From maintaining optimal litter moisture to implementing smart environmental controls, effective management of air quality can improve bird health, worker safety and overall production performance.
Why is controlling dust and ammonia important in poultry facilities?
High levels of dust and ammonia cause respiratory issues for both birds and workers. For poultry, exposure leads to airway irritation and inflammation that can trigger various respiratory disorders. Workers experience eye irritation, respiratory problems and skin irritation. Dust particles can also carry pathogens like Salmonella.
"The same reasons why dust could be a problem for us is why it's a problem for the birds," said Zac Williams, extension specialist for poultry husbandry and management at the University of Arkansas' Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.
What role does litter moisture play?
Maintaining proper litter moisture between 20 and 25% is crucial for dust and ammonia control. When litter becomes too dry, birds pulverize it into fine particles that become airborne dust.
"We preach all the time about keeping your litter dry, but there is a certain point where it gets too dry," Williams said. "Once we get lower than the recommended levels, the birds pulverize the litter, and you get more small particles and dust."
Poultry litter that has been reused several times tends to generate more dust than fresh litter, he added.
Sprinklers, misters and foggers can maintain environmental moisture and reduce dust. Sprinklers use large water drops to wet surfaces directly, while misters and foggers produce fine water particles. However, misters and foggers can increase humidity, potentially causing heat stress and encouraging ammonia production.
How can producers reduce ammonia levels?
Litter amendments like acidifiers reduce ammonia by lowering litter pH, which inhibits bacteria growth and creates unfavorable conditions for ammonia-producing microbes. Sodium bisulfate, applied in powder or liquid form, is commonly used in the poultry industry.
"Concentrating on litter quality is always going to improve your quality of litter and therefore naturally improve your ammonia or dust production from that litter," said Dr. Joey Bray, technical support representative at Jones-Hamilton Agricultural and Animal Nutrition.
What are heat exchangers and how do they help?
Heat exchangers maintain air quality by warming incoming cold air with warm air from the poultry house through thin plastic tubes called lamellae. The systems keep temperature constant while filtering dust and ammonia from the environment.
"With a heat exchanger, what you can also do is to control the humidity inside your barn, and there is an impact on ammonia in the litter," said Thomas Gnosa, product manager at Munters Reventa GmbH. "If you can keep the litter dry, then you have lower ammonia levels."
These systems are more popular in Europe than the U.S. due to stricter European regulations. Air scrubbers and electrostatic ionization devices also reduce contaminants but require significant investment.
How can technology help manage barn conditions?
Smart environmental controls using sensors, artificial intelligence and machine learning could help enable real-time automated decisions about poultry house variables. These systems adjust ventilation, heating, feeders and water systems while using weather forecasts to anticipate outdoor impacts on barn conditions.
"The system's sole job is to micromanage the environment throughout the production cycle," said Erik Longtin, vice president of sales and operations at Agrimesh Technologies. "You need to consider the outside environment and what's coming to make decisions on your ventilation."
Beyond controlling dust and ammonia, consistent environmental parameters improve feed conversions, livability and animal welfare.
