Abstract
Animal welfare is often neglected by livestock productionists when considering the utilization of animal wastes for livestock feeds. The present review has been carried out to examine the nutritive value of poultry wastes for ruminants, the health risks involved with feeding it, the treatment and feeding methods and the production responses of animals fed on it. It was found that mineral, crude protein, crude fibre and metabolisable energy concentrations are influenced by the system of poultry production, the storage of the waste and the treatment method. Heating at $60^{\circ}C$ kills all pathogens apart from Clostidium botulinum whereas proper ensiling kills all. Apart from the kidney fat and the liver, animal tissues have not shown residues of drugs or heavy metals from poultry wastes. Palatability is affected when the moisture is more than 200 g/kg. Production responses are satisfactory when poultry wastes replace portions of concentrates. It was concluded that poultry litter generally has higher metabolisable energy contents than poultry manure, but research is needed to classify poultry litters on their energy values. The adverse effects of toxic minerals and drug residues are negligible in balanced poultry waste feeding systems.