Monitoring pigs' water intake could be the difference between spotting health problems early and missing the signs until catastrophe strikes.

“Water is a very good tool to get someone into the barn and looking at the pigs,” says Mike Brumm, Brumm Swine Consultancy, Inc., North Mankato, MN. “It becomes an early signal when something isn't right.”

Meters measure the positive flow of water cumulatively, like a car odometer measures total miles, he says.

Brumm offers a couple of tips for obtaining accurate water use readings:

• Be sure to take the readings at the same time each day so the prior day's reading can be subtracted from the current total to determine the daily consumption, he says.

• To be effective in monitoring pigs' water intake, meters should measure only water going to drinkers, not to the office, cooling system, etc.

A decline in water consumption for three days or a sudden decrease of 30% or more tells operators something is wrong. “Go find out what it is,” says Brumm.

Monitoring water intake is especially helpful for workers who are new to caring for pigs. “With the host of barns built in the last two years, we have a lot of people with little experience taking care of pigs, so we need some tools to help them,” he continues.

Just jotting down meter readings may not provide strong enough clues when something is wrong. “We are a visual society, and we are not used to looking at columns of numbers,” Brumm says. Instead, he recommends using a chart that tracks water intake over time.

Several companies, including Herdstar, AP (Automated Production Systems), Val-Co or Dicam USA, provide automatic water charting as part of their electronic monitoring or environmental control systems. Those systems are tied in with barn water meters so readings are done automatically at a pre-set time each day. Brumm says this eliminates a possible monitoring problem when meters are read at inconsistent times. The information is then fed into a database, either on location or via the Internet, to a computer that creates the chart (see Figure 1). Installation fees or monthly user fees vary.

Another option for creating a water usage chart is a free, downloadable spreadsheet available at www.porkcentral.unl.edu. Brumm and Iowa State University Extension Specialist Mark Storlie developed the spreadsheet so an operator can simply input the daily meter readings to produce a chart.

When pigs are learning to drink or when barns are partially filled, water flow velocity is lower and meters may not give accurate readings, Brumm cautions.

Polymer water meters cost less than $100, while most alloy models are $200-300, he says.

Consulting swine veterinarian Joe Connor at the Carthage Veterinary Service, Ltd. Carthage, IL, agrees that water meters can provide an inexpensive, yet highly effective way to catch illnesses early.

“The good thing about water is that 24 to 48 hours before massive clinical outbreaks, you'll see a drop in intake,” he explains. “Charting makes it simpler to pick up changes visually.”

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