Indian Journal of Poultry Science (2010) 45(3): 376-378; Short Communication

Evaluation of alternate litter materials for broiler chicks

DALJEET KAUR*, S.S. NAGRA, PAVITER KAUR1 AND YASHPAL SINGH

Department of Livestock Production Management, GADVASU, Ludhiana -141 004 (Punjab)

(Received on November 21, 2009; accepted for publication on December 8, 2010)

ABSTRACT
Kaur, D., Nagra, S.S., Kaur, P. and Singh, Y. 2010. Evaluation of alternate litter materials for broiler chicks. Indian Journal of Poultry
Science, 45(3): 376-378.
Use of paddy straw (PS), maize stalks (MS) and wheat straw (WS) as sources of alternate litter materials for rice husk (RH) were
studied on broiler chick rearing. Day old Vencob broiler chicks (N=120) were distributed into 4 treatment groups, each having 3 replicates
of 10 nos. with equal sex ratio and mean day-old weight and reared up to 42 days of age under similar housing and management except the
variation in litter material. The chopped PS, MS, WS and RH were spread in a layer of 4-inch thickness, each in 3 pens on random basis. The
evaluation parameters included the contents of moisture, E.coli / Staphylococci count in the litter, caking of litter, general cleanliness and
growth performance of the chicks. The PS, MS , WS and RH litter had 28.75, 27.19 ,33.02 and 28.63 % moisture , 0.63, 0.80, 1.61 and 1.74
( x 107 ) E.coli organisms per ml of sample and 0.62, 0.24 , 1.39 and 1.70 (x 10 7) Staphylococci organisms per ml of sample on 42nd day
of experiment. Frequent cake formation was observed in WS litter followed by PS, MS and RH litter and the general sanitary outlook of the
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birds was poor when reared on litter in WS followed by PS, MS and RH litter. There was no significant difference in body weight, FCR,
PER and EER of birds reared on different litter materials. It was concluded that the chopped paddy straw (PS) and maize stalks (MS) can
offer good and cheap alternates to rice husk (RH) for rearing broiler chicks.
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Key words: Broiler, alternate litter, growth, microbial load, agro-waste

Deep litter is the most popular broiler management
system throughout the world. The importance of good quality
bedding material for rearing of broilers on conventional floor
systems has been well recognized and emphasized
(Anisuzzaman and Chowdhury, 1996). Broilers do not perform
well in a poor environment. The quality of micro- environment
is highly dependent upon bedding material, thus litter material
directly affects the performance, health, carcass quality and
welfare of birds (Malone et al., 1982, 1983; Veltmann et al.,
1984). Rice husk (RH) is the preferred and commonly used
litter in India. In the recent years, RH has become a highly
sought material by many other industries for use as fuel.
Consequently the poultry farmers find it increasingly difficult
to get RH at reasonable price thus increasing the rearing cost.
Alternate bedding materials have extensively been researched
over the years. Other agricultural by-products like paddy straw
(PS), maize stalks (MS) and wheat straw (WS) are available
in Punjab and Haryana in huge quantities. Paddy straw is
available as a waste and its burning in the fields is a serious
concern of environmental pollution. Any alternate use of such
materials can contribute towards the protection of the
*Corresponding author : e.mail - daljeet_75in@rediffmail.com
1
Deptt. Vety. Microbiology, COVS, GADVASU, Ludhiana
environment. The PS, MS and WS were used in this study to
compare their effects on broiler performance vis--vis rice
husk (RH).
Day old Vencob broiler chicks (n=120) were
randomly divided into 12 groups each having 10 nos with
similar mean day-old weight and sex ratio. Three groups of
chicks were randomly allocated to each of the four litter
materials i.e rice husk (RH), chopped maize stacks (MS),
wheat straw (WS) and paddy straw (PS). Both maize stacks
and paddy straw were chopped to a size of 1 inch. A week
prior to the start of experiment, each litter was dried under
sun and then randomly put up to a depth of 4- inches in 1.84
x 1.57 m2 concrete floor pens as per the recommendations by
Swain and Sundaram (2000). No litter was added, removed
or replaced during the course of trial, although some raking
or stirring was done as a routine litter managemental practice
or while collecting samples. Corn-soybean meal based rations
containing 22.06, 20.13 and 18.16 CP (%) with 2875, 2916
and 2969 Kcal ME / kg, respectively, for phase I, II and III of
growth were fed to the chicks during day 1-15, 16-28 and 29
to 42, respectively. The chicks were reared under standard
managemental practices. Daily feed intake record was
maintained for each group. The chicks were vaccinated against
RD (F1) and Gumboro disease on 4th and 14th day of age,
 Kaur et al. / Litter material for broiler chicks

respectively. The performance data during different phases of

The body weight of chicks was recorded on weekly
intervals up to six weeks of age. Daily in morning and in
evening, visual observations were recorded for any health or
behavioural abnormalities, cleanliness of feeders and waterers
and caking of litter. Samples of litter were collected at the
end of experiment for determination of moisture content and
for bacterial/parasitic count. Bacterial cell count was
determined as surface viable count by spread plate method
using Mannitol salt agar and Hichrome E.coli agar individually
for isolation of Staphylococcus and E. coli, respectively.
Body weight gain, intake of feed and mortality were
recorded for each pen. The data were analyzed using a one-
way analysis of variance (Snedecor and Cochran, 1980).
Means for different parameters were compared using Duncans
multiple range test (Duncan, 1995).
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growth and for the overall experimental period (Table 1)
indicated no significant variations in the body weight, feed
intake, FCR, PER and EER among different litter types except
that the feed intake was significantly (P<0.05) lower in paddy
straw group during phase III compared to other groups,
Benabdeljelil and Ayachi (1996) had also reported that litter
type had no significant influence on weekly average body
weight.
Swain and Sundaram (2000) and Anisuzzaman and
Chowdhury (1996) reported that the type of bedding material
did not affect the final mass. Jordaan (2004) observed that
the different bedding materials did not influence the feed
intake, weight gain, feed conversion efficiency. Several other
studies Peacock et al. (1984), Brake et al. (1992), Lien et al.
(1992),Wyatt and Goodman (1992),Khan et al. (2007) have

Table 1. Effect of litter material on the performance of broiler chicks at different phases of growth
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Treatment
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Phase
MS WS PS RH

Weight Gain (g)

P-I 276.42.2 267.71.3 273.52.2 270.51.8
P-II 710.34.9 702.01.9 709.63.5 693.52.9
P-III 1044.11.4 995.72.9 1009.78.4 1019.411.5
Overall 2030.75.3 1965.46.3 1992.912.6 1983.415.8
Feed Intake (g)
P-I 476.67.6 445.58.6 463.49.9 460.98.5
P-II 1328.217.7 1325.432.9 1296.49.1 1284.48.1
P-III 2018.869.7 b 2036.836.7 b 1977.531.8 a 2024.484.1b
Overall 3822.458.1 3807.812.4 3737.327.6 3769.977.6
FCR
P-I 1.70.1 1.70.0 1.70.0 1.70.0
P-II 1.90.0 1.90.0 1.80.0 1.90.0
P-III 1.90.1 2.10.0 2.00.0 2.00.1
Overall 1.90.0 1.90.0 1.90.0 1.90.0
PER
P-I 2.60.0 2.70.1 2.70.1 2.70.1
P-II 2.70.0 2.60.1 2.70.0 2.70.0
P-III 2.90.1 2.70.1 2.80.0 2.80.1
Overall 2.80.0 2.70.0 2.80.0 2.70.1
EER
P-I 5.00.1 4.80.1 4.90.1 4.90.1
P-II 5.50.1 5.50.1 5.30.1 5.40.0
P-III 5.70.2 6.10.1 5.80.1 5.90.2
Overall 5.50.1 5.70.0 5.50.0 5.60.1
Mean values bearing different superscripts in a row differ significantly (P<0.05)
P-I (Phase I, 1-2 weeks), P-II (Phase II, 3-4weeks) and P-III (Phase III, 5-6 weeks)

Indian Journal of Poultry Science (2010) 45(3): 376-378 / 377

 Kaur et al. / Litter material for broiler chicks
Table 2. The litter moisture content and its bacterial load under different treatments
Parameter
MS
Moisture (%) 27.196.36
E. coli (107) organisms per ml of sample 0.800.17
Staphylococcus (107) organisms per ml of sample 0.240.16
also found that growth performances were not effected by the
litter types such as recycled paper, pine shaving, refined
gypsum, hard wood bark, chaffed wheat straw and dried leaves.
The moisture content in the litter (Table 2) at the end
of the experiment was in the range of desired values and had
not contributed to dusty environment in the poultry house.
The moisture content was highest in WS, perhaps due to its
higher ability for water retention, compared to other
treatments. Jordaan (2004) also reported that wheat straw had
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highest moisture holding compared to wood shavings, peanut
hulls, and sunflower hulls. He also reported that chopped straw,
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hay or maize stacks have a considerable tendency towards
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caking. In this study also, the compaction and caking of litter
was more in WS followed by PS and MS than RH. The litter
moisture content was non-significant among all the treatments.
Bagley and Evans (1998) suggested that, ideally the poultry
litter should be maintained at 12-25 per cent moisture level.
Malone et al. (1982) and Lien et al. (1992) also reported that
the moisture level as well as physical appearance of the
material affects the degree of caking.
The cleanliness of feeder, waterer and overall
cleanliness of birds at the end of experiment were not
consistent as that according to Benabdeljelil and Ayachi
(1996), though it was slightly less in RH may be due to its
small and light weight particle size. E . coli and Staphylococcus
count per ml fecal sample (Table 2) were considerably low in
PS and MS as compared to RH group. No clear health
abnormalities like breast blister, leg abnormality, footpad
lesions and behavioral differences were observed due to
variation in the litter type. Similar observations were recorded
by Hester et al. (1985, 1987), Benabdeljelil and Ayachi (1996).
It was concluded from the results of these studies
that maize stack and chopped paddy straw can serve as a good
litter alternatives to rice husk especially, the use of paddy
straw which is an agricultural waste material in routine practice
is being burnt by the farmers in their fields for such useful
purpose can be of great environmental value.
378 / Indian Journal of Poultry Science (2010) 45(3): 376-378
Treatment
WS PS RH
33.023.50 28.754.45 28.636.18
1.610.76 0.630.21 1.740.75
1.390.97 0.620.31 1.700.55
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