Impacts of litter heaping and turning +/- litter amendment on broiler performance and welfare

Abstract

As poultry meat consumption trends continue to increase worldwide, maximizing production efficiency continues to be the forefront focus among producers and industry leaders. Multi-batch litter has become an increasingly important and relatively common practice worldwide in poultry production. However, unlike in the United 8tates and Brazil, the majority of bedding material in Australia is used in single-batch litter production (Runge et al., 2007). Bedding material for commercial broiler sheds generally consists of whatever absorbent material is regionally available, and in Australia this consists of wood shavings, rice hulls, sawdust, and, to a lesser extent, chopped wheat straw (Robins and Phillips, 2011). At a target depth of 50 mm and an estimated cost of $20AUD/m³, bedding material can cost producers $0.05AUD/bird or more depending on stocking density. Any future scarcity of bedding materials would result in higher production costs. Multi-batch litter would not only reduce input costs for Australian broiler producers, but also promote resource availability and sustainability within a growing industry.