Management of litter for broiler

#poultry

2. Management of litter
for Broiler

3. Litter
The floors of the broiler houses are made
up of concrete or compacted soil. Before
placing chicks in house, the floor is
covered with a bedding material called
litter.

5. Use of litter
•Best to remove all litter after flock
•Sometime not possible due to

o High cost
o Low availability
•In case of reuse, remove wet and caked
part.

6. Use of litter
•At least 3 to 4 inch (8 to 10 cm) of fresh
litter is needed.
•In case of reuse, 1 to 2 inch (3 to 5 cm) of
fresh litter should spread on top of old
litter.
•In case of disease, completely remove old
litter

7. Functions of litter
•Absorbs moisture
•Promotes drying
•Increase the surface area
•Dilutes fecal material

8. Functions of litter
•Reduce contact between birds and
manure
•Provide insulation
•Absorb water

10. Characteristics of litter material
•Absorbent
•Light weight
•Inexpensive
•Non toxic
•Compressable

11. Types of litter
•Softwood shaving and sawdust
•Hardwood shaving and saw dust
•Softwood or hardwood chips
•Rice hulls

12. Types of litter
•Peanut hulls
•Sugarcane pomace
•Crushed corn cobs
•Chopped straw

13. Types of litter
•Processed paper
•Sand

14. Softwood shaving and sawdust
•Most preffered litter material
•Often limited in supply
•Expensive in some areas

15. Hardwood shaving and saw dust
•Sometime high in moisture
•Susceptible to dangerous mold growth if
stored improperly

16. Softwood or hardwood chips
•Used successfully
•May cause increased incidence of breast
blisters if wet

17. Rice hulls
•Inexpensive litter material
•Available at competitive price
•Young chicks may be prone to litter eating

18. Peanut hulls
•Inexpensive litter material in peanut
producing areas
•Tends to cake and crust
•Problems with the pesticides and
mycotoxins

19. Sugarcane pomace
•Prone to caking first few weeks
•Can be used effictively

20. Crushed corn cobs
•Limited availability
•Associated with increased breast blister
problem

21. Chopped straw
•Effective litter material
•Some tendency toward caking
•Susceptible to mold growth

22. Processed paper
•Proven as good litter material
•More available and less costly in recycling
•Slight tendency to cake
•Carefull management essential

23. Refused tea
•Low availability
•Till now on experimental basis

24. Sand
•Has been reported as an acceptable litter
material

25. Litter treatments
•Litter treatments limit ammonia release by
decreasing pH of litter
• Inhibit activity of bacteria that break
down uric acid in litter to ammonia gas
•It has been seen at pH 7 or lower, litter
releases very little ammonia.

26. Chemicals used for litter
treatment
•Phosphoric acid
•Sodium bisulfate
•Ferrous sulphate
•Calcium phosphate
•Aluminium sulphate

27. Litter problems
•Coccidiosis
•Cake formation
•Eating of litter
•Ammonia deposition