Global Journal of Science Frontier Research, D: Agriculture and Veterinary, Volume 21 Issue 7

Performance of Broiler Birds Managed on Recycled Litter Treated with Graded Levels of Aluminium Sulphate (Alum) Usman, A. A. α , Olugbemi, T. S. σ , Omage, J. J. ρ , Aljameel, K. M. Ѡ & Usman, H. B. ¥ Abstract- The study was carried out at the poultry unit of the Departmen t of Animal Science tea ching and research farm, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria to determine the evaluate Performance of Broiler Birds Managed on Recycled Litter Treated with Graded Levels of Aluminium Sulphate (Alum)Two hundred and forty (240) day old Marshall Strain broiler chicks of mixed sexes were used for the study. The birds were fed a common diet during this period and were subsequently weighed and randomly assigned to four treatment groups. The treatments were replicated three times with 20 birds per pen. They were housed under a deep litter system with 15kg recycled litter per pen in a completely randomised design. Aluminium sulphate (alum) was applied to the wood shavings by mixing it with alum thoroughly using hands covered with hand gloves. The rates of alum application was as follows: T1 control (normal with no alum), T2 (5% alum), T3 (10% alum) and T4 (15%). Data were collected on feed intake, weight gain and feed conversion ratio were determined weekly. At the termination of the experiment (day 56), two birds from each pen having representative weights for the group (6 birds per Treatment) were selected for carcass characteristics. The result showed no significant (P>0.05) differences among treatment groups in the daily weight gain, daily feed intake and daily water intake. However, there were significant (P<0.05) differences in final weight, total weight gain, feed conversion ratio, cost/kg gain and mortality across the treatments. The result shows significantly (P<0.05) Lower pH values in all the alum treated litters groups (5%, 10% and 15% alum treated litter) compared to the control group (0% alum treated litter) for weeks 2, 4, 6 and 8.The study conclude that treating recycled poultry litter with alum can increase total nitrogen and ammonium ion concentration of the litter and reduce pH, total volatile fatty acid and soluble reactive phosphorus content of the litter. Keywords: broiler, performance, carcass, recycled litter. I. I ntroduction oultry are generally accepted as the fastest way of increasing animal protein consumption in the developing countries of the world (Ogundipe, 1999). This increasing rate of production is raising alarm on the effect of pollution that arises from the land in which this poultry waste is deposited. Aluminium Sulphate (Alum) has been described as one of the best chemicals used in litter amendment to reduce pathogen levels in litter (improving bird health and food safety), reduce ammonia levels in the poultry houses, reduce phosphorus run off and improve productivity. alum is normally applied at a rate of 5 to 10 percent by weight of the litter (Moore et al ., 2000). This study was designed to evaluate the effect of alum treated bedding material and poultry litter on litter microbial load and chemical characteristics and its effect on the performance of broilers. II. M aterials and M ethods a) Experimental site and Location The study was carried out at the poultry unit of the Department of Animal Science teaching and research farm, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The pen is located in northern guinea savannah zone of Nigeria, latitude 11 0 09’ 76’’ N and longitude 7 0 38’ 20’’ E at an altitude of 610 mm above sea level. The climate is relatively dry with a mean annual rainfall of 700- 1400mm, occurring between the months of April and September (Ovimaps, 2015). b) Experimental Diets and Material Broiler starter and finisher diets were formulated to meet the nutrient requirement of broilers (NRC, 1994) and used in feeding the experimental birds throughout the period of the study in both experiment one and two. The experimental diets are shown in Table 1. The alum used was obtained from the Sabon-garimarket in Zaria, Kaduna State. P 1 Global Journal of Science Frontier Research Volume XXI Issue VII Year 2021 17 ( D ) © 2021 Global Journals Version I Author α σ ρ : Department of Animal Science, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. e-mail: muhdkjameel@gmail.com Author Ѡ ¥ : Department of Animal Science, Federal University Dutsin- Ma.