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Title: USING GEOSTATISTICS TO DETERMINE THE VARIABILITY OF NUTIENT SPECIES IN A POULTRY HOUSE

Author
item Owens, Phillip
item Miles, Dana
item Rowe, Dennis
item El Balaa, Mohamad

Submitted to: International Poultry Forum Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/26/2004
Publication Date: 1/26/2004
Citation: Owens, P.R., Miles, D.M., Rowe, D.E. 2004. Using geostatistics to determine the variability of nutient species in a poultry house [abstract]. International Poultry Scientific Forum Abstracts. p. 23.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Litter sampling in a poultry house is commonly conducted to determine the concentration of nutrients for land application of litter for fertilizer. The objective of this study was to determine the variability of nutrient species within a poultry house using geostatistics. This research was conducted in the summer on a tunnel ventilated working poultry house that was 146 m by 12.8 m. Prior to sampling, the litter had twenty-eight flocks of chickens grown on it with decaking between each flock. The house was sampled on a grid at 5 m across the house and 12 m down the house for a total of 36 sampling points. The litter was sampled at day 21 to examine litter properties. The ammonium, nitrate and phosphate were extracted with DI water and 2M KCl and analyzed using flow injection analysis. The average nitrogen species data indicated a higher average concentration of NH4+ (2813 mg kg-1) in the cooling cell end of the house and decreased to an average of 1951 mg kg-1 toward the fan exhaust end of the house. The average NO3- was 6405 mg kg-1 at the cool cell end and decreased to an average of 2704 mg kg-1 at the exhaust end of the house. When the data were examined using geostatisitics, the ammonium was around 4000 mg kg-1 near the sidewalls and around 2500 mg kg-1 near the center of the house. The NO3- illustrated the same trend with values around 16000 mg kg-1 near the sidewalls and around 3000 mg kg-1 at the center of the house. These trends held true through the length of the house with decreasing concentrations from the cool cell end to the exhaust end of the house.