Effect of drinking Water temperature on the Development of Pigs

The temperature of drinking water and food in pig drinking fountain is closely related to the growth, development and health of pigs. It is suitable for pigs to drink cold water in summer, but the effect of drinking warm water in cold season is better, which can promote pig feed intake, significantly increase daily gain and reduce diarrhea rate. Especially for piglets, when the drinking water temperature is lower than the body temperature, not only pigs need to use extra energy to increase the temperature of water intake, but cold stress can also cause stomach ulcers, indigestion and other diseases.

The experiment of Guangxi University proved that suckling piglets drank 37 ℃ warm water supplied by multi-functional constant temperature drinking water, which increased daily gain by 39.4g, weight gain by 0.82kg, average feed consumption per head by 0.34kg, and diarrhea rate by 20% lower than that of piglets drinking tap water at normal temperature. Water temperature is also important to sows in the cold season. If lactating sows are fed with water and feed at a temperature of 0 ℃, an extra 0.5 kg of concentrate will be wasted to maintain body temperature. Winter pregnant sows fed with cold water, but also easy to cause abortion and other adverse consequences. The optimum drinking water temperature for cold season pigs is 16-20 ℃ for growing-finishing pigs and pregnant pigs, 20-25 ℃ for nursing pigs, 25-28 ℃ for lactating sows and 35-38 ℃ for suckling piglets.

There are many factors that affect the water requirement of pigs, such as air temperature, feed type, pig size and physiological status, all of which have an important impact on the water requirement of pigs. Under the condition of house feeding, a sow with piglet needs 75 × 100 L of water per day, 30 L of pregnant sow, boar and adult pig, and 15 L / L of young pig and fat pig. It is extremely important for weaned piglets to drink enough water in the first 2 weeks after weaning, because eating high-protein feed requires a higher amount of water to excrete excess nitrogen in order to ensure feed intake and reduce morbidity. In particular, it is necessary to ensure the summer water supply of lactating sows, which needs about 40 kg of water per day. Insufficient water will lead to a decrease in feed intake and lactation.

According to the temperature of different seasons, changing the water temperature to create suitable living conditions for pigs is not only the requirement of welfare raising pigs, but also the hope of the pigs themselves, but also the fundamental guarantee for pig farmers to make money and raise pigs well. Wu Wenbo