Recent advancements to improve drinking water quality in poultry farms

Water quality is paramount to poultry health and production, as birds consume approximately twice the amount of water as feed. Poor water quality, characterized by high microbial loads, undesirable pH, or elevated mineral content, can interfere with digestion, reduce bird performance, and decrease the efficacy of water-administered medications and vaccines. Traditional, single-strategy water treatments, such as basic chlorination or simple physical filtration alone, are often insufficient to meet the rigorous biosecurity and performance demands of modern commercial poultry operations. Advanced water-quality improvement approaches and technologies, including acidification (e.g., adding organic acids) and physical treatments (e.g., ionization), are therefore integral to biosecurity and successful water management. Hence, the current review discusses these recent treatments and offers a comprehensive perspective on their integration into sustainable and circular water management strategies in poultry farms, for their widespread commercial adoption. Furthermore, it demonstrates the importance of applying the Precision Livestock Farming strategies on poultry drinking water to ensure optimal water sanitization levels are maintained, thereby guaranteeing consistent water hygiene and directly enhancing overall flock productivity.