Abstract
ABSTRACTThe experiment was conducted to study the efficacy of different types of litter amendments on litter quality and broiler performance during winter (December–January). A total number of 180, day-old (Vencobb) broiler chicks were randomly assigned to three equal groups. One bearing control group and other two comprise litter amendments with alum (ATL) and sodium bisulphate (SBTL) treatment groups, each having 60 birds in three replications of 20 numbers for 6 weeks. The findings of the study revealed significant variation (p < .05) in the moisture content and pH of the control and treated litter. This clearly indicates the efficiency of litter treatment products improving the quality of litter thus in turn the ambient environment for the bird. The average body weight was significantly highest (p < .05) in the SBTL group (1912 g) followed closely by the ATL group (1865 g) in comparison to the control group (1822 g) at the end of sixth week. The growing chicks gained significantly (p < .05) more body weight with better FCR, PER, EER and survivability in respective order of succession. The overall hygiene of the broiler chicks was better with less cake formation and without any foot pad dermatitis or breast blister lesion in the treatment groups. Thus it can be concluded that litter amendment with alum (ATL) and sodium bisulphate (SBTL) treatment had significant influence on quality of litter and in turn improved the performances of broiler chicks without any adverse effect.
Highlights
Population growth, rapid urbanization along with changing lifestyle, shifting food habits and increased per capita income contribute towards rising demand of poultry products
The efficiency of utilization of feed was significantly better in the SBTL group than both ATL and the control group in the first phase of growth
Higher protein, energy and net feed consumption by the chicks of both the treatment groups resulted in more weight gain. This resulted in better FCR, PER and EER values indicating higher efficiency of utilization of feed, protein and energy in broiler chicks maintained on amended litter groups (ATL and SBTL) compared to the control group
Summary
Population growth, rapid urbanization along with changing lifestyle, shifting food habits and increased per capita income contribute towards rising demand of poultry products This makes the broiler industry as one of the most profitable agroeconomic enterprises. Sodium bisulphate eliminates ammonia by converting litter ammonium to ammonium sulphate and acidifies the litter by lowering its pH Another alternative for poultry litter amendment is application of alum [Al2(SO4)314H2O], which decreases either water-soluble phosphorus or ammonia volatilization individually or both. No final conclusion could be reached especially in the Indian context Keeping this in view, the present study was planned to compare the effectiveness of different litter amendments on microclimatic conditions of broiler house along with the quality of litter and the performance of broiler chicks
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