Research Note: The Utilization of Recycled Sheetrock (Refined Gypsum) as a Litter Material for Broiler Houses

Teor de matéria seca, pH e amônia volatilizada da cama de frango tratada ou não com diferentes aditivos

“…Teuscher & Adler (1965), citados por Bruno et al (1999), apresentaram as reações que seriam responsáveis pela fixação da amônia: CaSO 4 + 2NH 3 + 2CO 2 + 2H 2 O → Ca(HCO 3 ) 2 + (NH 4 )2SO 4 . Wyatt & Goodman (1992), ao testarem o uso do gesso agrícola como cama de frango ou adicionado a maravalha, observaram que os teores de umidade das camas contendo gesso agrícola foram menores do que o tratamento controle (só maravalha).…”

Behavior of broiler chickens in four different substrates: a choice test

“…In poultry production, attempts have been made to use and test several types of material for litter: refined gypsum (Wyatt & Goodman, 1992;Grimes et al, 2006), recycled paper chips from waste newspapers (Lien et al, 1992), pelletized newspaper (Frame et al, 2002;Grimes et al, 2006), tree core-like kenaf core (Malone et al, 1990;Brake et al, 1993), particleboard residues (Hester et al, 1997), leaves (Willis et al, 1997), sand (Bilgili et al, 1999;Arnould et al, 2004), cotton waste (Grimes et al, 2006), hazelnut husks or wheat stalks (Sarica & Cam, 2000), wood shavings (Shields et al, 2005;Macklin et al, 2005), rice hulls (Swain & Sundaram, 2000;Shields et al, 2004), rice hull ashes (Chamblee et al, 2003), coffee husk (Ortiz et al, 2003;Ortiz et al, 2006), saw dust (Mendes et al, 2011), coir dust (Swain & Sundaram, 2000), straw (Al Homidan & Robertson,2003), feathers (Sanotra et al, 1995;Gunnarson et al, 2000), sugarcane bagasse or peat (Petherick & Duncan, 1989). The use of any of these substrates most often depends on the availability in each area and at each moment.…”

Evaluating the impact of gypsum as a novel bedding material on broiler performance, foot pad health, and fear response

“…Research by Wyatt and Goodman (1992) evaluated the use of recycled sheetrock (refined gypsum) and wood shavings as broiler litter. They found no significant differences on mortality, feed conversion, or leg abnormalities at d 42.…”

“…Within the United States, primary choices for bedding materials include pine wood shavings, peanut hulls, and rice hulls, having pine shavings and sawdust as the most desirable options ( Malone and Gedamu, 1995 ). Additional materials that have undergone scrutiny as potential litter bedding options, demonstrating comparable performance, include paper products ( Malone et al, 1982 ; Malone and Gedamu, 1995 ), gypsum ( Wyatt and Goodman, 1992 ; Watts et al, 2017 ; Galli et al, 2021 ), hardwood bark ( Brake et al, 1992 ), rice hull ash ( Chamblee and Yeatman, 2003 ), softwood chipping fines (by-product of the paper manufacturing industry) ( Parsons and Baker, 1985 ), sand ( Bowers et al, 2003 ), and even composted municipal waste ( Malone et al, 1983 ).…”

“…In another study, Galli et al (2021) showed that broilers raised on litter containing gypsum had fewer foot pad lesions and better litter quality without compromising performance. Gypsum has been suggested as a potential litter amendment to decrease the volatilization of NH 3 , however results exhibit variability across studies, and the precise mechanism accountable for the reduction of NH 3 volatilization remains inadequately comprehended ( Wyatt and Goodman, 1992 ; Loch et al, 2011 ; Burt et al, 2017 ). Burt et al (2017) stated that the addition of 20% FGD gypsum to broiler litter emerges as a successful approach for diminishing NH 3 volatilization and improving its potential as a fertilizer.…”