EFFECT OF DISPENSER ON WATER INTAKE OF PIGS AT WEANING
Groups of 5 pigs were offered one of four water dispenser options at weaning (a nipple, a float-controlled 
bowl with the contents replaced daily with fresh water, a float-controlled bowl that was not cleaned, two dispensers, a 
nipple and a float-controlled bowl cleaned daily). The experiment, which consisted of 18 replicates of 20 pigs each, 
measured group water and feed intake and bodyweight change each day for four days. Piglets were accustomed to the 
presence of a bowl water dispenser before weaning. Water dispenser treatment had no significant effect on feed intake 
(P = 0.33) or bodyweight (P = 0.19) but mean water intake was significantly affected (P < 0.001) as was the interaction 
with Days (P < 0.001). During Day 1, pigs consumed significantly less from the nipple (P < 0.05) but by Day 4, water 
intake from the nipple was not significantly different from the two-dispenser option, the option with the highest intake. 
After Day 1, water intake from the uncleaned bowl remained the lowest of the four options and by Day 4 it fell 
significantly below the other options (P < 0.05). Spillage was significantly (P < 0.05) higher from nipples compared to 
bowls on Days 2, 3, and 4. The results generally favored the use of a nipple water dispenser over a float-controlled water 
bowl for four-week weaned pigs, but there may be added costs in water and waste handling with nipples.