Nitrogen Characteristics in Poultry Manure Using Sea Urchin Shell Powder as Poultry Diets : A Field Study

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of sea urchin shell powder on nitrogen characteristics in poultry litter by assigning ninety 1-d-old male broiler chicks (Arbor Acres) to one of 3 treatments (control, 1% sea urchin shell powder, and 1% feed additives) in 3 replicates of 10 birds each. For all treatments, the overall dry matter contents were decreased (P < 0.05) as time increased, except for at 1 week. When compared with controls, the dietary sea urchin shell powder and feed additives for 0 and 3 weeks did influence their TN contents, but not for 1, 2 and 4 weeks. The treatments with sea urchin shell powder and feed additives had a significant (P < 0.05) influence on $NH_3$-N in poultry litter compared with controls. However, at 4 weeks, no marked differences were observed in $NH_3$-N contents among treatments. Treatments with 1% sea urchin shell powder might enhance the value of poultry litter as N fertilizer.