Water productivity of poultry production: the influence of different broiler fattening systems

Abstract

With the expected increase in poultry meat consumption water use will increase as well. The objective of this study is to quantify the effects of fattening systems on the water productivity in broiler chicken production with consideration given to conditions in Germany. Four fattening systems were analyzed in terms of water use for feed production, drinking, cleaning, and the parent stock. The fattening systems differed in intensity, ranging from fast fattening with a fattening period of 30 days and a carcass weight of 1.1 kg to slow fattening with a period up to 46 days and a carcass weight of 2.1 kg. During the fattening period the broiler chicken were fed with performance-linked feed. The water productivity of the feed components varied from 0.4 kg dry mass per m 3 water input for soybean meal to 1.8 kg dry mass per m 3 water input for maize. In all fattening systems the water input for feed production accounted for 90 to 93% of the total water input. The share for the parent stock was 7 to 10%, while drinking and cleaning water accounted for less than 1%. For all fattening systems the water productivity was 0.3 kg carcass weight per m 3 water input, 2.8 MJ food energy per m 3 water input and 57 g food protein per m 3 water input. The shorter fattening period and lower feed demand in the more intensive fattening systems were juxtaposed to the higher carcass weight and higher water productivity of the feed components in the more extensive systems.

Farm water productivity in broiler production: case studies in Brazil

“…This factor has impacts on the economic and ecological aspects. Krauss et al (2015a) calculated the bandwidth of water productivity of corn cultivated in Brandenburg, Germany, with 1.7e2.0 kg DM m À3 W input-feed . The bandwidth of corn produced in the Brazilian states investigated was 1.34e1.93 kg DM m À3 W inputfeed.…”

Drinking and Cleaning Water Use in a Dairy Cow Barn

“…In this study the technical water use focuses on water use in the dairy barn W tech-barn (m 3 ). W tech-barn (m 3 ) can be split into the drinking water demand of the cows W drink-cow (m 3 ) and the cleaning water demand W clean (m 3 ) [3].…”

“…Cultivation of feed crops accounts for the highest share of water use in dairy farming [1][2][3][4][5]. In rainfed farming, this water is provided by the natural water cycle.…”

Quantity- and Quality-Based Farm Water Productivity in Wine Production: Case Studies in Germany

“…The indirect water demand is not considered in the present study, because it is assumed to be negligible. Wineries do not import plant biomass (e.g., feed purchased from outside the farm); animal farming takes the highest share of indirect water demand [31,32,44]. Water demand for the production of fertilizer, electricity, and fuel is marginal [45], as is the indirect water demand of buildings [46].…”