CompostingPoultryMortalities

Prof.Dr.S.T.Moubarak

DeadBirdsDisposal
Therearegenerallytwocategoriesofdisposal
problems:
(1)Normalmortality,whichistypicallyabout
0.1percentperday,butfluctuationsupto
0.25percentperdayarenotuncommon.
(2)Wholeflockdisposal.(Catastrophic
mortalities)

Composting
Compostingisabiologicalprocessthatutilizes
thermophilicmicroorganismstodegrade
organicmatterintohumuslikematerial
called:compost.
Compostingisnotrecommendedforwholeflock
disposalcases.Suchcasesrequirespecial
permissionandsupervision.

CompostingFacts
Similartonaturaldecaybutfasterdue
tobettercontrolofconditions.

Amountreducedby25to50%.
Heatgeneratedduringtheprocess
destroyspathogenicorganismsand
weedseeds.

FactorsAffectingCompostingProcess
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Aeration
Moisturecontent
Carbon/Nitrogenratio
Temperature
Time
Porosity,structure,texture&particlesize
pHoraciditylevel

PrinciplesofComposting
Aeration

Suppliesoxygen
Removesexcessiveheat&moisture
Reducespacking
Pooraerationcausesanaerobicactivity(smell)
Toomuchaerationcoolscompost(bad)

PrinciplesofComposting
Moisturecontent
Aerobicoranaerobicthatsthequestion

Ideal 60%
At70% Anaerobic
50%orbelow slowdown

Moisturecontent

Crudemethod:Squeezecompostballinhand
only12drops:MCisjustright
nowater:MCtoolow
morewater:MCtoohigh

PrinciplesofComposting
Thecarbon:nitrogen ratio(C:N)
MicrobesrequiredifferentproportionsofC&N
Carbon:nitrogenratiosof15:1to35:1are
acceptable.
IftheC:Nratioislessthan25:1,organisms
cannotutilizeallofthenitrogenavailable,and
nitrogenisthenlostasammonia.
WhentheC:Nratioexceeds30:1,therateof
compostingdecreases.

SomeC/NRatios
Source

Average

Paper

Range
150200

Broilerlitter
Cornstalks
Sawdust
Grainstraw

14
60
442
80

1215
200750
48150

Grassclippings

17

925

NonlegumeHay

32

CarbonNitrogenRatioofpoultrycarcass5:1

PrinciplesofComposting
Temperature
Temperatureisagoodindicatorofbiological
activityinthecompostpile.

Temperature
MC,oxygen,andmicrobialactivityallinfluence
temperature.Twoorthreedaysafterwastesare
mixedandplacedinpiles,thermophilicmicrobes
shouldbegintodominate.Theseorganisms
preferatemperatureof(37.7 65.5C).
Asthetemperaturepeaks,andthenbeginsto
decrease,thepileshouldbeturnedto
incorporateoxygenintothecompost.

Temperature

AvianInfluenzaviruscanbeinactivatedat
o
o
(60 C)in10minutesor(56 C)in15to20
minutes(Senneetal.1994).

Microbial Population
Dynamics
During Composting
Bacteria

Temp

Log #

Temp C

cfus/g

Fungi

Actinomycetes
Time
F= C x 1.8 + 32
Source: Midwest
Composting School

Temperature and Turning

Source: National Engineering Handbook

Porosity,structure,texture&
particlesize

Allinfluenceaeration
Adjustbyselectionofrawmaterials,
grindingormixing
limeorbulkingagentscanimprove
properties

pH
Compostinggoodnear6.58pH

DailyMortalities Composting

Composting

CompostingBins

CompostingBin

CompostingBin