The effect of water restriction on the laying hen performance

A study was conducted on 480 Single Comb White Leghorn laying hens to determine the effect of restricting the availability of water to 15 minutes of every one, two and three hours on egg production, egg size distribution, average egg weight, body weight, feed consumption, water content of the droppings and mortality rate. Restricting the availability of water resulted in a decrease in the rate of egg production on a both ben days and hen housed basis. No significant differences were found in the percent hen mortality among the four treatment groups.

A significant difference was found in feed consumption per hen among the groups studied in this experiment, with the group receiving water ad libitum consuming more feed than the water restricted groups. Droppings from hens receiving water restriction were drier than that from hens giving water ad libitum. No significant differences were found in respect to specific gravity, Haugh units, average egg weight and the distribution of egg size. A significant difference was found in respect to body weight gain with the group of hens receiving 15 minutes of water per hour gaining the most.