Important factors to consider in litter management

1. Ventilation
Is an important factor in moisture regulation in poultry houses because it allows for sufficient air circulation, which aids moisture evaporation. Reduced litter moisture will result in lower levels of free NH3 and CO2, which could lead to higher levels of air dust in poultry houses.

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2. Temperature
It has a major impact on the clumping of litter materials into layers, a process known as caking. When a normal litter is squeezed, it can split quickly, but if the moisture content is high, it will stay moulded, and if the temperature is high, it will cause caking.

3. Water spillage
When using manual drinkers in poultry handled on a deep litter scheme, it is difficult, if not impossible, to prevent water spillage. Water lines with nipple drinking points will have some water spillage in semi-automated control systems, while water lines with nipple and cups will have limited water spillage.

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4. Quantity of the litter material
If litter content is applied liberally to a desired thickness, the litter can absorb moisture enough, making birds more relaxed and allowing them to display some of their natural behaviors, thus improving bird health, efficiency, climate, and welfare.

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INTRODUCTION

Proper Management is a vital key to a profitable poultry production business and an essential component of these is proper litter management. Every farmer willing to succeed in this business most find a way to master the act of proper liter management because it is the pre-cursor of many diseases on the farm but many farmers in Nigeria do not take it with the seriousness its deserves.

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Poultry litter is a mixture of poultry excreta, spilled feed, feathers, and material used as bedding in poultry operations. This term is also used to refer to unused bedding materials. Poultry litter is used in confinement buildings used for raising broilers, pullets, turkeys, cockerel and other birds. Birds raised on free range do not need to be provided with litter as they can easily roam about and move freely without any form of restriction. Common bedding materials include wood shavings, sawdust, peanut hulls, shredded sugar cane, straw, and other dry, absorbent, low-cost organic materials and processed paper. Sand is also occasionally used as bedding though not a common practice. The commonest ones in Nigeria is wood shavings because of its availability all through the year and the relatively cheap its command – it’s even free in many rural farming communities.

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Litter is an essential component in poultry production, because birds are exposed to the litter and its contents (microbes, moisture, ammonia, dust, odour, and texture) from the first day of life till cull or slaughter. It is instructive to note that Badly managed litter may and will facilitate the spread of certain infectious diseases, and also creates problems which may lead to serious economic losses on the part of the farmer. The “litter problems” have not yet been classified or identified specifically, since they are connected with other management problems as well. In essence, it may be difficult to strictly point to different types of litter problem in terms of classification because it is an all inclusive causality issues ranging from management to others.

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