Study reveals big water savings with ball bite water drinkers

Results of a year-long study conducted on a High River area hog farm suggest that ball bite water drinkers can save as much as one-third of an operation's annual water expenses by limiting the amount of water pigs spill.

Over the course of one year and six batches of 250 pigs each, Dennis McKerracher compared the spill rate of ball bite water drinkers to standard water drinkers. He discovered that the ball bite groups used 35 percent less water over the year (a total of 133,149 litres) with 50 percent less water used in the summer.

The benefits of ball bite drinkers spun off into nearly every facet of McKerracher's 500 head, all-in, all-out grower operation. His three-tiered monitoring system, consisting of a water meter, a water monitor and daily record-keeping, also generated several additional side benefits.

"Ultimately, the water told the story," says McKerracher. "If there was any problem, ventilation, feed, health, you name it, we knew it immediately because of the difference in water consumption."

The trial occupied the full capacity of McKerracher's 500-head barn at any given time over the course of the year, with 250 pigs on the ball bite drinkers and 250 on the standard drinkers. McKerracher's goal was to control as many variables as possible in order to discover the range of efficiencies the ball bite drinkers had to offer. He particularly wanted to conduct the study over an entire year to account for seasonal and weather variations.

"We wanted to make sure all the pigs coming into the barn had never been exposed to any kind of water drinker previously so they would have no preference of one over the other," he says. "We also wanted all of the pigs to come from the same suppliers."

The economic efficiencies among the ball bite group were numerous, varied and instantly recognizable, says McKerracher. Substantial differences in water use between the two groups manifested themselves on a daily basis, with the ball bite drinker group consistently consuming between a third or a half less water than the standard drinker group.

The high degree of monitoring allowed McKerracher to discover a wide range of efficiencies as well. "Water levels were often able to tell us there was a problem in the barn before we were able to observe it ourselves," he says. "It got to the point where I could tell the feed bins were getting low just by the amount of water being used. I could tell the temperature of the barn just by looking at the numbers."

McKerracher believes there are more opportunities for the study of ball bite drinkers, especially in the context of finisher barns. "I did this trial on grower pigs. They came in weighing 50-60 lbs and went out in the 120 lbs range. The ball bite pigs in the latter weight range were using as little as three litres per head per day, compared to eight or more litres in the other group.

"If we were able to continue the trial in a finishing barn, I would guarantee that the savings would be just that much more."

McKerracher says he plans to convert his entire barn to ball bite drinkers and encourages other pork producers to do the same. "Your standard drinkers are going to wear out eventually anyway, so it makes sense to make the switch as long as you don't try to use both at the same time," he says. "If given the choice between the two, the pigs tended to gravitate towards the standard drinkers."

McKerracher's work has received notices from the environmental and agricultural communities. He is a finalist in the Research and Innovation category of the 2006 Emerald Awards, an annual event which recognizes Albertans who have shown outstanding initiative in addressing environmental challenges. Also, his work is being studied by the George Morris Centre in Guelph, Ontario, a noted agricultural think-tank.

For more information on the study, read the May 2006 (Volume 3, Issue 3) edition of the Alberta Pork Industry Report, available on the Alberta Pork corporate Web site at www.albertapork.com, or call (780) 474-8288.

Alberta Pork represents more than 1,000 pork producers in the province. The industry produces more than 3.5 million hogs each year. The overall agriculture industry directly and indirectly generates one out of three jobs in the province.

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