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Benefits of Water Medication

Water medication has major advantages:

1. Works quickly

If you decide to provide group treatment to sick animals, water medication will reach the animals much more quickly. It can take up to 2 days before medicated feed actually reaches the animals. In the meantime, more animals may fall ill or even die. Water medication is able to get to the animals almost immediately.

What about topdressing

Sometimes powders are not mixed into the feed as a premix, but are spread on top of the feed in the feeder or feeding trough instead. This allows for fast treatment, but:

  • it is labour intensive
  • the medication is not evenly spread across the feed
  • biological availability will vary because of interaction with the feed

 

2. Overcomes the risk of cross-contamination

Medicated feed can cross-contaminate non-medicated feed in the feed mill, during transport or at the farm. The same is true for medication in liquid feed.

Filippitzi et al. (2016) estimated that 5.5% of the total feed produced in Belgium could be contaminated with varying levels of antimicrobials as a result of carry-over.

3. Supports responsible use

Responsible use is simply about doing the right things: giving the right antimicrobial to the right animals at the right time and in the right dose.

Right Antimicrobial

Always make sure a proper diagnosis is made including sensitivity testing.

Benefit of water medication
In acute diseases, treatment has to begin before the lab results are in. If a change of antimicrobial is required, this will only take a few minutes with water medication. With feed medication, it is not possible at all.

Right Animal

Only treat sick animals. Depending on the disease and risk factors, contact animals should be included in the treatment if they are at high risk of getting sick within 2 days.

Benefit of water medication
Water medication can be targeted to one compartment (or even a pen).

Right Time

Do not use antimicrobials for prevention.

Benefit of water medication
Water medication allows you to wait and see. You are able to act quickly once the animals do fall ill.  

 

Right Dose

Make sure that animals receive the dose prescribed by the label.

Benefit of water medication
With water medication, the risk of underdosing due to carry-over or uneven mixing of the medication into the feed, is eliminated.   

 

 

 

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