PSXIII-21 - Water consumption evolution during later gestation is associated to the farrowing day

The aim of this study was to verify the utility of water consumption as an indicator to early predict the farrowing day. A total of 28 flowmeters (iPERL®) were installed in two farrowing rooms (12 + 16 places) to record every hour the individual water consumption from the entry of the sows (Landrace × Large White) in the farrowing unit until parturition, along 5 consecutive batches (120 sows). Up to 200,377 records were managed using Python code. Data were analyzed by using the MIXED procedure of SAS. Parity (gilts, G; sows, S), time slot (morning, M: 6-14h; afternoon, A: 14-22h; night, N: 22-6h) and pre-farrowing days (-9 to -1) and farrowing (0) were included as fixed factors and the farrowing crate as a random effect. Water consumption was lower in gilts (G: 6.9 ± 1.12 L/d vs S: 8.5 ± 1.09 L/d; P < .0001). Up to 57.5% of water consumption occurred in the morning (M: 13.1 ± 1.11 L), 31.0% (A: 7.1 ± 1, 11 L) during the afternoon/evening and 11.8% (N: 2.7 ± 1.11 L) at night. From day -9 (4.9 ± 1.29 L) to -3 (9.2 ± 1.17 L), water intake lineally increased (around 0.8 L/d), highlighting the increase in 2 L at day -2 (11.2 ± 1.16 L; P < .0001). This peak could be related to a greater manipulation of the drinker due to nesting behavior. Finally, on day -1 a drastic and significant decrease in intake was observed (7.3 ± 1.16 L; P < .0001), just before the decrease in feed intake on day 0. The results suggest that water intake can be a valid indicator to early predict the day of farrowing, thus allowing foremen to better plan the management routines in the farrowing unit, especially in large sow farms.