Egg Industry - January 2008

l Managing the Watering System l

operate at low pressure, providing little turbulence to dislodge this build-up. With biofilm present, the water becomes contaminated with pathogens. Biofilm also can clog drinkers, causing them to provide insufficient water.

Producers commonly introduce chlorine or other sanitising agents into the system to kill bacteria. This practice ⁵^top ^tips ^on ^water ^supplyaids in achieving hygienic wa- 1 Adjust drinkers to correct height. ter but it does not kill bacte- 2 Fix leaks. ria embedded in biofilm. Nor 3 Look out for air locks. does it break up the biofilm. 4 Install a filter to prevent sediment build-up. The bacterial load in the wa- 5 Prevent biofim by flushing: ter quickly returns to the pre- ● immediately after any intervention of medication, sanitised level. ● one minute for every 30 metres of pipe length, A good strategy to combat ● at least once a week, biofilm, as well as air locks and ● more than once a day during warm weather, sediment, is to develop a regular ● use high pressure ( 1. 5-3.0 bars). schedule for flushing the watering system. Enclosed watering systems make a regular flushing schedule easy with the by-pass valves on flush-through water regulators. We recommend flushing once a day, and more frequently during hot weather.

Warm weather encourages micro-organisms to colonise the system and reproduce quickly. High-pressure flushing not only prevents biofilm from forming but also flushes out tepid water, replacing it with cooler water that is less hospitable to micro-organism growth.

Employing a high-pressure flush using 1. 5-3.0 bars (20-40 pounds/in²; psi) pressure is recommended. That is usually sufficient pressure to break up the biofilm. Hydrogen peroxide-based cleaners also have proved to be highly effective in eliminating biofilm. An oxidising agent in hydrogen peroxide scrubs the interior of the pipe clean of biofilm, making the system ready for fl ushing.

After flushing, the biofilm, sediment and air locks are removed and the risk of clogged, leaky drinkers is greatly diminished.

By paying close attention to the

watering system, producers can better manage manure pits and maintain dry conditions. This can go a long way to improving the performance of a commercial layer operation. EI