Several factors are limiting the operation of poultry farms in various parts of the world. The most prominent one is air pollution in terms of the odor that emanates from the chicken house. This is why most poultry farms are located in rural or less-populated areas where the odor has a less environmental effect and is bearable in the neighborhood. A poultry farmer must find effective ways to control odor in the chicken house; this is a contingency measure to ensure the continuity of the business as the population grows.
The offensive odor that emanates from a chicken house is natural; however, there are ways it can be controlled, thus, making poultry enterprises environmentally friendly. The odor emanates as a result of neglected but not poor managerial practices. This farm odor is detrimental to both the health of the neighborhood and the poultry birds; it is one of the dangers of living near a chicken farm.
Causes And Sources Of Odor In Poultry Farms
Before we delve into how to control odor in chicken houses, we need to understand the causes of odors in poultry farms. There are several gases that lead to pungent odors in chicken farms; some of them are Hydrogen Sulphide, which evolves from rotten eggs; Skatole from fecal odor; Thiocresol, which has a meaty type odor and Ammonia. The most offensive of all is Ammonia; it is corrosive and very irritating. It also harbors pathogen, which causes harmful poultry diseases.
Odor in chicken farms mainly comes from the feed, droppings, and carcasses, the nature of the chicken house, and the chickens. Odor can be detected by carrying out a “sniffing-test”; this will help determine the intensity of the odor. Poor gut performance and low digestibility also cause offensive odor in poultry production. When the gut of a poultry bird is bad, it leads to low feed digestibility.
When chickens fail to fully utilize the nutrients present in the feed, the majority of the nutrients are passed out as waste. The aggregate of undigested nutrients like proteins and amino acids; in chicken waste leads to the emission of Amines and Ammonia to the environment. As seen in humans, poor digestibility causes intestinal disorder, high mortality in severe cases, and conversely greater economic loss in a poultry farm.
Ways To Control Odor In Poultry Farm
The problem of offensive odor in the chicken house is natural but can be controlled; farm odor control needs a practical approach. If these ways can be adhered to, poultry enterprises can be situated in any part and environment around the world. These ways are:
Use of Feed Additives
Feed additives are non-nutritional components in chicken feed added to improve the performance of the chickens; they can also serve as a poultry odor eliminator. Feed additives help to improve the health of the guts, feed digestibility, and nutrient utilization in chickens. Feed additives may be herbs, spices, non-volatile extracts, and essential oils; they have other properties that are of great benefit to chickens. Some of them are antibacterial, antioxidant, antibiotics and anti-inflammatory.
Proper ventilation
Ventilation plays a very prominent role in poultry production. A poorly ventilated chicken house is a disease-prone house; the inflow and outflow of air in a poultry house help to extract and disperse odor in the chicken house. According to the guide on building a modern chicken house, the longest side of the pen should face the direction of the wind. This will enable the birds to receive an even distribution of air and equally dispersed odor. In a situation where the ventilation is observed to be inadequate, fans can be installed to enhance ventilation in the chicken house. It is an effective way of odor control in poultry facilities.
Odor Neutralizers
You can buy odor-neutralizing products like Ozone machines, Chicken Coop Litter Additive, and Chick fresh to help eliminate unpleasant odors in the poultry farm environment. These products are applied to the surfaces and angles in the chicken farm; they can also be incorporated into poultry litter and waste to neutralize odors and create a seemingly pleasant atmosphere within and outside the farm.
Litter management
Litter materials are materials that serve as a carpet in the chicken pen. Litter materials help to absorb moisture from the waste and also prevent waste from cementing the floor of the pen. When litter materials are poorly managed, they give room for ammonia buildup which produces a strong pungent odor on the farm. In a more severe case, the ammonia irritates the eye and skin of the poultry keeper. Litters have to be changed regularly at least every two weeks; this helps in farm odor control.
Managing mortality
Most farmers remove dead birds from the live ones solely to reduce the spread of disease. Mortalities are always dumped in the refuse bin or a spot in the farm designated for dirt; this is beneficial to the healthy flocks but detrimental to the health of the neighborhood and the environment at large. Mortalities should be buried under the soil and not abandoned on a bare soil surface.
Feed and drinking water
These two are very important to poultry enterprises. Before feeding, ensure you wipe out leftovers. Most farmers ignorantly pour leftover feed on the floor; this is not hygienic enough. Pour leftover feed into a dustbin and serve fresh feed. Stale water should be disposed of before serving a fresh one. Do not leave the water for more than 12 hours.
Managing stock density
A pen has its maximum and minimum capacity depending on the size and design of the chicken house. Do not overstock your pen; it increases the rate of waste accumulation and thereby leads to the fervent emission of bad odor from the pen. Aside from erupting bad odor, it also leads to the rapid spread of diseases.
Lastly, odor in chicken house is inherent but can be controlled to make the enterprise environmentally compliant. It is one of the factors that have restricted poultry to rural areas. Imagine the outcome of a poultry enterprise in an urban area. It will greatly increase the profit of the business and also reduce the cost of transportation.
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