Use of a litter material made from cotton waste, gypsum, and old newsprint for rearing broiler chickens

Three experiments, which included 4 broiler flocks, were conducted to examine the usefulness of a novel bedding material for rearing broilers. The control bedding was pine shavings. The novel bedding, aGroChips (AC), was a chopped material made from cotton lint waste, gypsum, and old newsprint using a proprietary paper manufacturing process (Novovita, Inc., Raleigh, NC). All birds were fed the same feeding program: starter from 0 to 3 wk, grower from 3 to 5 or 6 wk, and finisher during the last week. Birds were marketed at either 6 or 7 wk of age. Feed consumption by pen and individual bird BW were measured at 3 and 6 or 7 wk. Mean BW and feed conversion, adjusted to include weight of mortality, were calculated. A sample of birds (n = 10) from each pen was evaluated for hock and foot pad condition. Each pen was evaluated at the end of the trial for litter cake index in 3 of the 4 flocks. Litter cake index scores were generally higher for birds reared on AC litters. There were no other differences in bird performance for any of the flocks. In conclusion, broilers reared on AC bedding perform as well as those reared on pine shavings.