Air quality and micro-meterological monitoring of gaseous pollutants/flame emissions from burning crude petroleum in poultry house

Air quality of gaseous emissions from crude petroleum flames and fumes were monitored in a poultry house at 10 min intervals; from 10.10am–11.10am daily for 14 days. The crude petroleum burning was simulated in a metal burner, 22.86 cm high with a diameter of 17.80 cm and a thickness of 1.27 cm designed for the purpose. The micro-climate (ambient temperature, relative humidity and light intensity) of the experimental environment (poultry houses) was recorded. Results showed that the mean gaseous pollutants emitted before and during the experiments varied within the poultry house. Gases such as sulphur dioxide (SO₂), hydrogen sulphide (H₂S), methane(CH₄) and carbon monoxide (CO) were higher in the brooding than finishing phase, while volatile organic carbon (VOC) and suspended particulate matter (SPM) levels were lower at the brooding than finishing phase. The values obtained in this study for 60 min (at 10 min intervals) are far higher than the values elucidated by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, which are outdoor air quality measurements as compared to those in this study measured indoors.     

Some bacteriological aspects of poultry litter used as feed supplement in rabbit diets

An investigation was carried out to determine the microbial load in poultry litter used as feed supplement in rabbit diets. Before heat treatment by deep stacking the poultry litter, samples of the litter were collected to assay for microbial load at the Microbiology Laboratory of the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Results obtained showed that before heat-treating the poultry litter, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Mycobacterium, Clostridium and Staphylococcus were isolated at 41, 37, 37, 41 and 42°C, respectively. The results obtained also indicate that no pathogen was isolated after heat treatment of between 40 and 55°C for 21 days. This study justifies the suitability of using poultry litter as a feed supplement.     

Deep stacking poultry litter as feed ingredient in livestock production

The compelling need to harness the potentials of the numerous agro-industrial by-products and the so-called “wastes” as part replacement for the more expensive conventional feed ingredients have been seriously expressed. This need has arisen mainly from the increasing demand and supply deficit of conventional feed resources with a concomitant sharp rise in their cost prices. The net effect of increased unit cost of the conventional feed resources is increased cost of the compounded rations, which by extension gives rise to increased cost of meat and animal products. It then becomes highly imperative that other sources for rapid livestock output to meet the growing human demands for animal protein foods are sourced. Such other sources should be cheap and nutritionally adequate for feeding animals with the aim of lowering the cost of producing meat. One of such measure is the recycling of poultry litter as part replacement for soya bean in livestock nutrition. Poultry litter is the by-product of poultry production, which should be managed in an environmentally friendly manner. As observed in this study, poultry litter contains 20% crude protein, 621.41 ME kcal kg^?1, and substantial amounts of minerals that could be exploited in feeding livestock. This study has explored the possibility of including poultry litter in diets in view of its contents.