Simple Processing Method for Recycling Poultry Waste into Animal Feed Ingredient

Abstract

Poultry wastes (PW) namely broiler litter (BL), caged-­‐layer droppings (CLD) and layer litter (LL) were evaluated for nutrient composition and microbial loads in order to select the most suitable for use as a feedstuff. Broiler litter had the highest amount of crude protein (16.8%) and a phosphorus content of 0.49%. There were more bacteria (cfu/g) in all the test materials than fungi. The total heterotrophic bacteria (THB) load was lowest in BL at 2.8 ×10⁶ cfu/g. The total heterotrophic fungi (THF) load of 1.1 × 10² cfu/g was lowest for CLD. Total microbial load (TML) was lower in BL with a value of 1.4 x10⁶ cfu/g. Klebsiella edwardsii was prevalent in all the test materials, while the fungi identified were moulds. Broiler litter also had the least number of identified microorganisms. The crude protein (CP), phosphorus (P) content, and the TML showed BL as the most suitable PW that can be processed as a feedstuff. The processing method developed in this study for recycling poultry litter into feedstuffs potentially useful for integration into animal-­‐feeding systems for non-­‐ruminants is simple, feasible and cheap.