Representative Survey for Evaluating Housing and Manure Handling Technologies of the Hungarian Pig Sector

In Hungary, there is a lack of information on the pig production technologies in place in the base year of 2005 and changes since then, as well as a lack of information on the number of pigs kept in different age and production categories, which makes it difficult to calculate ammonia emissions and reductions in the national inventories. Our research team conducted a representative survey of pig farms to assess housing and manure management technologies in the Hungarian pig sector in 2005 and 2015. Novel expert-based calculation methods were developed to convert farm data on pig populations into daily average numbers (DAN) of animals in different statistical categories and feeding phases. The survey resulted in a representative database of housing, manure handling, storage and manure application practices in Hungarian pig production. The data and methodology from the survey helped to develop an ammonia emission calculator and knowledge transfer tool (AGEM-S) for use by farmers.

Effects of Probiotics and Wheat Bran Supplementation of Broiler Diets on the Ammonia Emission from Excreta

Simple Summary

Animal production is the main source of ammonia emission worldwide and all member countries of the European Union must reduce their national emissions. Among nutritional strategies, feeding low protein diets, using more nutritional phases, or using different feed additives can decrease the nitrogen excretion of animals and, in this way, lower the ammonia volatilisation from the manure. Pro- and prebiotics are widely used to improve gut health and to decrease the incidence of diseases. Numerous research findings have been published on the practical effects of pro- and prebiotics, but their impact on the urinary and faecal N excretion in chickens has not been completely clarified yet. In this research, the effects of using lactic acid and butyric acid producing bacterial strains, and wheat bran as a potential prebiotic, was tested with broiler chickens. Both probiotics increased the dry matter content and decreased the urinary N ratio of the excreta, which is positive from an ammonia emission point of view. Wheat bran and its xylan-oligosaccharides decreased both the ammonium -N content and the urinary N ratio. The results proved that beside the well-known nutritional techniques, the feed additives, which modify the gut microbiota and the fermentation in the caeca, can decrease the urinary-N excretion, and in this way lower the ammonia emission of broiler chickens.

Abstract

Ammonia emission is a concern for the poultry industry from both environmental and animal welfare points of view. The objective of this research was to determine whether probiotics or wheat bran supplementation of broiler diets can modify the N composition of the excreta and the dynamics of ammonia volatilisation emission from the manure. A total of 120-day-old Ross 308 broiler chickens were fed six different diets. The treatments included a corn and soybean meal-based control diet (C) and diets containing wheat bran (WB). Both diets were fed alone and with supplementation of a lactic acid (Lactobacillus farciminis, LAB) and a butyric acid (Clostridium butyricum, BAB) producing bacterial strain. Treatment BAB had a significant effect on the dry matter content of the excreta and both probiotics decreased the amount of excreted uric acid. Treatment WB resulted in a significantly lower NH⁺₄-N concentration of excreta and a tendency toward reduced uric acid content. Treatment LAB reduced the urinary N ratio of excreta. Among dietary treatments, WB resulted in the highest urease producing cell numbers in the excreta, but this difference was not significant. Based on our results, similar to pigs, the soluble fibre fraction of poultry diets can also modify the urinary to faecal N ratio of the excreta.