The Effect of Deep Stacking Broiler Litter on Chemical Composition and In Vitro Gas Production

The effect of deep stacking treatments on chemical composition and gas production of broiler litter were evaluated at Animal Production Research Institute, Egypt. Fresh broiler litter (BL) was collected from a commercial broiler houses in Khartoum state, Sudan. Deep stacking was done in 1.5x1.5x1.5, 1.75x1.75x1.75 and 2x2x2 m silo pits (DSBL1, DSBL2 and DSBL3) respectively. The potential of gas production technique to predict kinetics of gas production was studied in broiler litter and three samples of deep stack broiler litter. A gas production was continuously measured by incubating samples in buffered rumen fluid from cannulated buffalo for 96 h. Cumulative gas production was recorded at 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h of incubation periods and kinetics of gas production was described. The high content of protein in broiler litter indicated its importance as a partial substitute for concentrates in the diet. Overall, deep stacking had no effect on the chemical composition of broiler litter, but there were significant (p<0.05) differences between broiler litter and three deep stacked litter silo pits for OMD% and ME. Significantly (p<0.05) higher volume in gas production were observed in BL and DSBLI compared to DSBL2 and DSBL3. The study explored the practical incorporating of DSBL into animal feeds hence reducing the cost of production of feed and consequently reducing the unit cost of animal products.