Oxygen Nanobubble Water Treatment

Across the UK and globally, poultry production plays a vital role in food security, yet it faces mounting challenges around efficiency, animal welfare, environmental sustainability, and disease management. Water quality is a critical but often overlooked factor in bird health and productivity. Poor-quality drinking water can reduce growth rates, increase disease risk, and lead to higher mortality, while many traditional water treatments rely on chemicals that have environmental or regulatory drawbacks.

This project explores whether a new water treatment technology using oxygen nanobubbles can improve poultry productivity in a commercial, large-scale farming environment. The system, supplied by O2 Agri, introduces ultra-fine, stable oxygen bubbles into drinking water, with the potential to reduce harmful biofilms, lower disease pressure, improve bird growth, and reduce the need for chemical treatments or antibiotics.

The trial is being run independently of the technology supplier and compares two sheds using oxygen-enhanced water with two matched sheds using standard chlorine treatments. By collecting detailed behavioural, health, and productivity data over multiple flock cycles, the project aims to build an unbiased evidence base that helps poultry farmers evaluate whether this technology could support more efficient, sustainable production.