We measured NH₃ emissions from litter in broiler houses, during storage, and after land application and conducted a mass balance of N in poultry houses. Four state-of-the-art tunnel-ventilated broiler houses in northwest Arkansas were equipped with NH₃ sensors, anemometers, and data loggers to continuously record NH₃ concentrations and ventilation for 1 yr. Gaseous fluxes of NH₃, N₂O, CH₄, and CO₂ from litter were measured. Nitrogen (N) inputs and outputs were quantified. Ammonia emissions during storage and after land application were measured. Ammonia emissions during the flock averaged approximately 15.2 kg per day-house (equivalent to 28.3 g NH₃per bird marketed). Emissions between flocks equaled 9.09 g NH₃ per bird. Hence, in-house NH₃ emissions were 37.5 g NH₃ per bird, or 14.5 g kg(-1) bird marketed (50-d-old birds). The mass balance study showed N inputs for the year to the four houses totaled 71,340 kg N, with inputs from bedding, chicks, and feed equal to 303, 602, and 70,435 kg, respectively (equivalent to 0.60, 1.19, and 139.56 g N per bird). Nitrogen outputs totaled 70,396 kg N. Annual N output from birds marketed, NH₃ emissions, litter or cake, mortality, and NO₂ emissions was 39,485, 15,571, 14,464, 635, and 241 kg N, respectively (equivalent to 78.2, 30.8, 28.7, 1.3, and 0.5 g N per bird). The percent N recovery for the N mass balance study was 98.8%. Ammonia emissions from stacked litter during a 16-d storage period were 172 g Mg(-1) litter, which is equivalent to 0.18 g NH₃ per bird. Ammonia losses from poultry litter broadcast to pastures were 34 kg N ha (equivalent to 15% of total N applied or 7.91 g NH₃ per bird). When the litter was incorporated into the pasture using a new knifing technique, NH₃ losses were virtually zero. The total NH₃ emission factor for broilers measured in this study, which includes losses in-house, during storage, and after land application, was 45.6 g NH₃ per bird marketed.

Ammonia volatilization from poultry manure contributes to atmospheric N pollution, negatively affects poultry performance, and decreases the fertilizer value of manure. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of alum [Al 2 (SO 4 ) 3 ·14H 2 O], liquid alum, high acid alum (A7), aluminum chloride (AlCl 3 ·6H 2 O), fly ash, Poultry Litter Treatment (PLT), and Poultry Guard (PG) litter amendments on NH 3 volatilization and N contents in litter. Two laboratory studies were conducted for 42 d each. The treatments in experiment 1, which were mixed in the upper 1 cm of litter, were 4 g of alum, 8 g of alum, 8.66 g of liquid alum, 17.3 g of liquid alum, 11.2 g of A7, 22.4 g of A7, 4 g of PG, 4 g of PLT, 4 g of fly ash, and 4 g of AlCl 3 /100 g of litter. The treatments for experiment 2 were identical to experiment 1, except the fly ash treatment was dropped and an additional 4 g of alum/100 g of litter treatment was added, which was incorporated totally within the litter. The various rates of dry alum, liquid alum, and A7 significantly decreased NH 3 volatilization compared with the controls, with reductions ranging from 77 to 96% for experiment 1 and from 78 to 96% for experiment 2, respectively. Poultry Litter Treatment decreased NH 3 volatilization by 76 and 87% for experiment 1 and 2, respectively. Aluminum chloride decreased NH 3 volatilization by 48 and 92% for experiment 1 and 2, respectively. Litter treated with alum, liquid alum, A7, PLT, and AlCl 3 had a lower pH and a greater N content than the controls in experiment 1 and 2. In contrast, PG and fly ash resulted in a greater pH and were ineffective in decreasing NH 3 volatilization and increasing N contents in experiment 1. However, in experiment 2, PG was effective in reducting NH 3 loss. In this study, the decreased NH 3 volatilization was chiefly associated with reduction in litter pH.

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of replacing FM with mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) on the growth performance and immunologic responses of white shrimp. In addition, the toxicity of such replacement to white shrimp was measured. Mealworm was incorporated to partially or totally replace fish meal in diets for white shrimp. Experimental groups of shrimp with an average initial body weight of 2.39 ± 0.49 g were fed each of 4 isonitrogeneous diets formulated to include 0, 25, 50 and 100% (control, MW25, MW50 and MW100 respectively) of mealworm substituted for fish meal. After eight weeks of feeding trials, shrimp fed diets MW25, MW50 and MW100 had higher live weight gain (10.05 ± 3.06, 11.41 ± 2.08, and 10.36 ± 1.57, respectively), higher specific growth rate (2.56 ± 0.11, 2.79 ± 0.09, and 2.61 ± 0.07, respectively), and better feed conversion ratio (2.89 ± 0.08, 2.69 ± 0.09, and 2.72 ± 0.19, respectively) compared to those of shrimp fed control diet. Survival rate was 98% in all treatments. No toxicity was found in post-mortem pathophysiologic examinations. The levels of immune markers such as beta-glucan binding protein, prophenoloxidase and crustin associated with shrimp's cellular and humoral immunity were found to be higher in 25 and 50% mealworm replacement groups. These results clearly indicated that replacement of fish meal with 50% mealworm for shrimp diet was optimal in promoting the growth performance of shrimp without any adverse effect.

This study investigated the effect of different levels of dietary supplementation with alpha-tocopherol or Se, or both, on growth performance and meat quality of broiler chickens. A total of 270 broiler chickens were assigned to 6 dietary treatments (0, 50, 100, or 200 IU of supplemental alpha-tocopherol; 0.3 ppm supplemental Se; or 100 IU of alpha-tocopherol plus 0.3 ppm Se) with 3 replicates of 15 chickens per pen. Growth performance was recorded at 1 and 35 d. At the end of this experiment, 10 broilers per pen were slaughtered, and thigh muscle was dissected from each carcass and stored at 4 degrees C for 1, 3, 7, and 10 d. During the experimental period, none of the experimental treatments significantly influenced the growth performance of broilers. Thigh muscle pH values of all treatments decreased over time. The pH values for 1, 3, and 10 d were not affected by all treatments, but a statistical difference among treatments was observed at 7 d. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and total plate counts in all treatments increased with increasing storage time. In TBA reactive substances values, there were significant differences (P < 0.05) among treatments during the storage period. Differences among treatments in total plate count were found at d 7 and 10. In all treatments, L* (lightness) and b* (yellowness) values decreased over time, and a* (redness) values increased with storage time. Significant differences in all treatments were found for L* values at 3 d and a* values at 7 and 10 d of storage. Overall, these data indicate that compared with other treatments, supplementation with 200 IU of alpha-tocopherol or 100 IU of alpha-tocopherol plus 0.3 ppm Se were most effective in increasing lipid oxidative stability and delaying microbial growth and these activities were not associated with pH.