Drinking Water Management of Pigs

Water is an important part of the animal body, and about 70% of the animal body is composed of water. Water is also an indispensable and irreplaceable nutrient for animals. Water must be involved in the process of digestion and absorption of feed, transport and metabolism of nutrients, excretion of feces and urine, growth and reproduction, lactation and so on. Water can not only maintain physiological regulation and osmotic pressure, but also maintain the normal morphology of cells. Therefore, the life activities and production of livestock and poultry are inseparable from the supply of water. Water has the following main functions in animals. If about 10% of the total water in the body is excreted from the body, it will be difficult to sustain life. ① maintains the normal morphology and function of tissue cells and promotes metabolism; ② helps digest and absorb various nutrients; ③ transports nutrients and hormones to various tissues of the body through body fluids (blood, lymph, etc.); ④ maintains acid-base balance in the body; ⑤ excretes metabolic wastes and toxins to the body through excretion; ⑥ assists body thermoregulation as water from exhaled gas, sweat and urine. Compared with other animals, pigs are animals that need a lot of water. From a physiological point of view, the osmotic pressure of pig urine is much lower than that of animals such as humans, cats and dogs (Table 1). Therefore, the color of pig urine is light yellow and the smell is weak. Pig kidneys cannot reabsorb water that can be fully utilized, and if there is a shortage of water in the body, it must be replenished by drinking water. The urine osmotic pressure of piglets (adult pigs) is lower than that of adult pigs, so piglets need nearly twice as much water as adult pigs. Once suckling piglets lose water due to diarrhea, they will be threatened with death immediately. But the role of water is often ignored by people. Pigs can survive for a long time when other nutrients are scarce, but when water is cut off, water shortage and drinking water is limited, it will affect the growth and production of pigs, such as fetal growth, sow milk yield, growth rate and feed conversion rate of fattening pigs. if it is serious, it will cause the death of pigs. Therefore, like feed, drinking water supply is also one of the most basic techniques for raising pigs, and pigs should be provided with adequate fresh water at any time. In adult pigs, the daily intake and excretion of water are basically the same. Figure 1 shows the action and metabolism of water in pigs. Sanitary standards for aquaculture water each country has its own sanitary standards for water quality. China stipulates that the water used in aquaculture should comply with the "drinking Water quality Standard GB5749-85", which specifies the physical, chemical, toxicological and microbiological indicators of water (Table 2). The amount of water consumed by pigs varies according to their body weight and breeding stage. Suckling piglets get an average of 700g of water from breast milk every day, but the water supply from breast milk alone is not enough to meet their needs, so even in the sow delivery room, piglets must be equipped with drinking fountains. In particular, when feeding piglets, they must be supplied with water. In addition, due to the influence of environmental temperature, the water demand of pigs is also different, but when the temperature rises, the water demand increases, and when the feed with high salt content is fed, the water demand also increases. Once the amount of water consumed is limited, food intake will decline, growth will slow down, and in severe cases, salt poisoning will lead to death. Table 3 shows the amount of water consumed by pigs at an ambient temperature of 20 ℃. The method of drinking water supply 1. Material-water separation type material-water separation supply can reduce labor costs, which is widely used in China. At present, there are two kinds of drinking fountains used in pig farms: cup type and nipple type, mainly nipple type. Nipple drinking fountains can be divided into two types: mouth drinking fountain and nose drinking fountain. From the point of view of the convenience of drinking water for pigs, the latter is better than the former. Compared with the nipple drinking fountain, the cup drinking fountain has the following advantages: saving water; piglets can adapt quickly; drinking water is sufficient; the amount of water can be adjusted more easily. Pigs at each growth stage must have their own special drinking fountains, which can be divided into suckling piglets, conservation piglets, fattening pigs and breeding pigs. In order to prevent drinking water from overflowing and causing moisture on the ground, drinking fountains are generally installed near floor drains and urination ditches. The height of the drinking fountain should be equal to the height of the mouth of the pig when it stands naturally (Table 4). The improper type and height of drinking fountains will not only cause pigs to lose access to adequate drinking water, but also increase the overflow of water. In the breeding pig limit bar and sow birth bed, the drinking fountain is installed on the iron plate in front of the feeder, and the spilled water falls into the feeding trough, and the pig can be used at the same time when picking food, which will not cause a waste of drinking water. The flow control of water supply water pressure is too high, will increase the overflow of drinking water, will increase the sewage of piggery, increase the cost of polluted water treatment; on the contrary, the water pressure is too low, drinking water takes time and can not be fully drunk, which may directly lead to the reduction of food intake. Table 3 shows the amount of water consumed by pigs and the recommended flow rate of drinking fountains when feed-water separation is used at an ambient temperature of 20 ℃. 2. The feeding method of providing feed and water at the same time can be divided into wet mixing method and liquid feed feeding method. Wet feeding method refers to the feeding method of installing wet feeder or dry / wet feeder in ordinary feeder trough to feed and supply water at the same time, which is often used for piglets and fattening pigs. This feeder can only hold the head and shoulder of one pig, and other pigs can rarely squeeze in again during feeding, which can make pigs feel at ease to feed. At present, two kinds of feeders are commonly used: natural falling type and switching type (figure 2). Small and medium-sized farms mostly adopt the way of direct feeding of pre-prepared feed. Compared with the feed-water separation feeding method, the wet feed method has the following advantages: (1) less waste of feed and drinking water, and obvious saving effect; (2) the feeding speed of pigs is accelerated, and each feeder can supply more pigs; (3) the feed intake is increased, the development of pigs is better, and the uniformity is higher; (4) the nostrils of pigs do not inhale dust when feeding, reducing the incidence of respiratory diseases. In order to maximize the advantages of wet mix feeding, we must pay attention to several aspects: (1) during the adaptation period, it is necessary to increase the amount of feed in the trough, increase the flow of drinking water, and let pigs remember how to use it; (2) confirm the supply of feed and drinking water every day and adjust the flow rate at any time. When installing the trough, it should be noted that the breeder can see the state in the trough; (3) each trough can be used for 8 to 10 pigs, and if too many pigs are used in each feeder, individual pigs will not be fully fed, resulting in slower development of the herd and widening of the individual gap. On the contrary, if the number of pigs is too small, there will be unfinished water-bearing residual feed in the trough, which can easily lead to feed corruption. (4) in summer, pay attention to increase the water supply pressure of water pipes, so that pigs can get adequate drinking water, and add other drinking water equipment if necessary. Liquid feed feeding method means that feed and drinking water are mixed in a container to form a liquid feed with a water content of 70% to 80%. The machine pump is used to distribute the liquid feed to the trench feed trough through the pipeline system, and the whole system is controlled by computer. This method of feeding has been popular in Europe for a long time, but it has not been introduced in our country. 1, material feeder and water dispenser materials such as iron and lead gold plating, plastic, the smell will lead to a decline in pig appetite, easy to clean, durable stainless steel material, can be said to be the best choice. Water supply points of sows in each feeding stage the water supply points of sows to sows are not only related to the health status of sows themselves, but also have a great impact on the development and subsequent growth of suckling piglets. Therefore, water supply is one of the contents that must be paid great attention to in sow production management. For sows, especially lactating sows, whether using cup or nipple drinking fountains, maintaining a stable water supply is the most critical issue. The main points of water supply for suckling piglets lactation period is the stage with the highest water content in piglets, breast milk alone can not meet the requirements of drinking water, and piglets develop good drinking habits will have a good impact on subsequent feeding and growth. At this time, the most important thing is to train piglets in drinking water places so that they can be familiar with water sources. In the first method, it is recommended to use a dripping spiral drinking fountain that can usually hold drinking water. The general drinking fountain adopts the structure of pressing or biting the outlet regulating valve to make the water flow out automatically, so when training, let the water flow out in a small amount each time, so that it is driven by curiosity and close to the drinking fountain, so that it can remember the location of the water source. at the same time, it is natural to understand that there will be water outflow when touching the outlet regulating valve. In addition, in addition to using the dripping spiral drinking fountain, there is also a way to drink from the cup drinking fountain like a sow. Because the sows drink a lot of water from the same cup drinking fountain, the water in the drinking fountain is often fresh, which is the characteristic of this drinking fountain. The main points of water supply for weaned piglets are closely related to drinking water and feed intake for weaned piglets. In general, weight 10kg requires more than 1L of water. Cup drinking fountains are popular all over the world to supply water to weaned piglets. One water supply cup is provided for every 10 to 12 piglets in the weaned piglet house. In addition, if the type of drinking fountain used in the weaning pig house is different from that in the lactation house, the piglets must be trained to learn how to use it. Within 3 days after piglets enter the weaning house, fix the axial needle of the nipple drinking fountain with wire and let the water flow out, so that the piglets can adapt as soon as possible. Key points for water supply in fattening pig houses whether dry feed or liquid feed are used for fattening pigs, free drinking water must be adopted so that pigs can freely use drinking fountains. In the fattening pigsty, compared with the number of water supply outlets, the amount of water flow is more important, and more than 1.5L of water flow per minute should be guaranteed. In addition, when the drinking fountain is replaced after damage, be sure to turn on the main switch to ensure the normal flow of water. If you leave the main switch off all night, it will affect the development of 1 to 2 days. Fig. 1. Water metabolism in pigs. Fig. 2. Construction of wet feeder Table 1 comparison of animal urine concentration capacity maximum animal osmotic pressure (mOsm/ H2O kg) urine / plasma osmotic pressure ratio specific gravity adult pigs, dogs, cats and cattle seawater 400 "500108013002400 seawater 1400 2 below 3481112-101210201025103010321023 Table 2 National Standard for drinking Water quality GB5749-85 Project sensory properties and general chemical indicators chromaticity not more than 15 degrees And shall not show other heterochromatic turbidity (degrees) not exceeding 3 degrees. In special cases, the smell and smell shall not exceed 5 degrees Celsius, and the odor and odor visible to the naked eye shall not contain pH 6.5-8.5 total hardness (with CzCO3 (mg/L) 450Fe (Fe) (mg/L) 0.3mn (Mn) (mg/L) 0.1Copper (Cu) (mg/L) 1.0Zn (Zn) (mg/L) 1.0volatile phenols (in phenols) (mg/L) 0.002 sulfate (mg/L) 250Chloride (mg/L) Total dissolved solids (mg/L) 1000 toxicological indicators fluoride (mg/L) 1.0cyanide (mg/L) 0.05arsenic (As) (mg/L) 0.05se (Se) (mg/L) 00.01Hg (Hg) (mg/L) 0.001 cadmium (Cd) (mg/L) Chromium (hexavalent) (Cr6+) (mg/L) 0.05Pb (Pb) (mg/L) 0.05Silver 0.05nitrate (in terms of N) (mg/L) 20 chloroform * (μ g Unix L) 60 carbon tetrachloride * (μ g Unix L) 3 benzo (a) pyrene * (μ g max L) 0.01Didi * (μ g max L) The total number of bacteria (unit / mL), total coliform group (unit / L), radioactivity index of free residual chlorine should not be lower than 0.3mg/L after contact with water 30min. Except that the factory water should meet the above requirements, the terminal water of the pipe network should not be lower than that of 0.05mg/L total σ radioactivity (Bq/L) 0.1 total beta radioactivity (Bq/L) 1.0 Table 3 when the ambient temperature is 20 ℃. The amount of water consumed by pigs and the recommended flow of drinking fountains: body weight of growing pigs (kg) Daily drinking amount of water (kg) flow of drinking fountains (kg/min) 5mur10Mel 3535Mel 100 breeds lactating sows 1.7 Mel 3.5 2.5Mal 7.513.0 MULG 17.018.0 MULAR 23.0 0.30.51.01.52.0 Table 4 drinking fountains are recommended to install Highly haunted at 15:01 on 2009-12-18 15:01 the following form cannot be sent-read. Yes,-at present, the most common problem in our country is the low installation height of drinking fountains.