Commercially reared broiler chickens are commonly supplied with drinking water through lines of nipple drinkers that are positioned above the birds' heads to avoid water leaking and spoiling the litter underfoot. This means that the birds have to peck upwards to obtain water, an action that is very different from the ‘scoop’ action of natural drinking seen when birds drink from troughs or puddles. In this study we investigate the welfare implications of this unnatural drinking behaviour imposed by nipple drinkers. We show 1) that chickens have no apparent aversion to the taste of tap water, 2) that they prefer bell drinkers and troughs over nipple drinkers, 3) that the stereotyped ‘scoop’ action is seen even when birds are drinking from bowls of different heights, 4) that chickens have a strong preference for drinking from nipples that are lower rather than higher and, 5) that when offered a choice between bowls and nipples of the same height, the chickens are indifferent to the method of water presentation. We conclude that the height at which water is presented to chickens is more important to them than whether they can drink with the natural ‘scoop’ action. While this might suggest that chicken welfare could be improved by lowering the drinker lines, wet litter causes welfare issues of its own through its effect on hock burn and pododermatitis. We suggest that drinker systems should be designed so that both aspects of welfare (birds able to drink in their preferred way and clean litter) are possible.

The association between a dietary pattern characterised by high alcohol intake and dyslipidaemia has not been fully investigated. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the association between alcohol dietary patterns and the prevalence of dyslipidaemia and its components. This cross-sectional study enrolled 2171 men and women aged ≥40 years who were alumni of a Japanese university. To identify dietary patterns, a principal component analysis was performed based on the energy-adjusted food intake estimated by a brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire. Three dietary patterns were identified, the second of which was named the alcohol dietary pattern and was characterised by a high intake of alcoholic beverages, liver, chicken and fish. This alcohol dietary pattern was associated with reduced LDL-cholesterol levels. The fully adjusted OR (95 % CI) of high LDL-cholesterol for the lowest through highest quartile of alcohol dietary pattern score were 1·00 (reference), 0·83 (0·64, 1·08), 0·84 (0·64, 1·10) and 0·68 (0·49, 0·94), respectively. Subgroup analysis showed that the alcohol dietary pattern was inversely associated with the prevalence of dyslipidaemia in women, whereas it was positively associated with high TAG levels in men. In conclusion, the alcohol dietary pattern, characterised by a high intake of alcoholic beverages, liver, chicken and fish, was associated with the prevalence of dyslipidaemia and its components. This finding provides useful information for the prevention and treatment of dyslipidaemia by modifying the diet.

Changes in the drinking behaviour of pigs may indicate health, welfare or productivity problems. Automated monitoring and analysis of drinking behaviour could allow problems to be detected, thus improving farm productivity. A high frequency radio frequency identification (HF RFID) system was designed to register the drinking behaviour of individual pigs. HF RFID antennas were placed around four nipple drinkers and connected to a reader via a multiplexer. A total of 55 growing-finishing pigs were fitted with radio frequency identification (RFID) ear tags, one in each ear. RFID-based drinking visits were created from the RFID registrations using a bout criterion and a minimum and maximum duration criterion. The HF RFID system was successfully validated by comparing RFID-based visits with visual observations and flow meter measurements based on visit overlap. Sensitivity was at least 92%, specificity 93%, precision 90% and accuracy 93%. RFID-based drinking duration had a high correlation with observed drinking duration (R 2=0.88) and water usage (R 2=0.71). The number of registrations after applying the visit criteria had an even higher correlation with the same two variables (R 2=0.90 and 0.75, respectively). There was also a correlation between number of RFID visits and number of observed visits (R 2=0.84). The system provides good quality information about the drinking behaviour of individual pigs. As health or other problems affect the pigs’ drinking behaviour, analysis of the RFID data could allow problems to be detected and signalled to the farmer. This information can help to improve the productivity and economics of the farm as well as the health and welfare of the pigs.

Individual drinking patterns are a potential tool for disease monitoring in pigs. However, to date, individual pig drinking behaviour has not been described, and effects of external factors have not been examined. The aim of this study was to perform detailed quantification of drinking behaviour of growing pigs and to examine effects of period of day and effects of competition for access to the drinking nipple on the drinking behaviour, amount of water used and water wastage. In all, 52 cross-bred castrated male pigs (live weight 20.5±1.7 kg; mean±s.d.) maintained as either 3 (N3) or 10 (N10) pigs per pen and water nipple (four groups/treatment) were used. All pigs were fitted with a transponder ear tag. A radio frequency identification reader recorded and time stamped visits at the nipple. In each pen, water flow was logged every second. The drinking behaviour was recorded for 4 consecutive days and analysed using a linear mixed model. Overall, the pigs spent 594 s at the nipple during 24 h distributed among 44 visits. During this period, 5 l of water were used, of which >30% was wasted. Social competition did not affect the drinking behaviour over 24 h, except for the proportion of interrupted visits where pigs, kept with recommended nipple availability (N10), showed an increased proportion of interrupted drinking bouts compared with pigs kept at very low level of competition (N3) (0.18±0.01 v. 0.11±0.01; P<0.01). However, splitting data into 8-h periods (P1, P2, P3) starting from 0600 h revealed differences between treatments, showing that in N3, water use per visit was lower in P1 than P2 and P3 (110±10 v. 126±7 and 132±7 ml; P<0.05), whereas in N10, the water used per visit was higher during P3 than during the other periods (P1: 107±14 ml, P2: 112±10 ml v. P3: 151±10 ml; P<0.001). A similar pattern was found for visit duration. In N3, fewer nipple visits were observed in P2 than P1 (15.6±1.2 v. 22.0±1.2; P<0.001), whereas no difference was found between P1 and P2 in N10. The results demonstrate that growing pigs at the two levels of competition maintained a comparable level of 24 h water intake by changing behavioural variables involved in drinking. This dynamic characteristic of drinking behaviour means that if individual drinking patterns are to be used as disease monitoring tools, it is important to consider effects of external factors and include data on period level to allow rapid detection of behavioural changes.

The present study was conducted to evaluate and compare the physiological responses of sheep and goats to water restriction using the deuterium dilution technique (D2O) to predict the total water intake (TWI) in both species. In two consecutive trials, 10 non-lactating Boer goats and 10 non-lactating German black-head mutton ewes were each randomly allocated into a treatment and a control group. In the control groups (n = 5, for each species), water was offered ad libitum, whereas the treatment groups (n = 5, for each species) received water 3 h/day on experimental days 8 to 14 and 6 h every 2 days on experimental days 15 to 22. The respiratory rate, rectal temperature, body mass and drinking behaviour were also recorded. The TWI was estimated by D2O for each animal. Water restriction for 21 h/day or 42 h/2 days had no significant (P > 0.05) effect on water intake (WI), feed intake, WI to dry matter intake ratio or body mass in both species. The absence of differences between species in their WIs was also confirmed using D2O. However, sheep had higher respiratory rates and rectal temperatures than goats in both control and treatment groups. Both species showed the ability to tolerate a moderate water shortage by activating several physiological mechanisms and behavioural strategies.

As the dry season progresses in arid and semi-arid ecosystems, rain-fed surface water sources become depleted, forcing most animals to concentrate in the immediate vicinity of the few remaining permanent sources of drinking water. This study investigates the temporal dynamics of use of water-holes by nine African large-herbivore species in the dry season in the semi-arid savanna of Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, and particularly how annual rainfall influences this temporal dynamics. Two contrasting years in terms of annual rainfall were compared: 2003 (a drought – 362.6 mm) and 2004 (average rainfall – 695.8 mm). In 2003, water-holes were used far more intensively and the level of aggregation of herbivores at water-holes was significantly higher. The temporal dynamics of water-hole use in the dry season differed between the two years: in 2003, the peak of water-hole use started much earlier and lasted 3 mo. Elephants and grazers showed the largest difference in use of water-holes between 2003 and 2004 supporting the suggestion that browsers are less water dependent. This study suggests that annual rainfall should be taken into account when predicting the peak of the dry season.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of different trough types on the water consumption and drinking behaviour of pasture-based beef heifers. Two trials were implemented with 32 beef heifers to test two different types of water troughs, namely a rectangular concrete trough (RC) and a round polyvinyl chloride water tank (PVC). In Trial 1, both troughs were simultaneously available to groups of four animals within eight paddocks. In Trial 2, the animals were distributed in pairs throughout 16 paddocks and, in a crossover design, were exposed to one type of trough at a time. In both trials, estimated water intake was per four animals. Number of drinking bouts, time spent drinking and amount of water intake from the RC and PVC trough were recorded in both trials. Data were statistically analysed by analysis of variance. In Trial 1, group and trough effect were in the model. In Trial 2, stage, pair and trough were tested. In Trial 1, where both types of troughs were available, animals had a higher number of drinking bouts (3.32 v. 0.57 ± 0.09; P < 0.01), longer drinking periods (144.21 v. 22.81 ± 7.3 s; P < 0.01) and greater intake (160.21 v. 23.76 ± 13.06 l; P < 0.01) from the PVC water tank, compared to the RC trough. In Trial 2, all groups drank more often (5.10 v. 3.28 ± 0.32; P < 0.001), for longer periods (167.23 v. 115.23 ± 15.61 s; P < 0.02) and with higher intake (141.36 v. 118.47 ± 5.01 l; P < 0.02) from the PVC than from the RC trough. Thus, heifers not only prefer, but also drink more from a PVC water tank in comparison to a RC trough.