Barn hygiene: don’t forget the water troughs!

If you want your cows to be healthy and ensure good operating results, you need to ensure that your barns are hygienic. As a livestock farmer, you make sure that the floors are clean and the cubicles stables have a comfortable climate. After all, you want to give bacteria as little chance as possible and prevent hoof and udder infections. But there is more to good barn hygiene than just keeping the floor clean. Bacteria can accumulate in other places, such as in water troughs. We explain why it’s essential that water troughs are kept clean and give you tips on how to do this.

Effect on animal health

A dairy cow needs four litres of water to produce one litre of milk. That’s four times as much! On average, they need at least 40 litres of water a day, so it’s important to choose a water trough that has sufficient water pressure. But more importantly, the water should be clean. Contaminated water can cause disease. Some livestock farmers even find that it has a negative effect on the fertility of their cows. And you want to avoid that at all costs.

Access to sufficient, good-quality water is a basic need. It influences rumen function, feed intake and milk production. In other words, it affects the animal’s general health.

Cleaning water troughs

Almost all water troughs contain food residue, mucus and snot. This is because cows usually put their entire mouth in the water. And that slimy layer around the edge of the tank? That’s not the cows’ saliva but biofilm, a sticky layer that can cling to the trough and is caused when dirt enters it. Green deposits and algae can also develop in the trough.

There are various ways to clean water troughs. Biofilm can be easily removed with a brush. For effective cleaning, you can add a disinfecting agent, such as a little chlorine, for example. It’s important to clean the troughs daily, as a new layer can form quickly.

Would you prefer a less labour-intensive solution? There are water systems on the market that produce disinfectant and automatically add it to the water. This breaks down bacteria and biofilm and prevents a new layer from sticking to the tank.

How do you know if the drinking water is actually clean? That’s quite simple: clean water is clear, colourless and odourless. To be 100% sure, take regular water samples.

Circular farming

JOZ’s solutions are developed based on the principle of ‘Circular Farming’. In this, everything revolves around the cow, and we make smart choices when it comes to hygiene. We have various solutions for cleaning barn floors, which make the cow’s living environment a lot more comfortable. This improves animal health and, indirectly, milk production too.

Want to know more about barn hygiene?

Would you like to know more about how to create optimal conditions for good animal health in your barn? And which JOZ solutions can help you do this? Contact a dealer near you or request a quote via this website.