Maximize your PLT application with these 10 simple steps

Maximize your PLT application with these 10 simple steps

For poultry producers, windrowing, or piling of litter into long rows for the purpose of composting, has long been touted as a solution for bacteria control and the extension of litter re-use. However, research shows that there may be a more effective and easier solution.

As veterinarians, we can often get too focused on looking for a specific causative agent that might be responsible for what we are seeing in a flock in terms of respiratory or gut health or a loss of performance. While pathogens–viral, protozoal and otherwise—can be responsible for a specific disease condition we encounter, quite often it is the husbandry within the house that is the root of the problem.

Even though most poultry producers have specific brooding management programs, many flocks are affected by respiratory problems that can be directly attributed to a failure to follow those guidelines. The results of improper brooding management take the greatest toll later in a flock’s life, but early management is often overlooked as the source of later respiratory disease and performance declines. Learn about three basic steps to minimize disease and performance loss.

In a study that compared PLT® with two other litter amendments, only PLT-treated houses showed significantly less ammonia. Learn more about the performance of PLT as it relates to condemnations, weight and other factors.

Significant profit losses can occur from ammonia-caused performance decline, even at low levels. Learn how to avoid profit loss through ammonia management.

The effects of coccidiosis infection on chickens include poor feed conversion, poor weight gain, loss of uniformity and increased susceptibility to other diseases, such as necrotic enteritis. Learn more about on-farm management of coccidiosis vaccines.

Treating litter with an acidifier is a fairly common practice in poultry production, used as a way to control ammonia and maintain a favorable environment for bird welfare. While the benefits of acidification are often discussed, most people don’t often think about what qualifies a chemical as an acid, the different types of acids, and how they work.

Poultry litter is recognized as an excellent source of plant nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) and organic matter. Nitrogen (N) is excreted from birds in the form of uric acid in the manure. Inorganic forms of N such as ammonium nitrate (NH4-N) and nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N) account for roughly 14% of the total litter N. The remaining 86% of the total litter N is in the form of organic N. This paper details research that supports the fact that PLT® use increases litter N content by reducing ammonia volatilization, increasing ammonium nitrogen and forming ammonium sulfate.

Air quality surveys are a valuable tool that allow integrators to look at trends of air quality in broiler houses, serving as an effective indicator to gauge if litter amendments are being utilized effectively. They also provide a wealth of actionable data that can be used to reduce the impact of ammonia on respiratory health.

There are a number of tools available to producers that can help determine ammonia levels in poultry houses. While some cost hundreds of dollars and require frequent calibration, there are a number of low cost, easy to use and relatively accurate options that can be used to determine whether ammonia has reached harmful levels.

In the face of fuel shortages and high fuel costs, growers often make decisions regarding house preparation and brooding that they would not have made under rosier circumstances. In such events, these decisions can either minimize impact or cause harmful consequences from which the flock tends not to recover.

Litter management is an evolving process. Just when we think we’re getting it right, things change. Changes in production, such as different bird sizes, densities and the introduction of more ABF and organic programs, demand a constant review of a litter management program. Without it, producers can easily step back on their litter management effectiveness, which can impact paw quality and overall bird health and welfare.

Fifteen years ago, who would have thought that chicken paws would have become such an important part of the U.S. poultry industry? Today, good paws are integral to a complex’s profitability and are quite often the most profitable part of the chicken. The presence of paw or footpad lesions (pododermatitis or footpad dermatitis) is the number one cause of downgrades of chicken feet. Since there is no market for Grade “B” paws, the presence of footpad lesions can seriously erode a complex’s bottom line.

Based on current inorganic nitrogen costs, broiler litter is currently valued at $105 per ton based on its nitrogen content alone. When its value as a soil amendment with trace minerals and organic matter is considered, the value of poultry litter rises farther above the nitrogen content alone.