Poultry Medication via Drinking Water

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 poulry 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 several floor broiler house). 

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 & local legislation regarding authorized veterinary medicines & vaccines

Advantages of Dosatron Technology*

Dosatron proportional pumps guarantee the correct medicinet 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 generally include dosages 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 & 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.). This ensures that animals have equal access to the right amount of poultry medicine at all times, as the medicine solution is distributed evenly across the drinkers.

Bearing in mind that :

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

They can be run empty (without additives) without any risk of damage. They are also quick and easy to maintain.

We also work closely with our partners from all over the world to hold regular technical seminars and develop specialised 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 Animal Health dosing pump DIAL4AL or D25ALN (High dosage percentage of up to 4% or 5% recommended to ensure oral powder solubility and much lower residues levels).
2. 80 micron filter.
3. Water meter.
4. Pressure reducer.
5. Bypass valves.
6. 2 Valves or taps (1 before the Dosatron for tank filling / cleaning and 1 after Dosatron for fast priming / flushing / testing).
7. Dilution tank with stirrer.

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 percentage (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