• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.265-270
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• 2002

This study was conducted to determine the effect of aluminum sulfate[Al$_2$(S0$_4$)$_3$$.$14H$_2$O], commonly referred to as ALUM, addition to broiler litter on 3 and 6 week old broiler performance and the nitrogen content of the litter at 6 weeks of age. The two treatment groups were 134 identical diets with the same protein levels, but one group(T$_1$) had ALUM added as a top dressing to the litter at a rate of 200 g ALUM / kg of rice bran, while T$_2$ did not have ALUM added to the litter. Feed consumption for T$_1$ was higher in the 22 to 42 day-old and 0 to 42 day-old periods (P<0.05). Body weight in T$_1$ was also higher in the 0 to 42 day -old period (P<0.0l). There was no difference, however, in the feed : gain ratio between T$_1$ and T$_2$ During the first 5 weeks, T$_1$ had significantly less(P<0.05 or 0.01) ammonia emission from the litter than T$_2$ but at 6 weeks there was no difference in ammonia concentration between the two groups. At 6 weeks, T$_1$ had a lower litter pH than Ta (P<0.05) and total Kjeldahl nitrogen(TKN) was higher far T$_1$ than T$_2$ (P<0.05). However,71 did not show any difference from T$_2$ in the content of NH4-N and NO3-N. In summary, the addition of ALUM to broiler litter improved broiler performance at 6 weeks, while increasing nitrogen content from the litter used as the nitrogen fertilizer although ammonia emission was increased in T$_1$ at 6 weeks.