In broiler production, which source (Animal or Plant) of protein is more responsible or equally responsible for Ammonia liberation through droppings? and how can I reduce this ammonia level through feed? I am using mash feed...
With usage of probiotic , Acidifiers and proteases certain extent ammonia can be minimised. On litter HSCAS can be used. selection methanogenic bacteria will further alleviate the ammonia formation and
Ammonia liberation from broiler breeding is a herculean task, it makes the air nasty or harsh, kills birds by causing ascities {accumulation of water in their belly with excessive panting}, sudden death at 3-4 at weeks. Again, it irritates the bird eyes. With intense climate change, the birds temperature becomes high due to the presence of methane gas, hot litter and the birds chest feathers are eaten off. Other associated gas methane, hydrogen sulfide thrive and the air stinks. It becomes a breeding ground for birds diseases such as coccidiosis, white stooling and chicken pox. Also a home ground for flies and maggots.
The questions are, What practices are you doing in terms of bio-security? What is the volume
of litters on the floor? Are you pouring water on the litters while serving them water? How often do you change the manure/litter, what is the size of your drinkers you use in serving your birds? Are you using small drinkers for bigger birds, the birds behavior may splash water on the litter and promoting aerobic/ anaerobic decomposition/fermentation {Rotten air emission}
Answers:
1.Check salt and potassium chloride level used in compounding feeds, at high level they trigger pooing leading to ammonia emission.
2.DO NOT PUT HEAVY LITTERS BUT SMALL QUANTITIES ON THE BIRD'SFLOOR.
3.Alum will help you a lot, by spraying it on the litter. It will kill off the, methanogenic bacteria, Cocci and Salmonella eggs breeding diseases and reducing the ammonia level in your farm. You need to have a skill in applying Alum, so that you do not wet your litters more. Alum is helping our farm to have drier litter. Our farm is dusty with very, very low level ammonia emission . We have clean air, clean birds, complete chest feathers, no foot pad ulcers, no methane emission and hydrogen sulfide.
Elder Ogazi Emeka
TEDI Farms Abakaliki
Ebonyi State Nigeria
+2349068598809
tedi_transparency@yahoo.com
From a formulation standpoint, it is the technique of formulation rather than ingredient types that will determine how controlled or bad is the ammonia problem going to be. Here are some helpful tips. (1) Formulate your diets based on digestible amino acids, while keeping Crude Protein % down to the bare minimum. (2) Add enzymes, specifically those that can breakdown NSPs, cellulose and phytate. (3) Ensure that you do not have excessive levels of sodium and chloride in the diet. A portion of Salt should be replaced with Sodium Bicarbonate. (4) From my experience, you can significantly reduce ammonia levels by adding a product called Phytomax or Nutrafito Plus (from Desert King Inc, USA) which is a blend of Yucca schidigera and Quillaja saponaria plant extracts in the feed.