Preliminary assessment of the variability in broiler litter composition and its implication for vermiculture

Abstract

The success of value adding operations like vermiculture for the broiler industry is to some extent influenced by variation in the animal wastes resource. Broiler litter samples were taken from sheds under different management systems using a sampling technique designed to identify possible sources of variation in broiler litter composition. Analysis of broiler litter samples focused on chemical attributes that would impact on vermiculture, and these included; macro-nutrients, trace-elements, dry weight, pH, EC and gross energy. The results show low variability in the major parameters that could influence the conversion of broiler litter to a profitable resource in a vermiculture system.