New review on water intake and quality in livestock and poultry nutrition

Associate Professor Konstantinos V. Arsenopoulos and Assistant Professor Manos C. Vlasiou from the School of Veterinary Medicine, together with first-year DVM student Dionie Smith Diakidi, have co-authored a review article published in the peer-reviewed journal Water.

The publication was produced in collaboration with researchers from Greece, Ireland and Switzerland, and examines the role of water in livestock and poultry nutrition, with particular attention to both water intake and water quality.

Titled Water in Livestock and Poultry Nutrition: A Review on Consumption and Quality, the article brings together evidence from a wide range of published studies on the physiological importance of water, the factors that influence intake, and the standards needed to protect animal health, productivity and food safety.

The review shows that water intake in farm animals is shaped by a range of factors, including species, stage of production, environmental temperature, humidity and feed composition. It also outlines the physicochemical and microbiological characteristics required for water to be considered suitable for livestock and poultry.

Among its main points, the paper notes that water makes up a substantial proportion of body weight in farm animals and plays an essential part in nutrient transport, thermoregulation and waste elimination. It also underlines that poor water quality can affect feed intake, animal performance and welfare.

Commenting on the publication, first author Dr Arsenopoulos said: ‘This review demonstrates that ensuring continuous access to adequate quantities of safe, high-quality water is essential for optimising animal health, productivity, and welfare. Such practices should be integrated into routine farm management and regulatory frameworks’.

He added that the publication also marks the start of a new international collaboration with Professor John O’Doherty from the School of Agriculture and Food Science at University College Dublin, and noted that Dionie Smith Diakidi contributed to the review through the Student Internship Research Programme.