Water is vital for animals. It is indispensable for regulating body temperature, digesting food and eliminating toxins. Cows consumption of water is directly linked to their milk production. Cleaning and disinfecting the water lines is at least as important as cleaning and disinfecting surfaces.
DISEASES IN DRINKING WATER
The fastest way a pathogen can spread disease in a farm and affect the majority of your herd is through the drinking water! Contaminated drinking water can compromise the immune system of cows. It will cause stress and disease due to constant exposure to infection.
IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF DRINKING WATER
Your whole hygiene, all your health management, all your cleaning efforts can be destroyed by flawed drinking water hygiene. Disinfection can improve the quality of drinking water.
Drinking Water Disinfection
Some problems may still occur even after complete cleaning of the water lines. In these cases the problem is often related to the water quality. Where does the water come from? Surface water such as artificial lakes or surface wells and well water often carry a high bacterial load. Trichoderma and algae are commonly found in these water sources. In this case incoming water should be continuously disinfected throughout the whole production cycle.
Choosing a product which has a synergistic formulation of multiple organic acids is advised. These organic acids have superior buffering capacities and decrease pH slowly. They have a greater antibacterial effect, taste better and are less corrosive compared with a single inorganic.
Viruses can be carried easily to the barn and each drinking nipple where they eventually are consumed. Implementing a solid hygiene plan on a dairy farm through management, cleaning and disinfection could be all in vain when drinking water was forgotten or not even included in your hygiene plan.
CLEANING AND DISINFECTION OF THE WATER LINES
Cleaning the water lines means removing the scale. Removing the scale is important as this can lead to biofilm formation. Everything that you put in the water line leaves residues.
The water leaves minerals behind, organic acids leave organic matter and medication and vaccines can leave carriers behind or precipitate.
All these elements form a ‘slime’ called biofilm. Biofilm is a mix of organic and inorganic ingredients in which microbes are multiplying. It can contain pathogens like Salmonella and E. coli which are sources of contamination for the drinking water. It decreases water flow and can block the drinking nipples. Biofilm can neutralize medicine and vaccines and that leads to under dosage or poor results.
It is important to push on every single nipple to allow the solution to clean it. The contact time must be respected to achieve a good result. After 4-6 hours, the water system must be rinsed with clean water to flush out all the loosened dirt. Check if the product solution is removed with test strips.