Category Archives: Poultry Research Guide

Poultry Products, Poultry Research Guide

Poultry feathers-how many ways they can be used for?

5 Comments

When we hear the word poultry, the very first thing which flashes in front of our eyes is the chicken. And the next thing we understand we hear the word poultry is the farming of eggs and chickens on large scale. People are engaged in the poultry business for the purpose of producing eggs and chicken on mass level but there are few people who are engaged in this business for the poultry by products only. You would be amazed to hear this but this is true. Now the question is how these by products could be of use to anyone. Well for this, a special thanks goes to science and hard working scientists who made various researches and came up with useful methods to use these by products such as poultry feathers in an effective manner. The most important and highly consumable or use-able by product is the chicken feathers. After many years of research, scientists came up with various uses of chicken feathers that could help in cutting down the production cost and will help the people in getting some products on much cheaper price within which chicken feathers have been used. As the chicken feathers don’t have much weight, around 2 to 3 billion pounds of chicken feathers are produced in Unites States as a result of production of 8 billion broilers on annual basis. According to the research made, the element found in chicken feathers which is named as keratin can be utilized in various products. Below are some of its uses.

Making planting pots from feathers

Researchers who have been performing their duties in USDA/ARS research project have used the chicken feathers in a unique way. They have been using this waste by product for planting pots formulation that has the ability to degrade over various time periods that ranges from 1 to 5 years. These pots have the same structure like any other plastic pots which you may have encountered within a local nursery near your home. The reason for making these pots from feathers is this that these pots can disintegrate all by their self, naturally. In this how, there will be no harm to the environment. But beside that, these pots which are free from any petroleum components, will slowly release beneficial nitrogen into the soil.

for planting pots

Recycling the feather

As mentioned earlier, feathers are made by an element known as keratin that is a protein from which fingernails, wool, hair and hooves are made. This protein has same characteristics as of cellulose which the starch from which paper and wood is made. The chicken feathers contains keratin which is like wool but the only difference is, the surface area of the feather is longer due to the diameter of the fiber as it is smaller. In this way, the fiber is able to absorb more as compared to the wool or as compared to the cellulose fibers. The structure of the feather fiber that is crystal in nature also helps them making durable and stable naturally. In this how, the structure of keratin assists in balancing the plastic structure that helps make the plastic stronger.

For used in Diapers

Around more than 16 billion diapers are made, from the pulp of wood, that are discarded every year. Around 25% of the wood pulp that is used for diapers yearly could be replaced by feathers of worth a year.

Animal feed and Fertilization

Another important use of this agricultural waste is the formation of feather meal. This meal is produced by a method that involves the processing of high pressure steam that is identical to autoclave that is later put into the drying process. Feathers are hydrolyzed by the help of steam and heat into a high protein and cysteine-rich product that is estimated to be 60% digestible.This chicken feather meal is used for fertilization and animal feed.

uses of chicken feather

Bio-diesel from feathers

Another effective use of poultry feathers was discovered by a group of scientists that was being leaded by Professor Manoranjan ‘Mano’ Misra who was rendering his services at the University of Nevada. He came up with the research of creating biodiesel fuel by the help of feather meal. It was found that this meal contains innards, feathers and blood of chicken that is processed with high steam and temperature and contained protein, nitrogen and around 12% of fat in which the researchers were more interested. Researchers extracted fat from this feather meal via boiling water and were able to get bio-diesel from it.

So these are the top most uses of chicken feathers that have been adopted so as to get more out of this poultry industry.

There are other uses also such as

  • Pillow stuffying
  • Insulation
  • Upholstery padding
  • Paper
  • Plastics

pillow stufing

 

Poultry Research Guide

5 Latest Poultry Researches News 2013

Leave a comment

The poultry industries all over the world have been subject to a wide range of advances in the past decades. These advances are not limited to the use of technology, but also involve some major advancement in the medicine and farming techniques. These frontiers also include the use of various diets and foods which are directed towards the betterment of the poultry health of the domesticated animals. These feeds include glycerin which has been enhanced using various forms of biodiesel and poultry vitamins.

 Glycerin as an input to the poultry diets

The major component of glycerin is glycerol which is used as an energy source. But there are other residual parts and components which have limited the use of these feeds in the animal foods. These components include sodium and methanol. The energy derived from glycerin in animals varies significantly in the animals depending upon the specific methods from which the components had been extracted. But there is a mutual agreement that nearly 85 % of the energy can be obtained easily from these sources. It is through a complete understanding about the role of glycerin that we would be better able to use them in the diets of animals.

glycerine in poultry diets

The use of garlic as a potential feed supplement

In terms of the feed additives, natural herbs and various forms of plants have been subject to research due to their positive effects on the health of the animals at the farm. Garlic is one of the most effective feed supplement  all because of the beneficial effectuations it has towards the health of the animals. The positive effects seen from the use of these feeds include feed efficiency, poultry growth, increased production of eggs and quality. These feeds also help in stimulating the immune system of the animals plus lowering down the levels of cholesterol found in the blood vessels. But there is a variation in the reported results in terms of the authors who carried out the researches. But there is indeed an element of community and agreement between the reported results.

garlic

The role of ascorbic acid for reducing heat stress in poultry

There are a number of reviews which have been written in this regard. But our main focus here is on the reviews published relating to the effectuations caused by ascorbic acid on the overall performance of poultry and in the treatment of poultry diseases.

The first review had been written by researchers including Pardue and Thaxton in the year 1986. It focused on the role of ascorbic acid in alleviating or lowering down the effects of the heat stress in the birds brought up in the poultry research settings. The second review in this regard had been published by Whitehead and Keller in the year 2003 which focused on effects on poultry other than heat stress. Heat stress is linked with the decline that comes in the growth, overall performance, and intake of poultry diets, quality and the amount of egg production and poultry feed. Not to forget that it also comes to effectuate the immune system of the animals. Furthermore, the fertility of the male birds is also decreased on being exposed to some enormous amounts of heat stress. Now here the use of 250 mg or more of ascorbic acid has shown to increase the performance, immunity, feeding efficiency, digestion of nutrients, antioxidant status and much more, all of which serve as clear cut pointers towards the positive sides of ascorbic acid and related poultry supplements.

ascorbic acid in poultry diets

Effects of Carbohydrase Enzymes in poultry

A number of experiments have been performed for the validation of the hypothesis i.e. that the carbohydrase enzymes do come to increase the energy of the animals and the overall performance. The experiments involved the use of CE preparations making use of single and multiple ranges of activities. A substantial amount of improvement had been seen in the digestion of amino acids which was not more than 27 % of the total undigested fraction or part. The positive effectuations caused by the use of the enzymes are quite consistent with the increase and improvements seen in terms of the body weight of the animals.

carbohydrase enzymes

Selective Breeding

For the production of some elite progenies or animals with better health and endurance there are a number of strategies. This mechanism is more commonly referred to as selective breeding.

The importance of comb for breed selection

Review by N Mukhtar and SH Khan

The formation and the development of the comb are linked with the hormone levels of the body. Both of them come to effectuate the production as well the reproduction parameters of the animals. So, it is evident that the size sof the comb is also linked with the principles of selective breeding. The appearance and production of various traits in animals is also associated with the comb size.

comb size

It is quite clear now that through the use of various feeds and poultry vaccines, some of the major issues of poultry science and production can be dealt in a more effective manner. This notion is also supported by a number of researches of poultry science association and reviews of world poultry journal.

 

This is an abstract from ”world’s poultry science association”

For detail information u can purchase report from cambridge journals or

Subscribe to wapsa journal

Poultry Management Guide, Poultry Research Guide

The Significance and use of poultry manure as a fertilizer

4 Comments

The use of Poultry manure fertilizer is becoming a common practice (especially Chicken manure as fertilizer) with many farmers throughout the world as this matter content has in store various nutritional elements for various fields or crops. These nutritional elements are very effective in increasing the productivity and rapid growth of farms e.g. farms that produce vegetables. What manure basically is, its significance and various other factors related to it can be thoroughly understood under the following headings.

1. What is poultry manure and what are some of its components?

Chicken manure is basically a waste material which is organic in nature and comprises of urine and feces of animals which are related to poultry e.g. chicken.Poultry manure is a mixture of certain types of bedding material such as sawdust or wood shavings.The manure is acquired by cleaning of the poultry houses on regular basis where thin bedding layers are removed along with such manure. So the manure which is basically the waste from chicken dropping and other mixtures ,when used as fertilizer is called Chicken fertilizer.  Now the components or constituents found in the manure are dependent on the types of birds, their feed ration and proportions of droppings to litter, the handling systems of the manure and the types of litter. However, the most common components are Potassium, Nitrogen and phosphorus.

poultry manure and its components

2. Why fresh manure not to be used, timing of usage and 
precautions involved?

It is preferred to use manure after within 120 days of the harvesting of crops. Similarly it is preferable not to use fresh manure because it may contain certain bacteria which are harmful for human health and may cause diseases. It is therefore suggest that the manure should be used after it is composted because composting not only enhances the nutrients but also avoids the risks of your exposure to different diseases. The composting procedure may involve 3 to 4 weeks after which such manure can be used as fertilizer in gardens and for crops. Always wash your hands thoroughly after they come in contact with the manure or the compost and especially before eating so that no bacteria can enter your body.

fresh manure

3.advantages of poultry manure fertilizer in comparison 
with other fertilizers

Poultry manure fertilizer or a Chicken fertilizer has some of its distinct benefits in contrast to the synthetic or the inorganic fertilizers available in the market. The first benefit of their use is that they are more economical for the cause as compared to inorganic fertilizers. They have the tendency to condition the soil better then the inorganic ones. This better conditioning of the soil will result in an extra yield. Research has shown that the yields of crops like Cotton was significantly higher when a Chicken manure organic fertilizer was used.  The use of Chicken manure for fertilizer not only brings ecomical benefits to farmers but is also less harmful to the environment in comparison to inorganic fertilizers.  Not only can it be used for the fields but it can also be used as garden fertilizer.  Poultry manure or a Poultry fertilizer or litter as fertilizer is basically a mix of droppings of chicken or birds like pigeon, ducks and turkey. They are generally hotter as compared to other organic fertilizers like those of cow and horse. They need to be composted first or else they have the tendency to burn plants. They are high in nutrients like Nitrogen and potassium. Horse manure is on the other hand not as rich in Nitrogen as chicken manure but is richer when compared with cow manure. So a Chicken litter fertilizer you can say is rich in some components in contrast to others but the usage of fertilizers can vary according to the crops.

organic poultry fertilizer

4. Deep litter in commercial farms and backyard poultry

Deep litter is a housing system of animals which is based on repeated or continuous spreading of sawdust or straw material. The initial layer is made as bedding for animals and the other layers are added when the litter gets soiled. They are also known as backyard litter or domestic litter when used in domestic poultry.Chicken manure pellets which are used as fertilizers are obtained from the manure of the chicken in the cages or coop.

deep litter

 

Poultry Management Guide, Poultry Research Guide

Modern System For Drying Poultry Manure To Protect The Environment

4 Comments

 Numerous farmers are in search of solutions to decrease the emission Ammonia and other  fly problems which are caused due to the layer operation they carry out. Many others are    searching out for options to earn money by selling litter as a Chicken litter fertilzer.  Chicken litter as fertilizer has some of its distinct benefits which are not found in other commercial fertilizers. VDL Agrotech has brought advantages to both the groups of farmers by devising a system for the purpose of drying of Poultry manure. It is important to carry out composting of Chicken litter because fresh manure should not be used as it contains different Bacteria. Chicken litter compost takes about 2 to 3 weeks before its  ready.  According toWiebe Van Der Sluis, Rooster45, Doetinchem, the Poultry litter of the  Netherlands can prove a nuisance, and especially when they are not handled well or are left on some pile within or outside the poultry house. It emits high levels or concentrations of Ammonia in the environment and makes it unhealthy for birds, workers and the surrounding neighbors. Government also prohibits such emission of Ammonia into the atmosphere as it damages the environmental conditions.  So proper litter management in Poultry is essential for preventing risks to both human and bird’s health.

poultry manure system

Such a place becomes suitable for the growth of wet litter flies and their population increases in large numbers which is not liked by both farm workers and the neighbors.  Therefore both large and medium scale producers of poultry are now showing keen interest in keeping the Poultry droppings dry whether they are in a poultry house or outside it. Majority of the housing systems of poultry provide means to drying out the droppings or Poultry Waste within the house at manure belt. However, the capacity of such Poultry waste management systems is a limited one and gives rise to large proportions of dust which is the reason why farmers normally opt for drying manure outside of the poultry or fowl house. The Fowl manure is transferred by farmers on daily basis or after two days in order to cut down on the emission of ammonia and dust production and to cut on the moisture which is produced in the house. Drying of manure in an environment which is specifically conditioned to capture dust and ammonia will call for lesser energy consumption.

Using steel plates to dry manure

Many systems are present in the market for drying out manure but they have their own features and drawbacks. VDL Agrotech Company which has rendered numerous installation of large and small scale projects of poultry have devised a new Poultry management system of manure drying and they have named the system as ‘PoulDry’.  The manufacturing of this effective drying system from Agrotech is the result of cooperation of various experienced engineers who have also been behind the development of various other drying systems. A separate location close to the poultry house is normally chosen to place PoulDry system. The system comprises of one, two or more levels which are linked to direct chain that revolves around powder coated and galvanized steel plates. The plate’s compromise of perforations which keeps almost 35 percent of the systems surface open and this allows air to pop in easily and facilitate fast drying. The system has been designed in such a manner so that no moving part comes in contact with the manure, and this protects them from damage. Similarly the direct chain system driver ensures an easy motion of the drying system.

poultry manure system

Forcing of tilt

The droppings in the poultry house which comes via the manure belt are dispersed on the top layer of the drying tunnel which is in circular motion. When the Chook manure is on the edge of the top layer, the perforations on the layers tilt and drop the manure on plates which are at the second level below and this continues its movement to the opposite path via the tunnel so that more moisture can be released.  Clogging and sticking of the manure on the plates is prevented by forcing the perforated plates to tilt.  High pressure of air is blown throughout the system which results in 80 to 85 percent dryer manure within maximum 72 hours which also depends on the humidity in the atmosphere. The process also causes a reduction in the release of dust particles by almost 70 percent.  It has now been learned through experience that the process requires a lesser consumption of energy and can be controlled very easily and effectively via touch screen system. A system with a length up to 40 meters can be installed easily and it has the capacity to dry 200,000 layers of manure. 80 percent drying of manure content which is facilitated through this system reduces fly problems, Ammonia and odor, and such content can be sold easily as field fertilizer. A Poultry management guide should always be consulted for various aspects of poultry such as Chicken litter, manure nutrients analysis etc, and many such guides are available in the market and on the internet.

poultry manure4

contact supplier E:mail:g.camps@vdlagrotech.nl

Karin Jonkers
Marketing Communications Manager
VDL Agrotech
Phonen: : +31(0)40 29 25 577
E-mail: k.jonkers@vdlagrotech.n

Poultry Research Guide

5 ideal Uses/advantages of poultry Chicken Manure/Litter

Leave a comment

   The Use of Chicken litter/manure in Animal Feed

Poultry Wastages like Litter or Manure can be used for different purposes just like as input to animal feed. Recycled animal wastage such as  processed chicken litter or manure have been used as ingredients to animal feed for many years, These wastages contains  various amount of  minerals, fiber  and protein. They are usually used within the state or province where it is produced because it is not cost effective to move such a bulk material to far away. Mostly these kind of wastage is used by the dairy farmers as a winter food supplement for mother cows.

   The importance of poultry manure/litter as a fertilizer

Poultry manure/litter is an important source of fertilizing crops, corn and wheat. It is the most effective ingredients of among all animal wastages as a measure to soil amendment and plant nutrient. However excessive amount of manure for fertilizing the land can be dangerous.

   Use of poultry litter to run bio-gas plants

Another revolution is the use of poultry manure in running of bio gas plants .An efficient research was made by a farmer in Rajasthan who was running a 1000 of birds farm in his village used poultry manure as an input to bio gas plants for supply of gas to his house and in the neighbor, Even when he lost his farm by the victimizing of bird-flu, he started purchasing the litter from other farmers to continue running his bio-gas plants.

   Turning Poultry Waste into Fuel

Scientists are working for converting of poultry wastage into fuel after getting methane from litter .They have developed an environmentally clean way of lightning of houses by the energy produced in this way.when the combination of poultry litter,feather and water is heated at  500F and after it is little refined we get the awsome amount of  fuel enegy.

   Chicken droppings for producing electricity

Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has working on poultry dropping into bio-oil. They have achieved excellent result for optimizing the conversion of dropping into power source. The result is achieved by mixing of feather,litter bedding and spilled feed. When letter is vaporized by heating it, the vapor is then condensed to get bio-oil.  The same time, a form of slow release fertilizer can be recovered from the paralysis unit. The main advantage of this system is the amount of   vapor generated by heating the biomass which be used to power the unit.