Plentiful, good quality water is essential for optimum swine production. Pigs can successfully tolerate a wide range of water quality and will adapt to water which contains compounds that impart a negative effect on performance. Above all else, pigs need sufficient quantities of water to maintain production levels.
Water is the most important nutrient for animals and humans.
Without water, death can occur within a matter of days. Water has a major role in most physiological processes. It acts as a transport medium for hormones and other chemical messengers, nutrients, waste material, as well as ingested food in the gastrointestinal tract. Water has a major function in regulation body temperature, acts as a lubricant for skeletal joints and is a component of many basic chemical reactions. When assessing animal performance problems, the feed is typically analysed, whereas water analysis is often overlooked.