Managing litter, or bedding, is an essential part of growing meat chickens. These videos and animations explain some of the different factors that can affect litter condition and how to manage them. Click on the links below to go to the video or animation that talks about:
- relative humidity
- ammonia and litter management
- shed maintenance
- water movement in litter
- drinker management
- litter re-use
- pre-heating sheds and litter.
Relative humidity
Temperature and humidity play a large role in poultry shed conditions. This animation looks at how temperature and humidity interact, how condensation forms, and how ventilation can sometimes be a cause of increased moisture levels.
Ammonia and litter management
This animation describes the process of how ammonia forms in poultry sheds and how managing moisture levels can reduce ammonia and keep litter dry.
Shed maintenance
This video describes some of the shed structural components that can ultimately affect moisture levels and litter conditions. This video is divided into three areas: shed tightness and air leakage; insulation; and how darkling beetle damage can potentially influence litter conditions.
Water movement in litter
This animation describes how the process of how water moves into and out of the litter. It explains water activity and why bird migration within the shed needs to be managed to avoid wet letter issues.
Drinker management
Drinkers can be one of the biggest influence on litter moisture and condition. This video highlights some of the main areas where drinkers can contribute to extra water being added to the floor.
Litter re-use
Some farms use the same litter over multiple flock grow-outs. This video describes the process of how litter can be re-used and how it should be treated between each grow-out period.
Pre-heating sheds and litter
Having litter and floor temperatures right at the start of a batch is an important step in maintaining good litter conditions. This video looks at how cold floors can affect chicks and litter moisture, and how to dry wet bedding before placement.
