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Drinking behavior and performance of pigs with access to either two or three waterers per pen were recorded in a new study conducted jointly by Cargill Pork, Iowa State University and Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI).

Researchers at BIVI were particularly interested in looking at the number of visits nursery pigs made to a water-bowl drinker over a six-hour period.

The timeframe was intentionally selected to coincide with the recommended administration window of oral vaccines.

“Our interest was to look once more at pen dynamics during the time pigs take a drink,” said Roy Edler, BIVI field research services group leader. “Does it support our original conclusion of 4 to 6 hours to administer oral vaccines?”

Nine pens were divided into three treatment groups. Group 1 had one cup-style drinker per pen of 25 gilts, positioned on the same side as the feeder and close to a back wall. Group 2 had two drinkers per pen (one per 12 gilts) – one located close to the back wall and one directly across from the feeder.

Group 3 had two drinkers positioned like the other pens, with a third across from the feeder next to the alleyway. This provided a ratio of one drinker per eight gilts.

According to study authors, a 1:15 drinker to pig ratio is recommended in the United Kingdom. In the United States, a 1:25 ratio is more typical.

The water-bowl drinkers were stainless steel with nipple nozzle. Researchers tracked air temperature and relative humidity electronically using data loggers suspended over each pen.

Gilts were about 7 weeks of age when behavior was recorded. Two trained scientists tracked the total number of visits to the waterer by each pig.

Pigs’ weights were recorded at placement and exit (42 days) to calculate average daily gain.

Not surprisingly, when pigs were offered more places to drink (Group 3) they went to the water bowl more often. “That confirmed our original conclusion,” said Edler.

Pigs in pens with one bowl took a drink 10.32 times. Pigs with two bowls got a drink 10.60 times and pigs with three made a total of 13.88 drinker visits.

Regarding the average daily gain findings, there was a trend to better ending weights for pigs offered more places to drink, but the differences were not significant. “There weren’t huge differences, but a trend in daily gain was indicated,” noted Edler. “It was only on a 42-day nursery turn so it’s hard to speculate on performance.”

The study bears repeating on a larger scale to observe more behavioral relationships, Edler added. “No one has really done this type of research. The biggest influence seems to be the physical location of the waterer.

“What is the ideal location? That’s for a future study,” he said. “Waterers should be positioned according to behavior pattern.”