Poultry Medication via Drinking Water

Treating animals via drinking water with a dosing pump is simple, quick, flexible and highly effective in addressing various poultry health issues.

Poultry bacterial diseases (non-exhaustive list) :

• Mycoplasmosis
• Salmonellosis
• Colibacillosis
• Infections caused by Streptococcus
• Infections caused by Staphylococcus
• Necrotic enteritis
• Erysipelas
• Avian cholera
• Infectious coryza
• And so on..

Poultry internal parasites (usually intestinal) :

• Worms (Roundworms, Cecal worms)
• Protozoa (Coccidia, Cryptosporidia, Histomonads)
• Cross contamination comes from the litter, water or food.

Treating animals via drinking water with a dosing pump is a simple, quick and extremely effective method (sick animals always tend to drink more than they eat in order to compensate for dehydration, body temperature or stress).

The poultry water medication will limit errors and risks of cross-contamination compared with other administration techniques.

It can be used to rapidly treat a selected group of animals when installed in poultry barns with multi water circuits (Male/female or broiler houses with several floors).

It also allows maximum flexibility in terms of dosage and duration of the treatment (curative or metaphylactic antibiotics*, coccidiostats, wormers, painkillers, anti-inflammatories etc.).

Moreover, administering treatments via drinking water typically results in a substantial decrease in antibiotic use compared to medication given through feed. In an increasing number of nations, preventive medication delivered through feed has almost vanished or is now banned, as seen in Europe since 2022.

*Always respect your veterinary prescription and local legislation regarding authorized veterinary medicines & vaccines.

Advantages of Dosatron Technology*

Dosatron proportional pumps guarantee the correct medicine dosing, regardless of the permanent variations in water pressure and water flow rate (due to animal random drinking behavior).

Our non-electric, self-priming pumps also work with gravity pressure (header tanks).

 Dosatron pumps can achieve high dosing percentages to ensure that the oral powders are properly dissolved in the stock solution.

They have a dosage capability of up to 4%, 5% or 10% to obtain a larger volume of stock solution thus improving the pre-dilution of the less soluble medicines. 

Dosatron Units guarantee that the mixture of water and medicine stays consistent and uniform. This is due to the high-quality dynamic mixing in the pump motor (The Dosatron D25AL range, for example, offers excellent in-line dosing homogeneity).

These different performances are mandatory to ensure that the medication solution is evenly distributed to each drinker, and that animals have equal access to the right amount of medication at all times.

Bearing in mind that :

• a broiler spends only about 3% of its time drinking.
• the number of visits and the time spent at the drinker also vary.

The dosing pumps can be run empty (without additives) without any risk of damage. They are also quick & easy to maintain. Dosatron works closely with our partners from all over the world to hold regular technical seminars and develop specialized tools (medication calculators for PCs, Smartphones and tablets, available in 15 languages, training materials on medication techniques, etc.).

*Dosatron performance in accordance with the European Medicine Agency’s 2020 recommendations (EMA/CVMP/508559/2019 - Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use - ANNEX II)

Recommended Installation for Poultry Medication via Drinking Water

1. Dosatron proportional Diaphragm metering pump
2. 80 micron filter
3. Pressure reducer
4. 3 Bypass valves
5. 2 valves (clear water valve for pre-dilution & rinsing / valve for testing & accelerating Dosatron priming)
6. Graduated mixing tank for pre-dilution of treatments
7. Drinking circuit

Tips for Installing, Using & Maintaining your Dosatron

• Install a 80-micron filter before the dosing pump and a water meter to monitor your water consumption. The water meter shall perform at low flow and be accurate (Class C – R500 for example).
  
  
• If installed on a drinking water main line, you must ensure that your installation complies with the applicable disconnection standards (back-flow prevention system such as Class B disconnectors...). 
  
  
• Install the Dosatron in bypass on the water supply with 2 valves before and after the Dosatron.
  • 1 valve for clear water,
  • 1 valve for quick rinsing / priming / testing of the dosing pump.
    
    
• Use a graduated mixing tank designed to limit residues at the end of the treatment and use a different tank for vaccinations.
  
  
• Always rinse the tank and let the Dosatron inject clean water for few hours after each treatment.
  
  
• A high dosage % (4% or more) is the only way to guarantee that most oral powders are properly dissolved to get no dosage variations at the drinker.
  
  
• Make sure that your drinkers are correctly adjusted (in terms of pressure / flow rate) and do the sanitation of your drinking water system during depopulation (empty barn).
  
  
• Test your water twice a year (winter / summer or dry season / rainy season) > Physico-chemical test (at the source) and bacteriological test (at the end of the line).
  
  
• Remember to change the dosing pump injection seals at least once a year.
  
  
• Check the solubility of your treatments and whether they are compatible / safe to use with any biocides you may use to disinfect your water supply.

Discover our Poultry Medication Calculator

Recommended Dosing Pumps for this Application