Litter Reuse:

An Evidence-based Guide to Reusing Litter

by S.G. Wiedemann (FSA Consulting)

JULY 2015
RIRDC Publication No. 14/095
Litter Reuse: An Evidence-based
Guide to Reusing Litter
by S.G. Wiedemann (FSA Consulting)

July 2015

RIRDC Publication No. 14/095

RIRDC Project No. PRJ-006440
 © 2015 Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation.
All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-1-74254-712-1

Litter reuse: An evidence-based guide to reusing litter

Publication No. 14/095
Project No. PRJ-006440

The information contained in this publication is intended for general use to assist public knowledge
and discussion and to help improve the development of sustainable regions. You must not rely on any
information contained in this publication without taking specialist advice relevant to your particular
circumstances.

While reasonable care has been taken in preparing this publication to ensure that information is true
and correct, the Commonwealth of Australia gives no assurance as to the accuracy of any information
in this publication.

The Commonwealth of Australia, the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), the
authors or contributors expressly disclaim, to the maximum extent permitted by law, all responsibility and liability
to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any act or omission, or for any consequences of any such act or
omission, made in reliance on the contents of this publication, whether or not caused by any negligence on the
part of the Commonwealth of Australia, RIRDC, the authors or contributors.

The Commonwealth of Australia does not necessarily endorse the views in this publication.

This publication is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are
reserved. However, wide dissemination is encouraged. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and
rights should be addressed to RIRDC Communications on phone 02 6271 4100.

Researcher Contact Details

Stephen Wiedemann
FSA Consulting
PO Box 2175
TOOWOOMBA QLD 4350
Phone: 07 4632 8230
Fax: 07 4632 8057
Email: [email protected]

In submitting this report, the researcher has agreed to RIRDC publishing this material in its edited form.

RIRDC Contact Details

Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation
Level 2, 15 National Circuit
BARTON ACT 2600
PO Box 4776
KINGSTON ACT 2604
Phone: 02 6271 4100
Fax: 02 6271 4199
Email: [email protected].
Web: http://www.rirdc.gov.au

Electronically published by RIRDC in July 2015

Print-on-demand by Union Offset Printing, Canberra at www.rirdc.gov.au or phone 1300 634 313

4
Foreword
The Australian Chicken Meat industry has invested in a significant amount of research into
understanding and applying litter reuse as a management technique in the Australian industry. Litter
reuse (raising multiple batches of chickens on the same litter) is a safe and beneficial practice when
managed correctly. The benefits of reusing litter include reduced cost and improved value for the
chicken litter as a fertiliser after it is removed from chicken sheds. Concerns around pathogens, dust
and odour have been raised, but recent Australian research has been completed to address these
concerns. This guide summarises the recent research, providing a strong evidence base for litter reuse,
and directing interested readers to more detailed research reports. The guide is intended for the poultry
industry and those involved in regulating and licencing poultry production, such as local councils and
state environment departments.

This project was funded from industry revenue which was matched by funds provided by the Australian
Government.

This report is an addition to RIRDC’s diverse range of over 2000 research publications and it forms
part of our Chicken Meat R&D program, which aims to stimulate and promote R&D that will deliver a
profitable, productive and sustainable Australian chicken meat industry.

Most of RIRDC’s publications are available for viewing, free downloading or purchasing online at www.
rirdc.gov.au. Purchases can also be made by phoning 1300 634 313.

Craig Burns
Managing Director
Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation

5
 Contents
Introduction 7

Comparison of different types of litter management systems 8

Advantages of multi-batch litter 9

Perceived barriers to litter reuse 9

Odour and dust emissions 10

Odour emissions 10

Dust emissions 10

Ammonia emissions 11

Management of ammonia within a multi-batch litter system 11

Food safety pathogens 12

Management of pathogens within a multi-batch litter system 12

Poultry pathogens 13

Guide for growers 15

References 15

Figure index
Figure 1. Odour Emission Rate. 10

Figure 2. Ammonia concentration (ppm) in shed air for single use and reused litter. 11

Figure 3. E. coli levels in litter before and after litter heaping and in different positions in the litter
heap over time. 12

Figure 4. Percentage of chickens with FAV positive blood serum at day 35 post exposure to litter. 13

6
Introduction
Chicken litter reuse is the practice of housing multiple batches of meat chickens on the same bedding
material (litter) before removing litter from the sheds for utilisation off site (eg. as fertilizer). This
management approach is widespread in some countries (e.g. USA) but is not currently widely practised
in Australia.

Litter reuse has the potential to reduce costs and improve the environmental sustainability of meat chicken
farming. However, there are a number of barriers to increased uptake of this practice. This guide provides
results from recent Australian research that highlights new findings that show litter can be reused without
adverse effects on production or the environment, provided it is appropriately managed.

The guide provides information on:

• Practices for litter reuse.
• Odour and dust emissions.
• Ammonia emissions.
• Pathogens of food safety significance.
• Control of poultry diseases.
• Management techniques to overcome perceived barriers.

A typical pile of spent chicken litter from the grow-out phase of chicken meat production

7
 Comparison of Different Types of Litter Management
Systems
Chicken litter is a by-product of meat chicken production and is a mixture of bedding (usually sawdust or
shavings, rice hulls or straw) and manure.

The two common litter management approaches are single use litter and multiple batch litter (litter
reuse). Litter reuse can be categorised as either full reuse or partial reuse.

As the name suggests, single use involves completely removing the litter from the shed at the end of
each batch. After clean-out, the shed is disinfected prior to placing new bedding for the next batch. This
is the most common practice in Australia because of a perception that clean bedding improves bird
health and for amenity issues such as odour emissions.

Litter reuse generally involves removing any caked litter at the end of each batch, washing and
disinfecting the shed and sometimes covering the brooding end with 25 to 50 mm of new bedding
material prior to placement of the next batch of chickens. In Australia, in cases where litter reuse is
practised, the litter is typically reused for 3-5 batches. In the USA litter is sometimes reused for several
years (more than 15 batches of chickens).

Removing litter from the shed

Partial reuse of litter typically involves removing old litter from the brooding section of the shed and
spreading it on the grower section and then placing new bedding material in the brooding section.

Between batches, reused litter may be heaped in the shed prior to being re-spread. This process relies
on the natural composting process which begins rapidly, without water or other additives, after the litter is
heaped. The composting process creates heat which acts to kill pathogens and viruses that may be present
in the litter. However, the effectiveness of this can be constrained by the time available between batches.

8
Advantages of Multi-batch Litter
There are numerous benefits to utilising a multi-batch litter system compared to single use litter, including:
• Less fresh bedding required.
• Less transport for spent litter.
• Higher value for land application (as fertiliser).
• Generally drier litter (following heaping or piling between batches) than fresh bedding.
• Shorter clean-out periods, thereby reducing periods of fugitive odour emission.
• Less labour may be required for clean-outs.
These benefits result in lower costs for growing out chickens, and can make production more
sustainable in the long run because less fresh bedding material is required and transport requirements
are reduced.

Heaped spent litter Sawdust to be used for litter

Perceived barriers to litter reuse

There are a number of perceived barriers associated with litter reuse. These are as follows:
• Increased odour emissions.
• Increased dust emissions.
• Increased in-shed ammonia concentration, particularly during brooding.
• Increased pathogens of food safety significance.
• Increased risk of poultry disease transfer to subsequent batches.
Several recently completed research projects have investigated these issues to determine whether the
above perceived risks are actual or real, and to investigate management approaches to overcome these
issues. These are discussed in detail in the sections that follow.

9
 Odour and Dust Emissions
Concerns have been raised over whether multi-batch litter reuse results in higher levels of odour and
dust than single batch litter use. However, Australian research (described below) suggests that the
differences are minor.

Odour emissions
Experimental work compared odour emission rates from single use and partially reused litter systems1.
The partial reuse practise was as described above, where all litter is moved to the grower section of the
shed and fresh shavings placed in the brood area of the shed. These researchers found that, for single
use litter, measurements for odour emissions ranged from 337 to 2,939 ou/s per 1,000 birds placed in
the shed at the start of the batch, while for partially reused litter, odour emissions ranged from 669 to
2,806 ou/s per 1,000 birds (Figure 1). The mean Odour Emission Rate (OER) was found to be 1,505
ou/s per 1,000 birds placed in the shed at the start of the batch for single use, and 1,393 ou/s per 1,000
birds for partially reused litter respectively.

Measurements for OER per kg of liveweight ranged between 0.53 and 1.84 ou/s per kg of liveweight for
single use systems, whereas they ranged from 0.65 to 2.12 ou/s per kg of liveweight for partially reused
systems. The mean OER measured during the single use and partially reused batches was 1.16 and
1.10 ou/s per kg of liveweight respectively.

There was no significant difference in OER rates per 1,000 birds placed between single
use and partially reused litter. Similarly, when OER per kg of liveweight were measured, there
was no significant difference between these litter systems.

Figure 1. Odour Emission Rate

Per 1,000 birds placed in the shed at the start of the batch comparing fresh (single batch – white data
points) and partially reused litter (black data points)1.

Dust emissions
Research investigating dust emissions from single and multi-batch (partial reuse) litter systems found
that emissions were higher from the partial reuse system2. However, the authors note that moisture
levels were lower in the partial reuse experiment, which may have confounded the results. Dust
emissions from partially reused litter were within the range measured previously for chicken meat
production in Australia. The average diameter of dust particles from reused litter was found to be slightly
smaller compared to single batch litter.

Slightly higher dust levels from reused litter were also found in other experimental work3, where
good quality reused litter that has been treated by heaping between batches has been found to be
considerably drier than fresh sawdust bedding.

10
Ammonia Emissions
Ammonia concentrations within meat chicken houses can cause health concerns where levels exceed
25 ppm. Recent Australian research has shown that litter reuse results in higher ammonia concentrations
(Figure 2), although in this research these concentrations were well below the threshold of 25 ppm where
bird health may be compromised. Further research conducted by this research team, expected to be
published in early 2015, has confirmed the finding of higher ammonia levels with reused litter.

Ammonia concentrations for multi-batch litter are likely to be higher than for single batch, and
care should be taken to manage this risk to bird health, particularly during brooding in winter.
However, this is unlikely to pose a major risk with partial (as opposed to full) reuse systems.

Management of ammonia within a multi-batch litter system

In-shed ammonia concentrations in single and multi-batch use systems can be managed in a number of
ways if they become a concern. These include increasing ventilation and the use of litter additives such
as urease inhibitors, clinoptilolite forms of zeolite, acidifying agents and microbes that have the ability
to tie up nitrogen. All of these additives appear to work in reducing ammonia concentrations from litter.
Currently, use of these additives in Australia in either single or multi-batch systems is minimal.

Figure 2. Ammonia concentration (ppm) in shed air for single use and reused litter.

Means of measurements made at 30cm height at 15 min intervals for 16-22 hours3.

11
 Food Safety Pathogens
One of the perceived barriers with reusing litter is the possibility of an increase in levels of bacterial
pathogens of food safety significance in litter and thus the possibility of transfer of key food safety
pathogens such as Salmonella and Campylobacter across sequential batches of chickens. Research
has focused on managing this risk by using composting processes to reduce pathogens in the litter
between batches of chickens.

Management of pathogens within a multi-batch litter system

Composting processes can be effectively harnessed to reduce pathogen levels in litter. This can be
achieved in a limited period of time (typically 3-7 days) by heaping or piling litter between batches. The
aim is to allow the litter to reach a high enough temperature to kill the pathogens present in the litter.
This approach has been found to be effective in substantially reducing pathogens by several studies.

Heaping litter intended for reuse for the subsequent batch lead to the control of pathogen levels within
the reused litter4. Salmonella, E. coli (Figure 3) and Campylobacter levels were shown to decrease
through the process. Pathogen levels in reused litter that was heaped for 6 days were found to be below
the detection limit, when tested again after spreading prior to placement of chicks for the subsequent
batch.

Research has demonstrated that ‘pasteurising’ (abbreviated windrow composting) of used litter led to
a reduction in pathogen levels5,6. Stockpiles reached maximum temperature in an average 2.3 days
following piling, indicating that a minimum of 3 days is required to complete the ‘pasteurisation’ cycle.
Increasing the moisture content of litter (to 35%) provided no benefit for heating compared to heaps that
did not receive added water. Overall, adding water was found to make managing the litter more difficult
and was not recommended.

Heaping reused litter between batches has been shown to effectively control of bacterial
pathogen levels by Australian researchers.

Figure 3. E. coli levels in litter before and after litter heaping and in different positions in the litter heap
over time.

The research shows that after 6 days, pathogen levels were below the detection limit 4.

12
Poultry Pathogens
Another perceived barrier to reusing litter is the possibility of poultry disease transfer between batches
of chickens. Pathogens of concern include bacterial, parasite and viral agents, although most work in
this area to date has been on viruses.

Recent Australian research3 investigated the effect of different physical treatments on parasite and virus
survival in reused litter. Treatments included heaping ltter, heaping then turning litter, and windrowing litter.

A number of important diseases for meat chickens were investigated, including coccidiosis, Marek’s
disease virus (MDV), fowl adenovirus/inclusion body hepatitis (FAV), chicken infectious anaemia virus
(CAV) and infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV). Coccidial oocyst counts and virus levels, determined
by the rate of seroconversion of SPF chicks placed on the litter, were measured every three days
through to day 9 of treatment.

In these trials, heaping was found to be effective for reducing disease incidence in the case of most
disease agents. Results showed that coccidial oocysts were readily inactivated after 3 days of
treatment, FAV was largely inactivated after 6-7 days of treatment, and CAV and IBDV were largely
inactivated by days 6–10 of treatment. Unlike the other viruses, MDV inactivation was not affected by
treatment, but declined over time (although still showed infectivity even after 9-10 days).

The results also showed that infectivity of most disease agents was reduced in litter treatments that
generated higher temperatures, that heaping may be more effective than windrowing and that turning of
heaps did not improve the effectiveness of the treatment in inactivating disease agents.

Heaping reused litter between batches has also been shown by Australian researchers to be
effective in reducing levels of exposure to many major endemic parasitic and viral diseases.

Figure 4. Percentage of chickens with CAV positive blood serum at day 35 post exposure to litter.

Interaction plot of effects of treatment and day of litter collection post heaping3.

13
 Guide for growers
• Reuse of litter does not increase the burden of food safety pathogens, such as Salmonella and

Campylobacter, if treated correctly between batches.
• Reuse results in similar odour emission rates as single use litter.

• Reused litter is slightly dustier than single use litter.

• For both odour and dust, litter management (especially litter moisture content) and environmental factors

are likely to have a greater influence on emissions than litter reuse status.
• Reuse can potentially increse ammonia levels in sheds, and care needs to be taken to manage this risk

to bird health, particularly during brooding in winter. The risks are lower (and more manageable) with
partial reuse than full reuse.
• Treatment of litter by heaping / piling between batches effectively reduces the risk of disease carry-over

between batches for many endemic poultry disease agents, where litter is reused. The effectiveness
and number of days of treatment required varies for different disease agents (eg 3 days sufficient for
coccidiosus; 9-10 days for some viruses). Further research on additional viruses is currently underway.
• It is expected that a Litter Reuse SOP (for poultry pathogens) will be produced in 2015 under a Poultry

CRC project.

Summary
Litter reuse is a practice that can enable efficiency improvements in the chicken meat industry without
adverse impacts on production or the environment, when properly managed. Recent Australian
research shows that odour emissions are similar from multi-batch litter and single use litter, while multi-
batch litter has slightly higher dust emissions.

Some factors may require more management when reusing litter. For example, ammonia emissions
may be higher in multi-batch than single batch litter. With appropriate monitoring and management,
suitable levels can be maintained for bird production.

Pathogens associated with food safety and bird health may be treated by heaping/piling litter between
batches, and standard operating procedures are under development to assist in minimising pathogen load.

These results suggest that litter reuse can be a useful and beneficial practice to reduce costs and
improve litter value without detrimental impacts on the environment or bird health, provided good
management practices are followed.

References
1. Dunlop, M, Gallagher, E and Sohn, JH 2010, Odour emissions from tunnel-ventilated broiler sheds:

case study of nine Queensland farms, Animal Production Science, 50, 546-551.

2. Modini, RL, Agranovski, V, Meyer, NK, Gallagher, E, Dunlop, M and Ristovski, ZD 2010, Dust

emissions from a tunnel-ventilated broiler poultry shed with fresh and partially reused litter. Animal
Production Science, 50, 552-556.

3. Walkden-Brown 2010, Optimising methods for multiple batch litter use by broilers, Project No. 06-15,

June 2010, Australian Poultry CRC, Armidale.

4. Chinivasagam, HN 2009, Re-use of chicken litter across broiler cycles - managing the food-borne

pathogen risk, Project No. 05-16, April 2009, Australian Poultry CRC, Armidale.

5. Macklin, KS, Hess, JB and Bilgili, SF 2008, In-house windrow composting and its effects on

foodborne pathogens, The Journal of Applied Poultry Research, 17 (1), 121-127.

6. Lavergne, TK, Stephens, MF, Schellinger, D and Carney Jr., WA 2006, In-house pasteurization of

broiler litter, LSU AgCenter Research & Extension, Louisiana.

14
Acknowledgements:
The authors would like to thank the many researchers who have completed the detailed research that underpins
this guide for the RIRDC over the last 10 years. This research is summarised and referenced in full in the
accompanying report for this project, available from the RIRDC:

Wiedemann, SG, Bielefeld, EN, McGahan, EJ, Valentine, JG and Murphy, CM 2012, Grower Options for Spent
Litter Utilisation – User Guide Development Final Report, RIRDC Project No PRJ-006440.
15
Litter Reuse:
Evidence-based Guide to Reusing Litter
by S.G. Wiedemann of FSA Consulting
Pub. No. 14/095

Phone: 02 6271 4100

Fax: 02 6271 4199

Bookshop: 1300 634 313

Email: [email protected]

Postal Address: PO Box 4776

Kingston ACT 2604

Street Address: Level 2, 15 National Circuit,

Barton ACT 2600

www.ridc.gov.au