What’s inside your Poultry Pipeline – Waterline Sanitation

Clean drinking water is essential for poultry health and plays a key role in poultry performance. Water is the nutrient of the highest importance, making contaminated water a serious threat to animals and profits. While poultry producers are critical about the quality of the feed, the quality of drinking water often does not receive the attention it deserves. Frequent cleaning and monitoring of the drinking system are necessary to maintain good quality drinking water. When products like antibiotics, vitamins, and acids are added to the drinking water this becomes even more vital for poultry pipeline sanitation

It’s a community of bacteria, fungi and algae bound together in a slime which anchors them firmly to a surface and protects them from antibacterial agents, so they can proliferate.

Organic acid-based cleaners are particularly effective in removing limescale-based biofilms, while hydrogen peroxide is good against biofilm and organic matter. “Whatever you use, follow the recommendations on the label.”

However, if there is a heavy bacterial load, a 1% concentration is unlikely to work well, so we recommend going up to 2-3%. “Consider what was done in the crop before: If you tested the water and had no health problems 1% should be fine. If you put lots of additives and medicines through the line there will be more residue, so up the rate a bit.

The buildup in water lines can cause a host of problems, including:

Scale and biofilm buildup of 1/16 inch along the inside of the ¾ inch pipe reduces water volume flow by 1.7 gallons per minute.

Follow these rules to help keep the biofilm away:

• Clean the drinker system thoroughly
• Implement an adequate clean water programme
• Keep the water supply sanitised
• If you run any additives that could feed biofilm through the mediator, flush the water system immediately afterwards.

When making the choice between registered water line disinfectants, it is important to understand what type of buildup is occurring in the lines. In water lines where there is mineral buildup consistent with areas that have hard water, a organic & inorganic acid  blend disinfectant that cuts through mineral buildup easily should be used. For water lines where an organic slime accumulation has been observed, a silver-stabilized hydrogen peroxide chemistry is recommended.

As well as the above options, producers should consider including organic acids, which act as a feed source for beneficial gut microflora. You don’t want any bacteria in water increasing the chances of birds picking up a health challenge.

Always follow the application directions provided on the label of the product. After removing all birds from the farm, water line disinfection may be applied through one of the following methods:

1. Mixing the solution in water tank & Hold for 3 hours minimum
2. Circulate the solution for ½ hour by pump. Drain & Flush

Flush the solution through the water lines, then trigger all the drinkers to ensure that the product removes any film present in the nipple assembly. Allow the solution to sit in the water lines overnight. In the morning, flush the lines with fresh water. Again, trigger all the drinkers to ensure proper function and that the water disinfectant solution has been flushed out. Once all the waterline disinfectant solution has been flushed, the house can be heated up and birds can be placed.