Bentonite (litter amendment)

Bentonite is a type of clay that can absorb large quantities of water. It can also bind with ammonia and for this reason bentonite is used as a litter amendment. It decreases the amount of ammonia released into the air from litter. Combined with effective chicken and shed management, e.g. ventilation, litter amendments like bentonite can help maintain chicken performance, production and health. By retaining nitrogen in the litter it may also increase the value of spent litter as a fertiliser.

Sourcing and pre-treatment

Bentonite is predominantly mined in Queensland and New South Wales, specifically calcium-bentonite and sodium-bentonite. Bentonite mined in Western Australian is rich in magnesium.

Content source: Suitability of litter amendments for the Australian chicken meat industry, AgriFutures Australia final report 2020

Downloads and resources

References

Cockerill, S. A., Gerber, P. F., Walkden-Brown, S. W., and Dunlop, M. W. (2020), Suitability of litter amendments for the Australian chicken meat industry, Animal Production Science, (60), pp. 1469-1481. OPEN ACCESS Available from https://www.publish.csiro.au/an/AN19587

Dunkley, C. (2009) Broiler tip: Why use litter treatments? University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service, Georgia, United States of America. Available from https://www.poultryventilation.com/node/4873

Dunlop, M, Cockerill, S, Gerber, P, Walkden-Brown, S and Chinivasagam, N. (2020) Suitability of litter amendments for the Australian chicken meat industry, AgriFutures Australia, New South Wales, Australia. Available from Suitability of litter amendments for the Australian chicken meat industry (PDF, 1.3MB)

Islam, A. F. M. F., Heuvel, A., Walkden-Brown, S. W., Cressman, M. D. and Redding, M. R. (2013) Effect of high level inclusion of adsorbent materials in litter on chicken welfare, performance and litter ammonia production. 24th Annual Australian Poultry Science Symposium, Sydney, 17-20 February: Poultry Research Foundation, 183-186. Available from https://az659834.vo.msecnd.net/eventsairaueprod/production-usyd-public/05affb20482e4931a968bc1c9428c250

Department of Regional NSW (unknown) Bentonite. Mining, Exploration and Geoscience – Industrial mineral fact sheet. Available from https://www.regional.nsw.gov.au/meg/geoscience/products-and-data/factsheets

Redding, M. R. (2013) Bentonite can decrease ammonia volatilisation losses from poultry litter: laboratory studies, Animal Production Science, 53(10), pp. 1115–1118. OPEN ACCESS Available from https://doi.org/10.1071/AN12367