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Water intake of poultry

Conference Paper · August 2013

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Water intake of poultry
JAN DIRK VAN DER KLIS and LOEK DE LANGE

Schothorst Feed Research

Meerkoetenweg 26, 8218 NA Lelystad, The Netherlands
Corresponding author: jdvdklis@schothorst.nl

Ad libitum water intake in broilers and laying hens can be highly variable and is
affected by diet composition, feed form, intestinal health, stress and environmental
conditions. It is important to limit water consumption to prevent wet litter problems
in poultry houses, without restricting water supply. Minimizing ad libitum water
intake requires dietary nutrient supply being closely balanced to the birds’
requirements.
Efficiency of water absorption from the intestinal tract is affected by (intestinal)
health. Impaired intestinal integrity will reduce net water absorption from the
intestinal tract causing diarrhea, whereas excess nutrients will increase water
excretion via urine. Both will result stimulate water intake, to maintain water
balance. Effects of dietary fiber, (balanced) protein, minerals, feed form and feed
allowance on water intake are discussed.

Keywords: water intake, broiler, fiber, NSP, balanced protein, viscosity, Na, K, Ca, P,
intestinal health, stress

Introduction
Water is an essential component of the birds daily nutrient intake. Therefore, welfare
standards for birds like “Chickens for Meat & Breeding (England): Code of
Recommendations for the Welfare of Livestock (PB7275)” indicate “Daily access to
water throughout the period of lighting and a sufficient number of drinkers, well
distributed and correctly adjusted, should be provided”. Ad libitum water intake of
broilers can be highly variable and depends on diet composition and feed form, on
production performance, on intestinal health, stress and on environmental conditions.
High ad libitum water consumption under moderate climate conditions will generally
result in high water excretion, wet litter problems, and increased ammonia production.
Wet litter problems in poultry houses is not just an emerging problem during the last
decades, as is clear from the initial lines of a scientific paper of about 65 years ago,
stating:

“Wet litter in poultry house is a problem of considerable economic and pathological

importance” (James and Wheeler, 1949)

Since then problems of high water intakes and wet litter were not alleviated at all, but
increased due to higher dietary nutrient densities to enable broilers to grow for their
genetic potential, the ban on animal proteins in poultry diets and the ban on in-feed
antibiotics. Collett (2012) even indicated wet litter to become an emerging intestinal

1
disease. These developments further stress the necessity to gain more insight in factors
that affect water intake, also because high water consumption is a major cause of foot pad
lesions. Foot pad lesion scores is one of the parameters in the Welfare Quality® scoring
system to assess poultry welfare. In this paper the effect of feed related factors on water
intake are discussed. Unfortunately water intake is not yet one of the commonly reported
performance parameters in scientific papers. Although water intake and water to feed
ratio are also affected by many other factors like type of drinkers, water pressure, and
management factors (eg. stocking density and climate control), such are beyond the scope
of this paper.

Regulation of water balance

Water balance is the result of water supply to and water loss from the organism. The
contribution of the different sources of water supply and routes for water loss (as a % of
total supply and total loss) in poultry have been indicated by Larbier and Leclerq (1992):

Water supply Water loss

Drinking water (70-75%) Urine (50%)
Feed (12-15%) Faeces (water content excreta: 75-80%)
Oxidation of nutrients: 0.60g H2O/g glucose; Exhaled gasses
1.07g H2O/g fat; 0.41g H2O/g protein Eggs (40g H2O/egg)

Water balance is under neuro-hormonal control as summarised by Bailey (1990) and

Larbier and Leclerq (1992) and represented in Figure 1. In fowl the response to
dehydration is mediated by extracellular (i.e. plasma) hyperosmolarity, by receptors for
osmotic pressure or for ions like Na+.

Figure 1. Neuro-hormonal regulation of water balance (after Larbier and Leclerq,

1992).

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The avian kidney is less effective reabsorbing water than the mammalian kidney, as it can
only concentrate urine to a maximum of 2-3 times the osmolality of plasma, whereas the
mammalian kidney can concentrate urine up to 5 times (Collett, 2012). Additionally a
significant fraction of the ureteral urine in fowl is absorbed in the coprodeum and caeca
to maintain water balance and maximise water retention (Bindslev and Skadhauge, 1971).

Water absorption from the intestinal tract

Water is absorbed from the gastro-intestinal tract against an osmotic gradient (Figure 2,
Van der Klis et al., 1993a,b), being solute-linked and dependent on sodium absorption. It
was shown that water content in the jejunum and ileum was highly correlated with
sodium, but not with potassium or magnesium contents, using normal mineral levels in
the experimental diets. Increased intestinal viscosity reduced sodium and water
absorption from the intestinal tract, and consequently increased daily water intake. This
lower water absorption from the small intestine resulted in an increased importance of the
caeca and coprodeum in net sodium and water absorption.
It has been shown by many authors that increasing intestinal viscosity stimulates bacterial
activity in the small intestine due to a higher nutrient supply to the microbiota. This
potentially initiates dysbacteriosis and inflammation of the intestinal epithelium,
increasing the paracellular permeability (Van der Klis and Versantvoort, 1999 and Collier
et al. 2003), and results in an efflux of water into the intestinal lumen and increases faecal
moisture (i.e. wet litter).

Figure 2. Osmolality (mOsm/kg) and moisture content (g water/100 g dry matter) of

intestinal contents and apparent cumulative sodium absorption in the small
intestine of broilers (Van der Klis et al. 1993).

duod: duodenum; jej 1,2 proximal and distal jejunum; ile 1,2: proximal an distal ileum

3
Water intake: A welfare indicator?
Water intake of broilers is increased during physiological stress (Virden et al., 2009)
which might be an important cause for variation in the ad libitum water intake.
Puvadolpirod and Thaxton (2000) demonstrated that ACTH-mediated stress in broiler
chickens doubled water intake during a 7-day ACTH infusion period, compared to non-
handled controls (Figure 3). Water to feed ratio returned to control values during the
week following ACTH infusion. ACTH infusion increased total excreta output and
reduced apparent nutrient retention. The latter was most clear for nitrogen compounds
(-50%), which can be explained by mobilization of muscle proteins during stress for
gluconeogenesis. Metabolic degradation of amino acids results in a large increase of uric
acid and water excretion as indicated by these authors. Similar effects are described
during inflammation. Effects of ACTH infusion on carbohydrates were much smaller
(-14%), whereas fat digestibility was hardly affected.

Figure 3. Water intake in broilers during and after a 7-day ACTH infusion
(Puvadolpirod and Thaxton, 2000).

The 7-day ACTH infusion period is indicated on X-axes, followed by a 9-day recovery period.

Based on the relationship between stress and water intake, Manning et al. (2007)
indicated that water consumption in l/bird/day can be used as a management tool, since a
change in water consumption might indicate health problems like enteritis, coccidiosis
(Butcher et al., 1999, as cited by Manning et al., 2007) and potentially indicates future
increase in foot pad dermatitis following wet litter problems. However, threshold levels
of water usage still need to be defined.

Water intake: Effect of diet

Based on the aforementioned mechanisms of water absorption and excretion, dietary
composition can be optimised to control ad libitum water intake. Dietary factors that
increase feed intake like pelleting and nutrient concentration will generally also impact

4
water intake, whereas other factors like dietary fibre content and its characteristics
primarily affect water intake. Dietary nutrient contents in excess to the animal’s
requirements will also have a higher impact on water intake than on feed intake as water
is the vehicle for excretion of excess nutrients via the kidney. It is therefore important to
balance nutrient supply to the animal’s requirements to minimise ad libitum water intake.
This chapter will focus on feed quality on water intake as effects of water quality is dealt
with by Prof. Kamphues during this symposium.

Fermentable and inert dietary fibre

Effects of dietary fibre on water intake can be two-fold. Whether water intake increases
or decreases depends on the nature of dietary fibre. The effect of adding 3% of a soluble,
viscosity increasing fibre (highly methylated citrus pectin), 5% inert fibre (oat hulls) or
coarse grinded corn to a corn-soy control diet on production performance was examined
in broilers. Diets were formulated to be iso-energetic, having similar contents of
digestible amino acids and minerals, except for those diets that were diluted with 5% oat
hulls. Diets were fed to Ross 308 broilers as 2.5 mm pellets up to 21 days of age. Results
are given in Table 1. It is shown that adding citrus pectin as a soluble fermentable fibre
stimulated water intake and water to feed ratio, whereas adding oat hulls as inert fibre had
the opposite effect. Replacing regular corn by coarse corn did not affect water intake, but
improved body weight gain in the diet with citrus pectin. Effects of these fibres on
nutrient digestibility values and gizzard development were presented in more detail by
Van der Klis (2012).

Table 1. Production performance (body weight gain, feed and water intake) of
broilers from 1 to 21 days of age fed a corn-based control diet with and without
viscosity increasing citrus pectin (CP) and with and without oat hulls (Van der Klis
et al., 1999).
BWG (g) Feed intake Water intake FCR Water to
(g/day) (ml/day) feed ratio

Control 798 a 51.2 bc 152bc 1.350ab 1.82 b

+5% oat hulls1 764 b 48.0 e 139 a 1.321 a 1.76 a
+5% oat hulls2 775ab 50.2 cd 155 c 1.366 b 1.75 b
Coarse ground corn 792 a 50.5 cd 145ab 1.329 a 1.89 c

Control + CP 598 d 50.8bcd 191 d

1.783 d 2.41 e
+5% oat hulls1 635 c 48.8 de 182 d
1.616 c 2.33 d
+5% oat hulls2 644 c 53.5 a 204 e
1.626 c 2.28 d
Coarse ground corn 675 c 49.8 cde 182 d
1.664 d 2.41 e

LSD 25.7 2.06 10.0 0.0368 0.056

P <0.001 0.03 <0.01 <0.001 0.03
1
Oat hulls were added on isocaloric basis; 2 Oat hulls were added on top (diet dilution); 3 Corn
was ground by hammer mill over 8 mm instead of 3 mm sieve (D50: 940 μm and 610 μm
respectively); a,b..e Values without a common superscript letter are significantly different.

5
Negative effects of soluble non starch polysaccharides (NSP) on production performance,
water intake and water excretion in young meat-type poultry are well-documented (Van
der Klis et al., 1993; Garcia et al., 2008), and these effects can be alleviated by adding
NSP enzymes to eliminate the viscosity increasing effects of these fibres (eg. Bedford,
1993; Garcia et al., 2008) reducing litter moisture (Shirzadi et al., 2009). Carré and
Melcion (2005) formulated 27 turkey diets with different cereals, tapioca, peas, soybean
meal, alfalfa meal, wheat bran and meat and bone meal, resulting in variable levels of
potassium, water insoluble cell walls and in vitro viscosity. Diets were pelleted (2.5 mm)
to reach different pellet temperatures (68-100oC). Carré and Melcion (2005) predicted
water consumption and water excretion to feed intake ratio in 5-wk old turkeys with
maximum accuracy using in vitro viscosity and dietary potassium content as explanatory
variables (R2 0.75).

(Balanced) protein
High levels of dietary crude protein stimulate water intake, as demonstrated in young
broilers by Marks and Pesti (1984). These authors increased dietary crude protein content
from 17% to 26% via high inclusion levels of soybean meal (22% vs 49%). Therefore,
effects might be confounded by a concomitant increase in dietary potassium content and
soluble oligosaccharides, which both have a direct effect on water intake of broilers.
Recently, Huang et al. (2011) presented an experiment on the effect of graded levels of
balanced protein and dietary energy content on water intake of broilers (Table 2).

Table 2. The effect of relative energy1 and relative balanced protein1 on water intake
(ml/bird/day) of broilers (Huang et al., 2011).
Water intake Water intake Water intake
d21-22 d35-36 d0-49
AMEn
92.5 217.5 330.7 237.0 b
100 210.1 314.7 223.5 a
SEM 2.99 7.90 1.61
P 0.084 0.159 0.001
Balanced Protein
80 183.4 d 283.9 c 206.2 d
c bc
90 206.1 306.4 218.6 c
100 225.9 b 330.9 b 240.6 b
a a
120 239.8 369.6 255.6 a
SEM 4.23 11.18 2.28
P 0.001 0.001 0.001
P (interaction) 0.294 0.650 0.628
1
Ross 308 recommendations (2007) = 100% in all growing phases; a,b,c,d Values in a column with
no common superscript letter differ significantly (P<0.05)

Dietary energy content was reduced by exchanging corn, soya oil and soybean meal for
extracted rice bran. They showed that water intake during a 7-wk production period was
increased by lowering dietary energy content, which most likely was related to increased
feed intake. Dietary balanced protein content stimulated water intake in a dose dependent
manner, findings that are similar to previous observations (eg. Marks and Pesti, 1984).

6
Unfortunately, Huang et al. (2011) did not report feed intake, so water to feed ratios
could not be calculated.

Minerals
The effect of mineral intake on water consumption is well-recognised. Due to the
European ban on the use of animal proteins in poultry diets, dietary inclusion of soybean
meal in broiler diets was increased, resulting in higher dietary potassium levels. Vieira
and Lima (2005) indicated a 20% higher dietary potassium level in vegetable compared
to non-vegetable grower diets (being 8.2 and 6.8 g/kg, respectively), whereas dietary
nutrient specifications on AME, total amino acids, Ca, available P and Na were similar.
They observed that water intake of 21 to 35 day-old broilers was 13% higher in the
vegetable diet, whereas body weight gain and feed conversion ratio were similar.
Smith et al. (2000) quantified the effect of graded levels of Na, K, P and Ca on water
intake in laying hen diets. Dietary Na and K contents were increased from approx. 2.0 to
20.0 g/kg using NaCl and KCl, P from 3.0 to 20.0 g/kg using dicalcium phosphate and Ca
from 30 to 50 g/kg using limestone. Daily water intake was increased by 13.5 ml/g Na,
9.2 ml/g K, and 7.4 ml/g P, whereas no effect was shown for Ca. They did not find a
difference in water intake using NaCl or NaHCO3 as a sodium source, whereas effects of
Na and P on water intake were additive. The lack of effect of dietary Ca on water intake
was most likely due to the tight regulation of intestinal Ca absorption based on Ca
requirement, which prevents excess Ca excretion via the kidneys and therefore limited its
effect on water intake and excretion.

Feed allowance and feed form

Huang et al. (2011) presented an experiment on the effect of feed restriction from 6 to 35
days of age on water intake. Results are given in Table 3.

Table 3. The effect of relative energy1 and feed allowance on water intake
(ml/bird/day) of broilers (Huang et al., 2011).
Water intake
d0-42
AMEn
95 183.0a
100 176.2b
SEM 1.41
P 0.001
Feeding
ad libitum 182.7a
restriction 10% 176.5b
SEM 1.41
P 0.003
P (interaction) 0.823
1
Ross 308 recommendations (2007) = 100% in all growing phases; a,b Values in a column with
no common superscript letter differ significantly (P<0.05)

Huang et al. (2011) showed that a 10% feed restriction resulted in a 3.5% reduction in
water intake and as a consequence the water to feed ratio was increased by feed

7
restriction. Also physical quality of feed and feed form affects water intake. Huang et al.
(2011) indicated a significantly increased litter moisture in broilers fed pellets instead of
fines (as reground pellets) (37.6% vs 31.3%) or pellets instead of mash diets (42.4% vs
35.4%), which might be related to a higher feed and water intake in broilers fed pelleted
diets. Such observation would agree with Serrano et al. (2013) who observed an
increased water intake with pelleted diets compared to mash diets, whereas water to feed
ratio was not affected.

Conclusions
Ad libitum water consumption should be minimized to prevent wet litter problems in
poultry houses, without restricting water supply. Efficiency of water absorption is
affected by (intestinal) health. Impaired intestinal integrity will reduce net water
absorption from the intestinal tract causing diarrhea, whereas excess nutrients will
increase water excretion via urine. Both will result stimulate water intake to maintain
water balance. Degradation of muscle proteins, because of inflammation or metabolic
stress, will increase water intake via increased uric acid production and urine output.
Water intake is stimulated by soluble non starch polysaccharides, whereas inert dietary
fibers will have the opposite effect. These effects are primarily related to intestinal health.
Dietary energy concentration and pelleting affect water intake most likely via effects on
feed intake, whereas (balanced) protein, and minerals in excess to the birds requirement
increase water intake due to increased urine output.

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