Negative impacts on the environment, bird well-being, and farm worker health indicate the need for abatement strategies for poultry litter NH(3) generation. Type of bedding affects many parameters related to poultry production including NH(3) losses. In a randomized complete block design, 3 trials compared the cumulative NH(3) volatilization for laboratory-prepared litter (4 bedding types mixed with excreta) and commercial litter (sampled from a broiler house during the second flock on reused pine wood chips). Litters were assessed at the original moisture content and 2 higher moisture contents. Broiler excrement was mixed with pine wood shavings, rice hulls, sand, and vermiculite to create litter samples. Volumetrically uniform litter samples were placed in chambers receiving humidified air where the exhaust passed through H(3)BO(3) solution, trapping litter-emitted NH(3). At the original moisture content, sand and vermiculite litters generated the most NH(3) (5.3 and 9.1 mg of N, respectively) whereas wood shavings, commercial, and rice hull litters emitted the least NH(3) (0.9-2.6 mg of N). For reducing NH(3) emissions, the results support recommendations for using wood shavings and rice hulls, already popular bedding choices in the United States and worldwide. In this research, the organic bedding materials generated the least NH(3) at the original moisture content when compared with the inorganic materials. For each bedding type, incremental increases in litter moisture content increased NH(3) volatilization. However, the effects of bedding material on NH(3) volatilization at the increased moisture levels were not clearly differentiated across the treatments. Vermiculite generated the most NH(3) (26.3 mg of N) at the highest moisture content. Vermiculite was a novel bedding choice that has a high water absorption capacity, but because of high NH(3) generation, it is not recommended for further study as broiler bedding material. Controlling unnecessary moisture inputs to broiler litter is a key to controlling NH(3) emissions.
With global food demand expected to increase by 100% in the next 50 yr, urgency to combine comprehensive strategies for sustainable, efficacious, and environmentally sensible agronomic practices has never been greater. One effort for US meat bird management is to reduce NH(3) volatilization from litter to create a better growing environment for the birds, improve production efficiency, retain N in litter for fertilizer value, and negate the detrimental environmental impacts of NH(3) loss to the air. To derive the fundamental effects of temperature and moisture on litter NH(3) volatilization over the range of conditions found in commercial houses, experiments were conducted using commercial broiler litter that had moisture contents of approximately 20 to 55% while controlling temperatures ranging from 18.3 to 40.6°C. Litter samples (100 g) were placed in 1-L containers that received humidified air at approximately 113 mL/min. Volatilized NH(3) in exhaust air was captured in H(3)BO(3) traps. Ammonia loss (log(10) transformation) was modeled via an equation using linear coefficients for temperature and moisture, an interaction term for temperature × moisture, and a quadratic term for moisture. The surface responses resembled parabolic cylinders, indicating a critical moisture level at which NH(3) no longer increases but is diminished as moisture continues to increase. The critical moisture level lies between 37.4 and 51.1% litter moisture, depending on the temperature. An increase in temperature consistently increased NH(3) generation. When the temperature extremes were compared, the maximum NH(3) was up to 7 times greater at 40.6 vs. 18.3°C. The upper moisture limit at which NH(3) release is maximized and subsequently arrested as moisture continues to increase had not been defined previously for commercial broiler litter. The poultry industry and researchers can use these results as a decision tool to enable management strategies that limit NH(3) production.
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