Flow rate is an important factor in water sanitation.


minerals. The main elements affecting the hardness of water are: calcium, magnesium, iron and manganese. High levels of these elements will result in the deposition of limescale or sludge in the drinking system and can significantly reduce the volume of pipes and nipple flow rates. It will also affect medications, disinfectants and sanitisers, making them less effective. Sodium-based water softeners can reduce the hard- ness of water, however, this is not recommended in poultry houses as birds are very sensitive to high levels of sodium in the water. Sodium levels in water used for broiler production should always be less than 50 mg/litre.


Water sanitising A very common method for sanitising water in broiler houses is chlorination. When chlorine is added to drinking water a chemical reaction takes place with the formation of Hy- pochlorous Acid (HOCl). This HOCl is a weak acid and will fur- ther dissociate into chlorine (OCl-). The HOCl is 80-300 times more effective as a sanitiser compared with OCl- and the lev- el of HOCL will depend on the pH of the water. In general a lower pH will produce more HOCl so chlorination as a


Table 1 – Guidelines for water quality.


Contaminant, mineral or ion Level considered average Maximum acceptable level Bacteria


0 CFU / mL


Total bacteria Coliform bacteria


Acidity and hardness pH


Total hardness


0 CFU / mL 6.8 to 7.5


60 to 180 ppm


Naturally occurring elements 60 mg / L Calcium (Ca) Chlorine (Cl)


14 mg / L


Copper (Cu) Iron (Fe) Lead (Pb)


Magnesium (Mg) Nitrate Sulfate Zinc


Sodium (Na)


0.002 mg / L 0.2 mg / L 0 mg / L 14 mg / L 10 mg / L 125 mg / L 0 mg / L 32 mg / L


100 CFU / mL


50 CFU / mL 6.0 to 8.0


110 ppm


250 mg / L 0.6 mg / L 0.3 mg / L 0.02 mg / L 125 mg / L 25 mg / L 25 mg / L 1.5 mg / L 50 mg / L


▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 2, 2020 17


PHOTO: COBB


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