Poultry News
  • Production
    • Broiler Production
    • Ducks
    • Egg Production
    • Game
    • Hatching
    • Housing
    • Turkeys
  • Processing
  • Business & Politics
    • Business
    • Economics
    • EU & Politics
    • Marketing
    • People
    • Training & Education
  • Welfare
    • Environment
    • Food Safety
    • Vet & Medication
    • Welfare
  • Feed
  • Genetics
  • New Products
  • Magazines
    • May 2025
    • April 2025
    • March 2025
    • 2025 Feed and Nutrition supplement
    • February 2025
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • October 2024
    • September 2024
    • 2024 Building for the Future supplement
    • August 2024
    • 2024 Poultry Health supplement
    • July 2024
    • 2024 National Egg and Poultry Awards finalists supplement
    • June 2024
    • 2024 Innovation supplement
    • Pig & Poultry Fair 2024
    • May 2024
    • April 2024
    • March 2024
    • February 2024
    • January 2024
    • December 2023
    • November 2023
    • Processing Equipment Supplement – Nov 2023
    • October 2023
    • Building Supplement – Sept 2023
    • September 2023
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Events
    • National Egg and Poultry Awards
    • Poultry Fair
    • Webinars
Twitter LinkedIn
  • FREE Email Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
Twitter LinkedIn
Podcast
Poultry News
  • Production
    • Broiler Production
    • Ducks
    • Egg Production
    • Game
    • Hatching
    • Housing
    • Turkeys
  • Processing
  • Business & Politics
    • Business
    • Economics
    • EU & Politics
    • Marketing
    • People
    • Training & Education
  • Welfare
    • Environment
    • Food Safety
    • Vet & Medication
    • Welfare
  • Feed
  • Genetics
  • New Products
  • Magazines
    1. May 2025
    2. April 2025
    3. March 2025
    4. 2025 Feed and Nutrition supplement
    5. February 2025
    6. January 2025
    7. December 2024
    8. November 2024
    9. October 2024
    10. September 2024
    11. 2024 Building for the Future supplement
    12. August 2024
    13. 2024 Poultry Health supplement
    14. July 2024
    15. 2024 National Egg and Poultry Awards finalists supplement
    16. June 2024
    17. 2024 Innovation supplement
    18. Pig & Poultry Fair 2024
    19. May 2024
    20. April 2024
    21. March 2024
    22. February 2024
    23. January 2024
    24. December 2023
    25. November 2023
    26. Processing Equipment Supplement – Nov 2023
    27. October 2023
    28. Building Supplement – Sept 2023
    29. September 2023
    Featured

    Poultry Business – May 2025 issue

    By Chloe RyanMay 15, 2025
    Recent

    Poultry Business – May 2025 issue

    May 15, 2025

    Poultry Business – April 2025 issue

    April 8, 2025

    Poultry Business – March 2025 issue

    March 12, 2025
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Events
    • National Egg and Poultry Awards
    • Poultry Fair
    • Webinars
Twitter LinkedIn
Poultry News
Production

Managing your drinker system to benefit from the latest innovations

Chloe RyanBy Chloe RyanMay 18, 20207 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

By Galina Sadovska, Val-Co regional sales manager for Europe and Africa, and Rik Verweij, area sales manager Benelux, Germany and Austria.

Why have we designed the nipple drinkers for the poultry sector? It is very simple: to provide enough fresh, and clean water for birds in a closed system. A closed system is more hygienic than an open one and provides better water quality. It requires less labour to keep the system clean and a closed system should be able to efficiently distribute water soluble agents via medicators to make birds perform better.

However, this is where management plays an important role. Applying vaccines, medications, vitamins, minerals and acids through the system risks making it dirty. In order to clean and keep it clean and prevent biofilm build up, producers should frequently flush water lines automatically or manually and set up a regular cleaning program to eliminate water line contaminants, including bacteria, sludge, drug residues and scale deposits. What products we clean it with, can aggressively affect the nipple drinker materials, shortening the operational lifecycle of the system or parts.

The vital requirement of the nipple drinking system is to provide a sufficient supply of fresh and clean water. However, we need to remember that the quality of the incoming water is also important: check it and treat or filter it immediately when necessary. Also, the supplied volume must be enough for the birds, considering peak demand for larger birds, feeding and lighting schedules and warmer weather.

The flow rate is crucial because the birds would like to drink as fast as they can, especially when there is water/feed rationing. For the broilers one can calculate maximum flow rate by using a formula of: the age in weeks x 7 + 20 millilitres/minute. This means when you are growing heavy birds or parent stock a rate of 100 millilitres/minute is more than sufficient. Keep in mind that you need to provide an adequate number of nipple drinkers for the number of birds, at VAL-CO it is standard to calculate 10-15 broilers or 8-12 breeders per nipple drinker, depending on the farming system, climate, breed and production goal.

Line height plays a key role in offering comfortable and fast drinking with optimal drinking angle for the birds. Over two weeks young chickens change their optimal drinking angle from 30-45 degrees to 70-80 degrees (see the graph). Day old chickens need their drinkers approximately at eye height so they can see the glistening tip of the moist nipple drinker. The chickens are attracted by the shiny tips and by pecking at them they are learning how to use drinkers. Optionally, mini trough drinkers attached on the water lines offer an open water source with nipples above that attract the young birds to the water lines, and then they can choose to drink either from the trough or from the nipple. Larger birds should be able to easily reach the nipple drinkers standing with both legs stable on the ground and stretching their necks almost in the upright position.

Water line management especially the first 2 weeks is critical: increase almost daily the height of the lines as well as the pressure in the lines. Keep in mind the rule of thumb, with growing chickens the height of the drinking lines as well as the pressure in the lines should “grow”, and the chickens grow the fastest in the first 2 weeks. The presented graph recommends water pressure in the watering system corresponding to the bird age with related water flow.

The right pressure level in the water lines has been the topic of lots of discussion, especially when the litter gets too damp which may cause foot pad blisters appearing. One possible cause is that the water line management is incorrect. (Bird health, feed composition and ventilation are other possible causes). Mostly when these issues happen the advice is to lower the pressure in the water lines. Farmers rather often tend to talk about the leaking nipples however, in most cases water is spilled when the birds are drinking from the nipple drinkers. To test this, provided this is allowed, just try to raise the drinking lines and make sure birds cannot reach the drinkers and often you will see the litter dry.

VAL-CO recommend increasing water pressure and the height of the drinking lines according to the graph daily during the first 2 weeks. Check the litter as well as chicken neck and breast feathers for being wet. When either or both litter and feathers are damp, keep the water pressure on the same level until the conditions stabilize. The height of the drinking lines however do still need to be adjusted with bird growth according to the graph.

Remember the reasons for spilled water: incorrect height of water lines and either too high or too low water flow.

Too high water flow can be caused by high water pressure in drinker lines or worn nipple drinkers that simply give too much water even at a pressure that is correct and according to the shown graph. A drinker is worn when the water flow is twice as much as indicated in the flow charts. Too low pressure can cause spillage as chickens will compete for those nipples which give more water. This can occur close to the pressure regulator, in a sloped area, due to airlocks in the system, or at the end of the line and at slightly worn or other type of nipple drinkers that provide more water.

VAL-CO advise to hang the water lines as straight as possible using the same type and age of the nipple drinkers per line. It is important that all lines in the house have nipple drinkers with the same water flow. It is advisable to check water flow of different drinkers regularly in random spots in the house.

Nipple wear can be accelerated if watering is rationed or limited, and the chickens play with dry drinkers. In this situation, drinkers are activated more often with birds trying to satiate their thirst, and dry drinkers wear faster because the lubricating water film is absent. As a result, the lifespan of nipple drinkers for parent stock is often shorter and the drinkers will have to be replaced faster. For young breeders it is recommended that you use 360o nipples, but for adults up/down action only.

It is vital that the pressure regulator works correctly to adjust proper water pressure in the water line. The most important part of this is the rubber diaphragm in the regulator that stretches over time and then needs to be replaced. It is recommended that after each cycle or flock, the regulators are adjusted once all the birds have been depopulated. (The regulator increases pressure by a spring pushing on one side of the rubber diaphragm), if there is no water pressure on the other side, it can permanently stretch the rubber and ultimately shorten the lifespan of the diaphragm.

The use of aggressive chemical agents in the nipple drinker system, briefly mentioned at the beginning, has a negative effect on the life of the diaphragm. Some agents, especially when high dosages are used, are so aggressive that it is advisable to replace the diaphragm annually. Using various chemical agents may weaken plastic parts of the pressure regulator which become brittle breaking faster and must be also replaced occasionally. Regular replacement of the complete pressure regulators is a good consideration if chemical agents are frequently used in the nipple drinker system. This prevents problems with the regulators not working properly during a production cycle and ensures the birds receive enough water but not too much water.

 

Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
Previous ArticleImproving performance through gut health
Next Article NFU seeking views on PPE shortages from poultry businesses
Chloe Ryan

Editor of Poultry Business, Chloe has spent the past decade writing about the food industry from farming, through manufacturing, retail and foodservice. When not working, dog walking and reading biographies are her favourite hobbies.

Read Similar Stories

Broiler Production

Aviagen introduces Ross 470 club

May 19, 20252 Mins Read
Production

This mild, dry weather is great for poultry production

May 15, 20252 Mins Read
Broiler Production

Comment: “Alexa, are my chickens comfortable?”

May 14, 20252 Mins Read
Latest News

APHA to use genomics to boost disease surveillance in £10m project

May 19, 2025

Aviagen introduces Ross 470 club

May 19, 2025

This mild, dry weather is great for poultry production

May 15, 2025
Sponsored Content

Maintain stable and continuous coccidiosis control amidst stocking density reductions

November 1, 2024

How to improve your forecasting accuracy

October 1, 2024
© 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms & Conditions

  • Farmers Weekly
  • AA Farmer
  • Farm Contractor
  • Pig World

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.