Analysis of the energy efficiency of poultry houses in the Bursa region of Turkey

Abstract

Energy use in the poultry sector has grown with increasing population and standard of living. The aim of this study was to determine energy use, energy efficiency and energy consumption for broiler and laying farms in the Bursa region of western Turkey. The data were collected using surveys with an interview-based questionnaire, which were administered at 29 broiler farms and 48 layer farms. An energy input–output analysis was performed, and the significance of energy consumption differences between broiler and layer farms was determined by an analysis of variance. The energy consumption of broiler and layer farms was found to be 438.568 and 516.848 MJ(1000 bird)−1, respectively, whereas energy output was 250.401 MJ(1000 bird)−1 for broiler farms and 384.690 MJ(1000 bird)−1 for layer farms. The forms of indirect energy and renewable energy in the total average energy inputs were higher than the direct and non-renewable energy forms for all the surveyed poultry farms. It was found that feed had the highest share among the energy inputs for both types of poultry farms. The results of energy use efficiency illustrate that energy in broiler farms was efficiently used, whereas energy use in layer farms was not efficient.