Common water quality treatment methods in large-scale sheep farms
2022-01-24
As we all know, water is the source of life and an important part of animal bodies. About 70% of animal bodies are composed of water. Water is also an indispensable and irreplaceable nutrient for animals. Water must be involved in the digestion and absorption of feed, nutrient transportation, metabolism, excretion of feces and urine, and growth and reproduction. The water in the sheep accounts for 55%-70%, and the leaner the meat, the higher the water content. Therefore, there is a saying in our breeding industry that drinking water also grows meat. It is precisely such an important cheap feed that many of our sheep owners ignore. During the first-line visit, it was found that many sheep farms had insufficient drinking water, and some sheep farms had poor drinking fountains and sheep did not like to drink, resulting in decreased feed intake, fighting, unexplained diarrhea, and slow growth of fattening sheep. In conclusion, I hope to bring you some lessons and thoughts!
One, the water source of the large-scale sheep farm
The water sources of large-scale sheep farms mainly come from surface water, groundwater and tap water. Among them, tap water is the safest and most sanitary, but it is rarely used due to its high cost, and groundwater and surface water are used more. Groundwater is mostly water extracted from deep formations by using deep wells; surface water is mainly water from reservoirs, lakes, rivers and ponds. In order to obtain sufficient water, the sheep farm should establish an independent water supply system, use water pumps and water supply equipment to input water into the farm, and then supply water to the water supply network through water towers or pressure tanks.
In actual production, the water sources of most sheep farms are polluted to varying degrees, especially the sheep farms that use surface water as the water source, and some of them cause pollution in the process of water intake and water supply. In some sheep farms that use groundwater, due to insufficient protection of groundwater sources, sewage or other pollutants generated by the farm itself infiltrate into the groundwater layer and pollute the groundwater source. Therefore, whether the water source of the sheep farm is surface water or groundwater, it is recommended to use it after disinfection and sterilization.
Two, water intake
Sheep drink water every day, and the demand for water is very large. Especially when they are sick or stressed, they will stop feeding and only rely on drinking water to maintain basic life activities. At this time, water becomes the only and crucial nutrient for sheep. Different animals, due to different physiological and nutrient substances, especially the end products of protein metabolism, the body water loss and water needs are also significantly different, the water intake is not the same. Under suitable environmental conditions, sheep and goats should drink 4-15 liters of water per day. Some sheep farms drink water automatically, and some sheep farms are artificially added. Water is only added during feeding. The water tank is empty for a long time in the middle, and the sheep are seriously affected. Water shortage. The more the sheep drink in summer, the more water they can drink, the tank cannot be empty, and more attention should be paid to the hygiene of the tank and cleaning it every day. Sheep themselves are clean animals, and if the sink is unsanitary, it will also affect the amount of water they drink.
Three, the current situation of drinking water pollution in sheep farms
1. Water supply tower
Most of the water in sheep farms comes from groundwater, and the water contaminated by livestock and poultry manure, pesticides, industrial sewage, etc. is immersed in groundwater wells and then fed to sheep, which is a worrying problem. In order to ensure the supply of water for the sheep in any season, each sheep farm has one or more water towers. Many sheep farms have never cleaned and disinfected the water towers since the construction of the farms, and some water towers are covered with moss. Even a lot of silt garbage has accumulated, and the water sanitation is extremely poor. Therefore, the sheep farm should clean and disinfect the water supply tower under the condition of regular safety measures every year to ensure the sanitation of the water source. Generally speaking, turbid surface water needs sedimentation, filtration and disinfection before it can be used for animal drinking; cleaner deep well water and groundwater only need to be disinfected. If affected by the surrounding environment or geology, the water source is subject to special pollution. Corresponding purification measures must be taken.
2. Water pipes and drinking fountains
A few sheep farms drink tap water and use water pipelines, but the problem of excessive bacteria in the water quality at the end of the water line still exists. Some sheep farms reported problems such as low feed intake of fattening sheep, unexplained diarrhea, and slow growth of fattening sheep. After inspection, it was because the water pipes were blocked, the water flow was too small, and the sheep did not drink enough water. Some sheep farms drink groundwater or pond water, which may contain various microorganisms including Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Leptospira, etc. Some pathogenic bacteria attach to the pipe wall to breed and form colonies, and then produce organisms Membranes and fouling, over time, clog pipes, narrowing them and causing insufficient water flow.
In addition, water-soluble additives added to the drinking water system, such as vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, enzymes, acidifiers, etc., will also form a thick biofilm on the inner wall of the water pipe, which provides excellent living conditions for the growth and reproduction of harmful microorganisms , The commonly used chlorine-containing disinfectants have a certain inhibitory effect on some microorganisms in the water, but they are powerless to the formed biofilm.
3. Water is a disease vector
In addition to the common air and direct contact transmission of infectious diseases, there is also a type of diseases that are transmitted by drinking or contacting water contaminated with pathogens, which are called waterborne infectious diseases, also known as waterborne infectious diseases. There are two reasons for their prevalence: ① water source Contaminated with pathogens, it is intended for human or animal consumption without proper handling and disinfection. ② Treated drinking water is re-contaminated by pathogens in the process of water distribution and water storage. Both surface water and shallow well water are highly susceptible to pathogenic contamination and lead to the occurrence of water-borne infectious diseases. The pathogens mainly include coliform bacteria, heat-resistant Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Clostridium welchii, Vibrio cholerae, Giardia, schistosomiasis, etc. They are mainly infiltrated into the ground by waste water such as animal manure, animal slaughtering, burial of dead bodies, and domestic sewage. caused. Animal diseases caused by the prevalence of water-borne infectious diseases mainly include diarrhea and enterotoxemia in fattening sheep. If such problems often occur in farms, under the condition of normal feed, the total number of bacteria will often exceed the standard in water quality testing. Therefore, sheep farms must pay more attention to water source safety and water quality bacteria testing when controlling disease epidemics and formulating prevention and control plans.
Four, common water quality treatment methods in large-scale sheep farms
In order to make the drinking water quality of the farm meet the hygienic requirements, the drinking water usually needs to be purified by physical and chemical methods. Commonly used physical methods include precipitation, filtration, ion exchange resin and boiling, UV lamp irradiation, etc. The chemical method is to use drinking water disinfectants. Commonly used in farms include chlorine preparations, acidifiers and products containing hydrogen peroxide.
Generally speaking, turbid surface water needs sedimentation, filtration and disinfection before it can be used for animal drinking; cleaner deep well water and groundwater only need to be disinfected. If affected by the surrounding environment or geology, the water source is subject to special pollution. Corresponding purification measures must be taken.
1. Precipitation
Surface water often contains sediment and other substances, making the water more turbid. When the speed of the water flow slows down or stops, the larger suspended matter in the water can gradually sink due to the action of gravity, so that the water can be initially clarified. Farms generally have sedimentation tanks or reservoirs, which can play a certain role in sedimentation. However, there are also some tiny colloidal particles suspended in water that repel each other due to their negative charge, and they suspend for a long time without precipitation. At this time, a certain coagulant such as alum can be added for precipitation. So as to achieve the purpose of preliminary water purification.
2. Filter
The principle of filtration and purification of water is mainly through the barrier effect of the filter membrane, the suspended matter particles in the water are blocked outside the membrane, and the other substances that pass through the filter membrane smoothly enter the water cycle with the water flow. Filtration can remove small particles of solid impurities, but cannot remove water-soluble substances.
3. Disinfection
In order to prevent the spread of infectious diseases through water and ensure the safety of water used in large-scale sheep farms, the water needs to be disinfected: the commonly used disinfection methods include physical disinfection and chemical disinfection. Physical disinfection methods include boiling disinfection, ultraviolet disinfection, and ultrasonic disinfection. Due to the use of centralized water supply in breeding, and due to the large amount of water used in production, this type of technology cannot be used for water supply disinfection in sheep farms. Therefore, large-scale sheep farms use more chemical methods to disinfect water, that is, use disinfectants to disinfect water. At present, the commonly used drinking water disinfectants are mainly chlorine preparations, iodine preparations and chlorine dioxide. The ideal drinking water disinfectant is required to be non-toxic and non-irritating, can be quickly dissolved in water and release bactericidal components, has strong killing power to pathogenic microorganisms in water, has a wide bactericidal spectrum, and will not occur with organic or inorganic substances in water. The chemical reaction and the production of harmful and toxic substances are cheap and easy to obtain, easy to store and transport, and easy to use.
E-mail:danong@great-farm.com
Tel:+86 371 5517 0327
Skype：zzjhny007