Poultry farmers know water is one of the most important factors in flock performance and one of the best ways to add weight to birds. In this video, our friend and fellow poultry farmer, Jason Jackson, shares a few ways farmers can ensure water pressure is ideal for bird consumption without soaking floors or limiting birds.
Water pressure really is a balancing act. On one hand, you have to make sure your birds are getting enough water. On the other hand, you have to make sure your birds aren’t receiving excessive amounts of water to where it’s spilling out of their beaks and ruining the litter quality.
Due to water pressure’s ability to make or break performance, it requires constant monitoring. There are two types of pressures that growers deal with:
- Water coming into the regulators in the house
- Water coming out of the drinker lines after passing through the regulators
To monitor the actual water pressure going into the house regulators, it’s imperative to place pressure gauges after all filters in your control room. The water pressure range should be 20–35 psi, even during peak usage times.
Thanks to the regulators, 20–35 psi is not the water pressure going into your drinker lines. Regulators significantly drop the pressure to a much lower, adequate amount. To monitor this pressure, you look at the ball height in the standpipe. Of course, the standpipe itself won’t give you better birds, but the power it gives you will. When standpipes are properly cleaned, you are able to monitor the water pressure coming out of the drinker lines, and in turn, put better weight on your birds. It’s important to determine the water pressures coming out of the drinker line nipples to ensure they meet both your company’s recommendation and the breed’s recommendation.
Most birds do not benefit from higher pressures until the latter part of grow out, and many studies show that increasing water pressure too quickly does more harm than good. The bottom line? You can’t force a bird to drink. Because of this, it is vital to properly monitor and regulate water pressure—for your birds’ overall performance and your bottom line.
If you have any questions about water pressure, you can reach out to Jason directly at jason@southlandorganics.com. He's happy to help. If you need anything relating to poultry biosecurity, need help troubleshooting problems on your farm or simply want to learn more about what we do, connect with me, Allen Reynolds, anytime at allen@southlandorganics.com or 800-608-3755.
