Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4 Western Australia, Series 4
Volume 4
Number 2 February, 1963 Article 4
1-1-1963
Water for agriculture. 5. Salt poisoning in livestock Water for agriculture. 5. Salt poisoning in livestock
J Craig
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Recommended Citation Recommended Citation
Craig, J (1963) "Water for agriculture. 5. Salt poisoning in livestock," Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4: Vol. 4: No. 2, Article 4.
Available at: https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/journal_agriculture4/vol4/iss2/4
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WATER FOR AGRICULTURE
5. Salt Poisoning in Livestock
By J. CRAIG, M.R.C.V.S., Senior Veterinary Surgeon.
T IVESTOCK n e e d a plentiful supply of good, fresh drinking w a t e r for normal health -"^ and high production.
Over large a r e a s of Western Australia t h e w a t e r from bores, springs a n d wells c o n t a i n s varying but appreciable amounts of salt a n d special care m a y be needed to ensure t h a t t h e stock water supply is satisfactory.
Excessive i n t a k e s of saline water may cause sickness a n d d e a t h . All species of domestic a n i m a l s m a y be affected, but pigs a n d poultry a r e t h e most susceptible.
Adult sheep a p p e a r to be fairly tolerant, a n d indeed a r e often given free access to salt licks, obviously in circumstances w h e r e they do n o t eat enough to cause ill effects. Cattle are less tolerant t h a n sheep b u t more t o l e r a n t t h a n pigs and poultry.
CONDITIONS WHICH FAVOUR POISONING
I t is not easy t o predict t h e exact con- ditions needed to induce salt poisoning, b u t it is generally agreed t h a t t h e avail- ability or absence of a suitable water sup- ply is t h e controlling factor.
Salt poisoning is most likely to occur w h e n livestock on a restricted w a t e r sup- ply a n d starved for salt are suddenly given free access to loose salt or a brine solu- tion.
Saline bore w a t e r or surface soaks which h a v e become concentrated t h r o u g h evaporation a r e a n o t h e r likely cause of
poisoning. Lambs a n d w e a n e r s are especi- ally susceptible in such cases.
Salt in solution is considered to be more toxic t h a n t h e same a m o u n t of salt in loose form. For t h i s r e a s o n livestock should not have access to b r i n e solutions.
Both brine a n d whey c o n t a m i n a t e d w i t h salt have often been recorded as causing poisoning in pigs.
TOXIC LEVELS
T h e degree of salinity w h i c h will h a r m stock varies w i t h c i r c u m s t a n c e s .
For example, in Western Australia t h e variation between s u m m e r a n d winter salinity in a w a t e r supply m a y be great.
If stock have been accustomed to w a t e r - ing from one source t h e g r a d u a l increase in salinity as t h e s u m m e r progresses m a y pass unnoticed by t h e a n i m a l s , which be- come adapted to it a n d m a y suffer little or no h a r m if t h e salinity does n o t become too great. However if stock which have been used to d r i n k i n g fresh w a t e r are p u t on to a very salt supply t h e y a r e likely to find it u n p a l a t a b l e . They m a y refuse to drink it or m a y suffer h a r m as a result of drinking it.
Because of such variation t h e recorded s t a n d a r d s of safe levels of salinity c a n n o t be rigidly applied.
The s t a n d a r d s a t p r e s e n t considered to be safe upper limits of t o t a l salts in water
for stock in Western Australia (expressed as grains of dissolved salt per gallon of water) a r e : —
Grains per Gallon
Poultry 200 Pigs
Cattle (dairy) Cattle (beef) Sheep ( a d u l t )
437.5 grains = 1 oz.
300 500 700 900 In t h e agricultural areas of Western Australia common salt comprises about t h r e e - q u a r t e r s of t h e t o t a l salts in water, but the proportion is r a t h e r less in t h e pastoral a r e a s a n d in t h e n o r t h of t h e State.
When t h e total salts exceed t h e above amounts, only practical field tests will show w h e t h e r t h e water c a n be used w i t h - out h a r m i n g t h e stock.
Animals on lush green feed not only drink less b u t c a n safely tolerate higher salinity t h a n those on dry p a s t u r e or scrub.
Forced exercise or excitement will cause a n increased desire for water.
Older a n i m a l s a n d " d r y " stock c a n toler- a t e a higher salinity in t h e i r drinking water t h a n c a n younger growing animals or breeding stock.
Sheep have been known to survive for short periods on water containing u p t o 1,300 grains per gallon of t o t a l soluble salts, but t h i s is exceptional. Lambs, weaners a n d ewes in milk should be kept under close observation whenever t h e available drinking supply approaches or exceeds 700 grains of t o t a l salts p e r gallon.
As indicated by t h e t a b l e " d r y " or beef cattle can t o l e r a t e a h i g h e r salt c o n c e n t r a - tion t h a n milking cows. Reduced milk yield in h i g h - p r o d u c i n g dairy cows can be anticipated if t h e salinity of their water supply approaches 500 grains per gallon.
EXPERIMENTAL POISONING Except in poultry, a t t e m p t s to reproduce the toxic symptoms experimentally have met with varying success a n d t h e r e is con- fusion as to t h e a m o u n t a n d form needed to cause poisoning. Recent experimental evidence h a s suggested t h a t salt (sodium
chloride) poisoning is primarily due t o t h e presence of t h e sodium ion (fraction) in t h e salt.
The amounts of salt in t h e feed or water which will produce symptoms of salt poisoning in t h e various domestic animals are:—
Poultry .... 60-120 grains per day Pigs .... i-i lb. per day
Cattle .... 4-8 lb. per day Sheep .... J - i lb. per day
SYMPTOMS Sheep a n d Cattle
The main symptoms in sheep and cattle are excessive thirst, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, diarrhoea a n d increased u r i n a - tion. Later there is general weakness, m u s - cular tremors a n d rapid loss of condition, together with paralysis, coma and d e a t h within six to 24 hours.
Pigs
Pigs show dullness, loss of appetite, ex- cessive salivation a n d a p p a r e n t blindness;
muscular twitching, walking in circles a n d eventually marked epileptiform convulsions followed by coma and d e a t h m a y follow.
In more chronic cases, progressive e m a - ciation, lethargy and profuse diarrhoea is seen, with d e a t h s occurring in 10 to 14 days.
Salt poisoning commonly causes abor- tions in sows.
Poultry
Affected fowls show great thirst, weak- ness, a thick discharge from the nostrils and respiratory distress. There is progres- sive inability to walk a n d birds may fall from their perches. Death is attributed to asphyxia due to loss of power over t h e respiratory muscles.
POST MORTEM FEATURES
A generalised inflammation of t h e stomach a n d intestines is seen a t p o s t - mortem examination of sheep and cattle;
the lining m e m b r a n e of the bladder is also commonly congested.
In pigs, inflammation of t h e stomach a n d intestines is evident, whilst a characteristic brain lesion ("eosinophilia") is seen micro- scopically in sections of affected brain t i s - sue.
89
In poultry, the only constant autopsy feature is a dark, congested liver, but gen- eralised swelling of the subcutaneous tis- sues, congestion of the lungs and kidneys, and enlargement of the heart may be noted.
DIAGNOSIS
Diagnosis is based on a history of the animal having had recent access to salt.
This, together with the rather character- istic symptoms of the condition as well
as the post-mortem appearances which have been described, is usually enough to allow a tentative diagnosis to be made.
This may be confirmed by a chemical analysis of the salt content of the water or feed.
TREATMENT
Affected animals should be given free access to fresh water and allowed to drink copiously. Those that can and do
drink, seldom need any further assist- ance.
Severely affected livestock may, how- ever, need to be drenched by mouth with fresh water, and in certain cases intestinal protectants, such as raw linseed oil, olive oil, white of egg or milk may be required.
PREVENTION
The advantages of placing water troughs in the shade are obvious. During the summer months, water troughs can become very hot, and quite apart from rendering the water unattractive, high evaporation will increase the concentra- tion of salt in the water.
The quality of underground water can deteriorate over the years and even from season to season, and it is wise to check
suspect water before letting stock have access to the supply. A recent investi- gation into substantial cattle losses re- vealed that the animals had been placed on water subsequently found to contain 1,400 grains of salt per gallon, which had been satisfactory in previous years.
Although water may be too saline, as such, for use as stock water, it may be mixed with fresh water during drought conditions when water carting becomes necessary. The proportions for mixing should be calculated from a knowledge of the total soluble salts content of the two waters.
For example, any given volume of Mun- daring water (20 grains per gallon) added to an equal volume of "salt water"—say at 1,000 grains per gallon—should provide a safe water for ruminants, that is about 510 grains per gallon.
Mixing with a fresh water supply is the only practical and economic method at present available for utilising saline water.
• Your District Agricultural Adviser can help solve your stock watering problems, and is also equipped to carry out limited analyses for water salinity. However, in general, samples for analysis should be sent to the Government Chemical Labora- tories, Adelaide Terrace, Perth.
Each sample should be about one pint of water in a clean container which has been rinsed with the water to be tested.
It should be clearly marked with the sender's name and address and the date of sampling. The source of the water and any other relevant information should also be given.
The fee for testing is £1 Is. a sample, which is reduced to 7s. a sample for bona fide farmers (who should give their loca- tion numbers). This fee should be for- warded at the same time as the sample.
90
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