Every broiler production facility is faced with the reality of carcass disposal. Nationwide, this represents a tremendous amount of organic matter that requires environmentally and biologically safe disposal or utilization. Disposal of poultry carcasses has been identified as one of the major problems facing the poultry industry. If poultry carcasses resulting from death by natural occurrences at such high levels of production are not disposed of by environmentally acceptable methods, future industry expansion will be limited or regulatory constraints will be imposed. Methods for the disposal of poultry carcasses include burial, incineration, composting, and rendering. Burial and incineration impose environmental concerns that are becoming less acceptable. Composting is environmentally sound, relatively inexpensive, and is gaining widespread acceptance. Rendering carcasses into a valued protein by-product meal is another alternative. Methods for transporting fresh or refrigerated carcasses to a rendering facility are being investigated. When coupled with rendering, fermentation is an excellent alternative for storing and transporting pathogen-free poultry carcasses. Extrusion of carcasses provides an alternative to conventional by-product rendering. All methods that allow for the environmentally safe and biosecure disposal of poultry carcasses should be considered. No single method will completely solve the problem. (
Chicken litter compost can be substituted for peatmoss in growing media (Bugbee and Frink, 1989). We hypothesized that consumers' perception of an objectionable odor may limit marketability of litter compost in horticultural products. The objective of this study was to determine consumer acceptance of a growing medium amended with litter compost. We conducted the study in consumer homes to provide a realistic setting and compared our growing medium containing litter compost (AUmix) with two commercial alternatives-Baccto (Michigan Peat Co., Houston) and Hyponex (Hyponex Co., Marysville, Ohio). We hypothesized that performance similar to at least one commercial alternative for three of four product attributes would indicate acceptability. AUmix contained (by volume) 10 broiler litter compost : 10 aged, amendmentgrade pine bark : 1 horticultural-grade perlite.
Broiler litter is an abundant natural resource in the Southeastern United States. In Alabama, an estimated 1.4 tons are produced annually. In Expt. 1, two broiler litter treatments were compared at 3 rates. Sixty days after planting, growth of 4 bedding plants (Ageratum, begonia, dianthus, and marigold) was greater with both litter treatments at 20 ton/acre rate compared to the standard fertilizer recommendation of 120 1bN/A (applied as 12N-2.6P-4.9K) Composting reduced the unpleasant odor associated with traditional deepstack handling of broiler litter. In Expt. 2, selected ratios of broiler litter, pinebark, and cotton waste were mixed and composted. Maximum plant response occurred with a combination of composted media plus commercial fertilizer.
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