The Effect of Different Litter Materials and Season on litter pH, Atmospheric Ammonia and Foot Burn

Abstract

In the poultry sector, the live weight per unit area has increased compared to previous years. Due to this live weight increase, foot problems are also increasing. For this reason, it becomes even more important to make the climatic environment suitable for the litter and poultry house. In unsuitable environmental conditions, animal productivity decreases, feed conversion rates decrease, and disease and death rates increase. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of different litter materials (wood shavings, rice hulls) and season (winter, spring, summer, autumn) on litter pH, atmospheric ammonia and foot burn (%) in broiler houses connected to an integration in Turkey. The research was carried out in 4 broiler house located in Eşme district of Uşak province. Each of the poultry house in the same region and in the east-west direction has a capacity of 10000 units. Their heating and ventilation systems are similar. In summary rice hulls were effective alternatives to wood shavings as bedding material for reducing the atmospheric ammonia and foot burn (%).

Keywords

• Broiler litter
• Ph
• Season ammonia
• Foot burn

References

1. Referans 1 Benabdeljelil, K., Ayachi, A., 1996. Evaluationof Alternative Litter Material for Poultry. J. Appl. Poult. Res.5:203–205.