Evaluation of Nipple Drinkers and the Lott System for Determining Appropriate Water Flow for Broilers

Introduction Water is thought by many to be the most important nutrient for poultry. Charles H. Goan summed up the true concerns of the broiler industry when he stated, “The purpose of any broiler watering system is to provide sufficient water for optimum bird growth and efficiency.” In recent years the industry has abandoned v-troughs, cups, and bell type drinkers in favor of nipple water systems. Nipple watering systems are advantageous because they improve water quality, eliminate the daily cleaning chores, and reduce spillage. Reduced water spillage creates dryer litter, decreases ammonia volatilization and reduces plant condemnations from breast blisters. Although, it is clear that nipple waterers are efficient, questions remain about proper management and drinker function. It is important to realize that no two watering systems are identical. Numerous design differences exist, which dictate how each system must be managed with respect to water pressure (entering the regulator), waterline height, bird/nipple density, and flow rate or water column height. Thus, proper drinker management must be utilized for each system to achieve maximum bird performance. Lott and coworkers used static flow measurements to generate guidelines designed to determine adequate nipple drinker flow. Static flow (milliliters of water delivered per minute) is measurement by triggering the nipple and timing the collection process for one minute. The “Lott flow method” uses the formula (Weeks of Age)* 7 + 20 to calculate necessary weekly static flow. However, this guideline creates several difficulties. First, it is important to realize that static flow measurements only provide an indication of how much water can flow, not how much water the bird consumes. For some drinker types the bird activates the nipple using a side to side action, not the straight up and down motion measured by static flow. Also, the bird uses quick pecking motions to obtain a drink as compared to the constant pressure used to trigger the pin in static flow measurements. Second, low flow drinking systems are designed differently than other systems and cannot achieve Lott’s suggested guidelines. This discrepancy has created confusion regarding whether or not low flow systems deliver adequate water to the birds and concerns about poor bird performance due to drinker selection. With this in mind, two trials were conducted to evaluate broiler performance using different drinker systems managed according to manufacturers operating procedures. The trials were designed to determine if the Lott flow formula is an appropriate method for evaluation of all drinker types. A second objective was to determine if all drinker systems tested supported similar bird performance.