How Poultry Farm Odors can be Tackled
As a matter of fact, it is not good that your poultry farm constitutes a nuisance to the neighborhood and often times the neighbors will start complaining of the odor from your poultry farm. Therefore as your birds increase and start constituting nuisance, try and get a place that is not too close to a residential area.
Also maintain good hygiene to prevent odor, clean your litters regularly and prevent water spillage on the litters as much as possible, there are also some feed additives that can reduce the odor to the lowest level.
Sources of Poultry Odors
The main sources of odour from a poultry farm are considered to be livestock, feed, housing, manure and waste (including carcasses), and these are closely monitored by the Environment Agency.
Where necessary the use of additives to mask an odour for a particular operation, for example the transfer of manure, can be considered, though this is not a long-term solution and the masking odour itself can equally lead to complaints.
Meanwhile, if an intending poultry farmer is planning on developing a new poultry farm, consideration should be given to the design of the building, in order to minimising odour emissions. For example, having a second wall at the end of the shed, to slow air flow and let dust settle, can be effective.
Odour modelling can also provide an indication as to whether the proposed new building is likely to result in a nuisance.
How to minimise odor from poultry farms
1. Feed
Clean up spillages, avoid fine grinding of feed, reduce protein content of feed and consider using feed additives.
2. Litter and manures
Control humidity and temperature, force air dry layer manure, frequently empty manure belts (once or twice weekly), locate manure storage away from sensitive receptors, consider storage location in relation to prevailing wind direction, maintain bird health, provide sufficient straw/litter to bind nitrogen and prevent ammonia escaping.
3. Ventilation
Ensure ventilation is adequate for the scale of the farm, extract air via roof vents (release from height assists with the dispersion of odours), use increased fan velocity away from sensitive receptors and clean ventilation discharge points regularly.
Read Also: Causes of Egg Production Reduction in Poultry Farms and Ways to prevent them
4. Catching/destocking
Ensure doors are kept closed or catching curtains used before the birds are actually removed, and park vehicles away from sensitive receptors.
5. Spent litter/manure
Transfer to trucks in a contained area if not stored on site and keep vehicles/trailers covered unless loading.
6. Carcasses
Collect frequently, store away from sensitive receptors and cover carcasses where possible.
7. Infrastructure
Maintain buildings to ensure integrity, use landscaping, trees and banking to create barriers.
Read Also: Best Type of Poultry to Raise for Commercial Production and their Time of Maturity
8. Dust
Avoid build up at any location, minimise dust emissions from buildings and frequently clean dust from the ventilation outlets.
9. Monitoring
Weather stations should be installed to provide information on prevailing wind direction. Record shed humidity, monitor all complaints and conduct checks of the surrounding area with someone who does not regularly work on the farm. Ask neighbours for their views and record comments.
10. Contingencies
Conduct daily checks to detect abnormally high housekeeping odours, disease and plan for staff unavailability.
11. Land spreading of manure
Plan timings for spreading not on weekends or public holidays, consider wind direction and location of sensitive receptors, treat manure (if required). Odours can be detected up to 3km from the field. If necessary, develop a Manure Management Plan.
12. Dirty water management
Have a contained water collection system, maintain drains and concrete areas and promptly clear dirty water as part of cleaning the building.
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