eats, and much more when it is hot: in hot weather, it can drink up to 3 times what it eats. Consumption rises with age and with temperature.
Record the water drunk every day, at the same time. A drop without a drop in temperature is often the first sign of a problem, before mortality; a sudden rise sends you looking for a leak, severe heat or an over-salted feed.
Clean, cool water
The water given to birds must be fit for humans to drink. Clear water is not necessarily clean: it can contain germs, too much salt, iron or nitrates. Poor-quality water makes birds drink less, fouls the drinkers and makes the birds ill.
Coolness matters too: warm water is drunk less. A shaded tank, buried pipes or pipes protected from the sun, and flushing the lines in hot weather help the birds drink. Have the water analysed at least once a year; to treat it or correct its pH, ask the vet or the technician for advice, without improvising any dosage.
Always available
Water must never run out, by day or by night. There must be enough drinkers, well spread out, set at the right height and cleaned regularly. Drinkers alternate with feeders so that no bird has far to go.
In Côte d’Ivoire, water cuts and pump breakdowns happen: plan a reserve covering at least 48 hours of peak consumption. A well-built borehole, a covered well away from latrines, the mains supply: each source has its own precautions.
Common mistakes
Leaving drinkers in the sun, empty for hours or dirty; giving water from a pond or rainwater without treatment. Cutting off the water to "make the birds eat".
Putting vitamins, medicines or other products in the water without a prescription: any product put in the water is put there only on the vet’s prescription, at the vet’s dose and for the vet’s duration. And never chlorine or bleach in the water on a vaccination day: the disinfectant kills the vaccine.