The nutritional effects of chicken layer cage system water on chickens are often ignored. However, lack of water will quickly produce serious and irreversible harmful effects on various chickens. The death of chickens caused by cutting off drinking water is faster than the death caused by lack of any other nutrients, and the decline in production level is also the fastest. Therefore, water is the most important nutrient for chickens.
(1) The distribution of water in the chicken body: water exists in every cell in the chicken body. The water content of the egg is about 65%. The water content of the young chicken is about 85%, and that of the adult chicken is about 55%. Therefore, the water content of the chicken body is in the range of 55%-85%. The water content of the chicken is the highest in the young, and the water content in the body decreases at a very rapid rate with the increase of the age, and then the decline rate gradually slows down, until the adult, the water content in the body is relatively stable.
The water in the chicken body mainly exists in the intracellular fluid and the extracellular fluid, and the water in the extracellular fluid is contained in the interstitial fluid and plasma respectively. Of the total amount of water in a chicken’s body, the water in the intracellular fluid accounts for 50%, the water in the interstitial fluid accounts for 5%, and the water in the plasma accounts for only about 5%.
(2) The role of water: Water plays an extremely important role in chicken metabolism. Most of the water in the body is combined with protein to form a liquid, making the tissue cell fluid present a certain form. Therefore, water is necessary to ensure the normal shape of the body’s various organs.
Water is a solvent for nutrients. The absorption, metabolism and excretion of nutrients in chickens, as well as the transport of nutrients between various tissues and organs in the body, must be dissolved in water to complete. Water also participates in the chemical action in the body and is the medium of chemical reactions in the metabolic process. Water has the properties of large heat capacity and high heat of evaporation. Therefore, water is of great significance for regulating body fluids and maintaining body fluid balance. In addition, water can also be used as a lubricating fluid to keep the joint surface of the bones lubricated and move freely.
(3) Source of water: There are three ways for chickens to obtain water, namely drinking water, metabolic water and feed water.
Drinking water: that is, chickens freely drink the water in the human body every day, accounting for about 75% of the total intake.
Metabolic water: also known as oxidized water, it refers to the water produced by the oxidation of nutrients in the body.
Feed water: the water taken by animals with feed. The water content of chicken feed in chicken cages varies greatly with the type of feed, and the water content of normal air-dried feed is between 8% and 15%. Under intensive breeding conditions, the water intake of chicken feed can meet about 6% of its total water requirement.So buy when raising chickens on a large scale buy automatic chicken drinkers and feeders