Bedding Materials
Growers consider a number of factors when determining which material to use as bedding in their facilities, with cost and availability being a major consideration. Bedding materials generally needs to be very absorbent, and must have a reasonable drying time. Many paper products, for instance, absorb moisture well but do not dry out appropriately. The material should also have a useful purpose once it has been used as a bedding material. Without a useful purpose for the used litter, poultry growers would need to dispose of unmanageable quantities of old litter. Large accumulations of litter stored unused for long periods of time are not ecologically acceptable even on a small scale, and would be non-sustainable from an industrial perspective.
Poultry bedding materials also have to be reasonably available. Some materials may meet industry goals once under the birds but if it is difficult to obtain, it will not find favor as a poultry litter. Finally, if a material is not cost competitive with current materials utilized, it will also not be used as a litter material. However, if the new material has increased value once removed from the poultry house compared to current litters or if the current litter material itself becomes difficult to obtain or the quality is decreases, poultry growers may decide to use the new litter material.
Bedding material must not be toxic to poultry or to poultry growers. The effect on other livestock, pets, wildlife, and even plants must also be considered. Poultry can consume as much as 4% of their diet as litter, therefore any bedding material must not contain contaminants such as pesticides or metals. Consumption by the birds due to litter eating or other bird behavior could affect production and potentially cause the meat or rendered products to become unusable. Pine shavings has been the bedding of choice because of performance, availability, and cost.
Read more about this topic: Poultry Litter
Famous quotes containing the words bedding and/or materials:
“More than a decade after our fellow citizens began bedding down on the sidewalks, their problems continue to seem so intractable that we have begun to do psychologically what government has been incapable of doing programmatically. We bring the numbers down—not by solving the problem, but by deciding it’s their own damn fault.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)
“In daily life what distinguishes the master is the using those materials he has, instead of looking about for what are more renowned, or what others have used well.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)