Effect of chemically amended litter on litter quality and broiler performance in winter

Abstract

The 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.