Evaluation of alternate litter materials for broiler chicks

Use of paddy straw (PS), maize stalks (MS) and wheat straw (WS) as sources of alternate litter materials for rice husk (RH) were studied on broiler chick rearing. Day old Vencob broiler chicks (N=120) were distributed into 4 treatment groups, each having 3 replicates of 10 nos. with equal sex ratio and mean day-old weight and reared up to 42 days of age under similar housing and management except the variation in litter material. The chopped PS, MS, WS and RH were spread in a layer of 4-inch thickness, each in 3 pens on random basis. The evaluation parameters included the contents of moisture, E.coli/Staphylococci count in the litter, caking of litter, general cleanliness and growth performance of the chicks. The PS, MS, WS and RH litter had 28.75, 27.19, 33.02 and 28.63% moisture, 0.63, 0.80, 1.61 and 1.74 (x 10⁷) E.coli organisms per ml of sample and 0.62, 0.24, 1.39 and 1.70 (x 10 ⁷) Staphylococci organisms per ml of sample on 42^nd day of experiment. Frequent cake formation was observed in WS litter followed by PS, MS and RH litter and the general sanitary outlook of the birds was poor when reared on litter in WS followed by PS, MS and RH litter. There was no significant difference in body weight, FCR, PER and EER of birds reared on different litter materials. It was concluded that the chopped paddy straw (PS) and maize stalks (MS) can offer good and cheap alternates to rice husk (RH) for rearing broiler chicks.